In a tough labor market, lowballing your salary might start to look attractive

For Gen Z college grads, the labor market is looking pretty tough. A report out last year from the Cengage Group found that, of the recent graduates they surveyed, only 30% had found full-time employment related to their degree. Another 33% said they were unemployed, but still actively seeking a job.

The rough job market conditions are what convinced Megan Robinson to try something she described as “desperate:” lowballing salary, or offering to take pay that was below what a particular job listing was offering.

“Surprisingly, it worked, and the hiring manager said he'd bring me back into the running,” said Robinson. “But in the end, I still wasn't hired. I was told that I wasn't meeting output expectations, and they didn't have the budget or the capacity to train me. It made me wonder whether anyone had done the same.”

Robinson reported the story on lowballing for Slate. She that while there were other women who had tried lowballing salary, it hadn’t landed them a job. “Marketplace” host Kimberly Adams spoke with Robinson about her experience and her reporting.

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