So I was approached a by a recruiter for possible job opportunity a while back. The position looked interesting, hybrid working and a good salary. So I respond to the message.

We have a call and the recruiter is immediately trying to negotiate me down to a few hundred below the listed salary (not a listed range, but a fixed amount). I told her I don't want to do that.

I get invited for the first interview round. The interview goes well, till we get to the end. There they say my expected salary is too high. They can offer me a max amount that is even lower than what the recruiter was trying to negotiate me down to.

After the interview I call the recruiter back and say that I consider the salary too low and that I am not willing to continue the interview process. Recruiter is annoyed with them and says she'll call me back. A week later she comes back with a number slightly, higher, but still much lower than what she iniatially approached me with even still lower than what she had first tried to negotiate me down to. But she says, after a few months they will raise it based on performance. I tell her the contract is initially temp, it's perfomance based anyway and I would like that raise garanteed. She calls me back after a few hours and tells me "Good news" they agree to garantee me the raise after a few months upon a good performance.

I feel like nothing has changed, but they just reworded it slighly. I have agreed to a second interview. The salary is significantly higher than what I currently make and the working conditions and benefits are better too.

But this whole thing is leaving such a bad taste in my mouth. I now feel really torn. I am no longer happy at my current employer, so I had planned to start applying for jobs in a few months anyway. I responded to this, because it seemed like a good opportunity. But the whole salary issue is making me somewhat less than exited, eventhough it would be a definite improvement on my current situation.

I could use some input.

Edit: I have canceled the second interview. I told her I was unhappy with the process up untill the point. She told me that I couldn't hope to make as much as I was asking for. I reminded her that she approached me with this number.

They were definitely jerking me around. If anyone was in this position I would have advised them to call it off likewise. It can be so hard to follow your own advise.