Smart Negotiation or Bad Etiquette? Candidate’s Last-Minute Salary Hike Request Divides Internet

A Gurgaon startup founder's viral post details how a backend developer attempted to renegotiate his salary days before joining, despite having already accepted a significant pay increase. The incident, shared by Knot Dating CEO Jasveer Singh, has ignited a debate online regarding professional ethics and common hiring practices in the tech industry.

A hiring experience shared by a startup founder from Gurgaon has triggered a debate online about salary negotiations and professional ethics in the tech industry.  Jasveer Singh, co-founder and CEO of dating site Knot Dating, recently detailed how a backend engineer who had previously accepted a job offer sought to renegotiate his salary only days before his scheduled start date.

Singh detailed the incident in a post on X, noting that the applicant was first given a large money increase. According to him, the developer was making Rs 21 lakh per year in his prior employment and was offered Rs 28 lakh by the firm, representing a 33% increase. The candidate apparently accepted the offer and agreed to join the company.

However, the scenario took an unforeseen turn soon before the developer was supposed to begin work. Singh claimed the candidate contacted him again, stating he had obtained a better offer elsewhere and wanted the business to amend its offering.

“Yesterday, he emailed saying he got a 32 LPA offer elsewhere and now wants 36 LPA from us. Nonsense. Why agree in the first place,” Singh wrote in his post.

The entrepreneur expressed dissatisfaction with the timing of the request, noting that the company had already suspended its hiring process after the candidate accepted the offer.

"If you are still looking for offers, simply state it up front. We stopped interviewing other prospects and waited until the joining date. Now, two days before joining, he returned with a new price," Singh wrote, adding, "There's nothing wrong with bargaining. But do it before saying yes.

Check Out Viral Post

Singh also posted an image of an email discussion in which the applicant purportedly stated some 'personal limits', such as refusing to work on weekends.

The post soon gained traction online, with readers expressing varying perspectives on the matter. Some people agreed with the creator, claiming that renegotiating after formally accepting an offer was unprofessional and caused unneeded hassles for companies. 

Others, however, noted that such conversations are normal in the technology industry, where competent developers are in great demand. 

"The root cause of this isn't candidate greed, it's the 90-day notice period. When you force a candidate to sit in the market for 3 months with an offer letter in hand," said one user, while another added: “If you already agreed to join, suddenly increasing the price two days before joining is just unprofessional.”

Another commented: “Market is competitive and this is a common issue, especially in the IT sector, where most people are shopping for offers while serving notice. It has to be fixed within the system only.”

A few people also mentioned that professionals frequently receive many offers at the same time and may opt to take advantage of them for higher pay.