No

1. During the second-round HR interview, they asked a whole bunch of intrusive personal questions unrelated to the job.

2. During the first round, I interviewed with two managers in succession. After the interview, the first manager thought I was very good and immediately asked a second, more senior manager to interview me. The second manager also thought I was very good, and we even discussed my start date and other details on the spot.

However, when I negotiated the salary with the first manager, they asked about my expectations. Naturally, it had to be better than my previous company’s salary (45,000 per month). But after hearing that, the manager started talking about things like “both sides taking a step back” and “the probation period for new hires”—the usual excuses from exploitative bosses—and offered 41,000. I pretended to accept it during the interview.

In the second-round interview with HR, however, HR said that the manager had told them the core salary was 37,000!

My inner reaction: “Holy crap, they really are exploitative bosses. My previous employer was a large, well-known foreign company, while you’re just a small, unlisted company. What makes you think you can push down employees’ salaries? I wouldn’t gain any benefit from having your company on my résumé in the future either. Honestly, even if the company offered me a salary of 45,000, I’d still have to think about it.

There are so many well-known major companies out there inviting me to interviews, and the salaries they offer are all quite good. Before exploiting employees and belittling job seekers’ abilities, maybe take a look at your own company’s social standing in the eyes of the public.”