A hiring recruiter sparked outrage online after posting on LinkedIn that she offered a job candidate $45,000 less than the hiring budget because the individual did not negotiate for a higher salary.
In a tweet that now has more than 215,000 likes, user @TE_AMO_COURT shared a screenshot of the LinkedIn post, which was written by recruiter Mercedes S Johnson, with the caption: “There are two types of ppl in this world smh.”
In the LinkedIn post, Johnson says that she offered a candidate $85,000 for a job that had a budget of $130,000. “I offered her that because that’s what she asked for and I personally don’t have the bandwidth to give lessons on salary negotiation,” Johnson wrote in her post.
The viral tweet compared Johnson’s LinkedIn post to a tweet from @uhhbre, who is also a recruiter and who had tweeted about offering an individual more than the salary range they’d given. “Had a junior software engineer ask for a very low salary range,” she tweeted. “She will be shocked when this offer comes through. We are paying your worth over here.”
Twitter user @TE_AMO_COURT clarified that they included Mercedes S Johnson’s full name in the screenshot in the hope that both the new hire and the CEO of her company are aware of the situation.
Many users also shared their outrage over Johnson’s original LinkedIn post.
“Pay equity starts with hiring managers,” tweeted @BakerAntonia, while another person wrote: “And these jobs wonder why their turnover rate is so high, which only cost them more in the long run. In a world full of Mercedes Johnsons, be a Briana Johnson.”
Some even tagged Johnson’s employer Honeywell, urging them to take action, to which the company responded asking for more information.
Johnson finally acknowledged the uproar with another LinkedIn post, that she then shared to Twitter. “The purpose of that post was to empower others to not end up like this particular candidate,” she explained. “I want people to know their worth. I made that post at the risk of my job because it’s not right that many don’t know what their skills are worth.”
She also apologised to the candidate the post was about, adding that she deserves to be paid what she’s worth from the company.
The Independent has contacted Johnson for comment.
