I must say........

https://i.imgflip.com/wwgpt.jpg

If they want you, they will make some kind of an offer. If there is no offer then you were just a pawn in the game. Also, how can you "regret not taking the job" when they never made an offer (even a lowball offer). If your respectable response lost the job because you wouldn't sell yourself short then would you really want to work for them? You can find someone who knows and pays what you are worth.

You can't play if you aren't willing to walk away.

Bravo!

Any place that asks for “lowest offer” isn’t typically worth working for. They don’t value you and only care about the bottom line. The moment those words “lowest offer” pass their lips you have everything you need to know. Time to walk IMHO!

I laugh every time I see ads on CL and such saying “send resume and salary expectations...”. Yeah right. Pass, next. Those are the kinds of places that will only look at you as an expense. If you’re okay with that (and some people are, and sometimes it might be ok) then fine but for a career-type job? Probably not.

I’ve done enough negotiations to know that as a general rule the first guy to throw out a number ALWAYS loses. Don’t be that guy! SM’s story is hilarious - it’s hard to do but you need to hold your ground and tease a range (if not a number) out of them, then counter it or sell it back to them so they think they got a good deal. It’s freeking painful to walk away esp. if you have a lot invested up to that point but you have to be willing to. There are few things worse than trudging off to a job every day to enrich someone you feel is using you, who sees you only as an overhead expense and you know will lay you off the instant there’s even a minor hiccup in revenues. BTDT. Yes, the whole process of job hunting utterly sucks goat balls and is about as pleasant as having your nuts crushed in a vice but it’s even worse to be in that sort of situation where you feel like you’re being used, your days are numbered anyway and it’s all just a giant waste of your time.

This is an awesome thread BTW! Lots of good stories, anecdotes and info. here from all sides!

If they do send you a lowball offer, be professional in your response. Be sure to work in the phrases "....where the sun don't shine" and finish with "...and the horse you rode in on!". Or mebbe not :)

Thanks again for the responses- I feel pretty good about whatever happens at that place. I think there was a pawn element to it, and they were mining me for ideas.

When I was in the interview- I was replaying this exact scene of "the office" in my head:

https://youtu.be/9Sjk3f4qC1I

Instead of withholding info though. I freely gave it all. Even in my letter yesterday I outlined my vision and how we would get there, and at the end offered to help even if I was not chosen.

LOL, I laugh about it now.

Learned a lesson.

I often say "experience is the sum of our mistakes"

The employer just wrote back and said "she would think about it" over the holidays and get back to me next year.

My wife laughed and said "Oh well, at least you know it's over with."

Although I am supposed the be the eternal pessimist, I was actually a little more optimistic, thinking the director is heading out the door for Christmas, and wants to juggle some ideas around to see if she is willing to go in a different direction.

My wife is probably right though. I'm thinking now, they sent off the final offer to someone else and will be in touch with me if that offer falls through. :D

Sometimes, the best deal you make is the one you turn down.
Hold your head up and say "I am worth more than bottom basement pay. If they can't see that, then neither one of us would have been happy."

Fishin'....the art of getting the biggest sucker to bite :)