Happened to me a couple times last year. It’s why the saying goes The higher you are the longer it takes to land your next job. The open roles are already rare and then they are high enough in an organization that it catches the attention of leaders who evaluate and re evaluate it, question the value of it, think twice about it. Like no one cares about the Senior Analyst role. They are about the one with the 300k base.

Agreed that you dodged a bullet. You didn't want to work there, anyway.

OP: You were use and abused, then discarded. Send them a bill for your consulting work during those 3 moths of "interviewing & negotiations".

They like your work, they just don't like paying for it.

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps they were getting "free" consulting from you since you already do contract work for them and know the landscape.

Basically, 3 months of free advice, then they take a piece of that and implement without you. I'd be p*ssed, too. Sorry that it happened, OP.

This is my take too. Name and shame
(not really-- too outing!) But maybe they recognize themselves and their bad business

I'm sorry, OP. You likely dodged a bullet. They seem either indecisive or decide too harshly (I've encountered that recently.) Finances are changing in a heartbeat. Gently suggest asking yourself what, if anything, you can learn from this then keep it moving. Better things await.

Perhaps they were getting "free" consulting from you since you already do contract work for them and know the landscape.

Basically, 3 months of free advice, then they take a piece of that and implement without you. I'd be p*ssed, too. Sorry that it happened, OP.

* involved me (not invited)

Anonymous wrote:Is it possible their final 2025 numbers are coming in worse than expected and they have to tighten the belt?

OP: I suspect that may be a big part of it.

What really bothers me is that during a couple of recent meetings I was asked how I would fill out the department. They’re now likely hiring one of the lower-level staff exactly as I described and completely neglecting the strategic oversight. They’ve made this mistake before and are just repeating it. And it feels premeditated in a way with how they invited me.

It just feels dirty now and I can’t imagine even returning for any contract work. And - of course - my ego is a bit bruised. I was genuinely excited for this new role and felt that I’d connected on a personal level while working closely with so many of their staff over the years of occasional contract work. I put other clients on hold in favor of them, because I liked them so much and believe in their work.

I know business is business, but this one hurts.

Is it possible their final 2025 numbers are coming in worse than expected and they have to tighten the belt?

Months is what companies are taking to interview, test, put together presentations etc. candidates for various levels of work. Hard to say what was going on in OP’s months in talks.


Maybe OP gave them an idea for them to go in the other direction. Maybe their finances changed. Who knows?

Sounds like they decided you took too long to arrive at a decision. A few months of talks seems very excessive.

The gist: reviewed their needs and have decided to go with a lower level position managed by the team instead of filling the c suite “at this time.”

I wasn’t playing hardball with the negotiations. I was willing to take lower pay in exchange for better work/life balance and to work with what I thought was an amazing, stand-up company run by incredible women.

And they let me know in an email vs a call. I’ve been in talks with them for a few months and have previously done contract work for them; the results of my work are why they asked me to consider coming on board full time.

So exhausting.