I recently had a phone screening with a company and HR asked me what my expected salary was. I gave her a range and a couple days later she scheduled a second interview with the manager. I assumed my range was acceptable since she proceeded with the process. Today I got a phone call from another HR person who was covering for the previous one. He offered me the position with a salary lower than my range. I explained to him that it was quite lower than the range I gave and he told me he would talk to someone Monday and see if it’s negotiable. Is this a thing? I never expected them to low ball me like that. It’s a shame because I was really interested in this job but I wouldn’t have moved forward with it if she would have told me during the screening what their rate was. Why even ask me what my expected salary is?