I was sourced directly through LinkedIn Recruiter by the People Operations Manager, who said my background aligned well with their open role. I applied and was contacted about 30 minutes later to schedule an interview. I interviewed two days later (Friday) with a recruiter, and the conversation went really well. However, the company wasn’t transparent about salary up front. When compensation finally came up, I learned the range was $60–65K—disappointing given the scope of the role, which included recruiting, HR, and employee engagement responsibilities. While the recruiter was professional and mentioned they’d check for flexibility, I received an generic automated rejection email the following Monday. The process was quick, but the lack of transparency around compensation felt like a waste of time for both sides—something that could have easily been avoided with clearer communication from the start.