Exit story · Agency / Consulting
I Was The Recruiter. The Salary Band You Were Told Was Made Up.
ExRecruiter_Maya·Whistleblower
Ex-TalentForge·Technical Recruiter·Technical Recruiting·1 year, 5 months·Atlanta, GA
· Left in 2026
8.0
Toxicity
The LinkedIn Spin
Closing out a great run at TalentForge. Grateful for the candidates I got to work with!
The Unfiltered Truth
We had a real band and a "conversation band". The conversation band started 15–20% lower. If you said a number first, that became your ceiling. If you asked for the range, we gave the conversation band. I stopped doing it in month nine and got a written warning for "process non-compliance".
Exhibit A · Manager Receipt
“"Anchor low. Candidates who ask for the range get Band B." — Recruiting playbook, page 4”
Red flags
- #Salary Band Games
- #Candidate Manipulation
- #Retaliation Culture
Reality check
Work-life balance
3/5
Management sanity
2/5
Compensation reality
2/5
Gaslighting frequency
5/5