I heard about this job opening through an employee referral who said PBS needed people for their quieter home program in San Diego. I emailed them and was scheduled an interview. On the same day, they asked me to come in later that week in their San Diego location, which was about a 200 mile round trip drive from where I live in LA. Upon arriving there I was confused from the get-go, but after some wandering, later found their office on the second story of a bank. The lack of signs and ongoing construction in the parking lot wasn’t very much help, either. I walked inside, where I saw a total of 5 people inside a small office, some just coming in from lunch in casual clothes. Two PBS Mechanical design engineers handled my interview, who were both very polite and friendly. They inform me of the position and the work expected of me, and that they needed to hire people yesterday, and that the company needed help as soon as possible due to some recent employee resignations. They then opened it up for Q&A. I ask my questions, and was out of there within 20 minutes, tops. As I was walking out, I overheard one of them ask the other why they didn’t offer to call in for a FaceTime interview. Either way, I didn't mind the drive, thinking it'd be a small price to pay if I were to be offered a position. A couple of days later I received a call from their principal engineer in Glendora, CA. Noe called to congratulate me on my interview, and that he would like to offer me the position with PBS. I gladly accept. He emails me the benefits package, and asked me to call back with my salary expectations so we can negotiate. After discussing it at length with family and colleagues, I called him back, and initiated negotiations with a slightly higher than normal pay range, keeping in mind my intentions to relocate. From this point on, it seemed like a complete 180. He first said that the salary I’d requested was too high. Okay, great. I saw this coming, I totally understand. I ask, what figure were you thinking? To which he pauses, and says, stammering, "I don't know... I'll have to ask and see what our entry level engineers make... but that's way too high..." Then says he'll call me back in an hour. I never received a call back. I patiently wait another few hours right before 5PM, and call the office back. He apologizes and says, "Sorry, I'm just very busy with work since I'm going on vacation tonight. I will have someone call you tomorrow to continue the conversation." The next day it's actually Noe who calls me back and I'm naively hoping for something positive still and he says sorry, we gave the position to someone else, after a direct job offer to me over the phone. I was shocked, as anyone would be. He says that this person had been interviewed a week prior to my interview, and they ultimately decided to go with the other candidate. I wondered if this was just to avoid salary negotiations because of my first failed offer. In my mind, if they had other candidates, then why were they so quick to offer me a job, and not this other person who interviewed before me? In addition, during the entire process I made it clear that I was aware that what I asked for initially was too high, and asked what reasonable pay would be for a position like this. He kept saying I don’t know, I don’t know. After some back and forth, I finally said, “You’re saying that my research is wrong, so I’d like to know what the right number would be for future reference so I don't make this mistake again.” To that, he said it’s unethical to give that information out. Throughout this entire call, I’m getting frustrated because I answered thinking he was going to ask me to come in to sign paperwork so I can start working, all the while, trying to decipher his thick accent and poor English. I asked, “Why did you offer me the position yesterday? Your engineers said you need someone ASAP, and have a lot of work.” I recalled that they said people had been quitting so they’re understaffed. But he kept refuting, kept saying to stop putting words in his mouth, and that he never offered me the position, and we told you we had multiple candidates even though the day before he said "We'd like to offer you a position," VERBATIM, and they never once told me about any other potential candidates. Overall, I was pretty unhappy that I didn’t get the position even after Noe telling me they’d like to hire me. But many of my colleagues who have been in industry for a while have told me that it’s actually a blessing in disguise. If this is how they treat their potential candidates, then they have very questionable character and most likely treat their workers very poorly as well. I guess I’m not so surprised that people were leaving PBS for something better. Their job listings all state that they offer highly competitive pay which is really just an evasive way of saying that they pay well below average.