I applied for the opportunity via Indeed and was invited for a video interview/screen, followed by 2 additional interviews at the director and VP level. The process took about 2-2.5 weeks and was pretty pleasant throughout. I was elated to be extended an offer soon after. Before accepting the offer, I wanted to ensure that I advocated for myself as a woman and person of color. It's important that we make it a common practice to negotiate salary or inquire as it is often the case that without doing so, we find that we're often underpaid. With this in mind, it is common practice and is typically expected that offerees attempt to do so. To this end, I crafted a thoughtful and professional response to the offer with an ask to consider my master's level education, professional and academic achievement and consider a $3-$5 per hour difference, but perfectly prepared to accept the amount originally shared. Rather than simply responding with a "no, we are not able to meet that request, but we're excited to have you come aboard should you accept." I was met with a phone call to rescind my offer. The reason given was that they didn't think they could accommodate where I saw myself going in my career and where I qualify for...although they did see me as a fit for the need when they extended the offer... and I'd already shared the upper and lower range I was interested in during the interview process, but never revealed anything about wanting to advance heavily (I have a small business outside of work), nor did I ever indicate that I would NOT happily accept the amount originally offered. I wasn't disappointed, I was truly shocked as ANY company that rescinds an offer because the candidate opens a basic comp negotiation dialog isn't a company I want to work for. These are red flags. If dialog is seen as a nuisance, this doesn't seem like a company that values voice or welcomes employee dialog or even examines pay parity. To close this review, Vanderbilt Business shared the results of a 2023 study around pay gaps. They found that the pay gap for women widens not due to will or poor business morals, surprisingly: but widens because "women don't ask." Keep asking - good companies will welcome the conversation and either stand by their fair pay structure or offer more. Concerning companies will not entertain the conversation at all and ultimately help you avoid a terrible work culture.