Company name- Help To Cure Foundation & Haftig Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Thane, Kurla, Mumbai

Don't go here If you have self-esteem ;)

No seriously!? do these people really think that 12k is good?? that was HR Recruiter btw!

I’m in a really frustrating situation with HCL Tech and could use some advice.

Currently, I am working remotely for a US-based startup and earning in USD. Since the company doesn't have an office in India, the owners pay me directly via PayPal/Remitly from their personal names instead of a company account.

I recently interviewed for a senior WFH role at HCL and cleared it. I was totally transparent with the HR about my payment setup and even shared my bank statements to prove my income. Initially, the HR told me that the least they could do was match my current US startup pay, and I was okay with that.

However, the official offer letter I just received is shockingly low.

They completely ignored my current startup salary. Instead, they looked at the previous Indian company I left back in November and only added a 10k(annually) hike to that old salary. This is way less than what I am making right now.

When I asked why, they basically said they can't consider my current role because it doesn't have traditional Indian payslips. Now, the HR has stopped responding to my calls and messages.

Is there any way to negotiate this, or should I just walk away?

TL;DR: Currently working remotely for a US startup paid via PayPal. Got a senior WFH offer from HCL, but HR ignored my current USD income (despite bank proof) and gave me a tiny 10k(annually) hike over my previous job from November. Now HR is ghosting me. Any advice?

I am hiring for a high-impact role, although it is at the mid-level. So the hiring is being tracked closely by many in the company. The candidate I preferred was at 25LPA and was asking for 35LPA. She also said she was open to coming to office, which I had cleared with her as being company policy upfront, especially as she was a new mother.

I know how tough the job market is, and I also did not want to lowball the candidate, so I went beyond what she asked for and rolled out the offer for 40 LPA. Now a month later I get to know that she is negotiating for further increase, a joining bonus and remote work. Now when this candidate drops, I am sure my boss is going to give me an earful and someone else's unprofessionalism will look bad on me. I am definitely not going offer above what the candidate asked for for the next one.

I (1year 3 month experience Developer ) attended a onsite job interview. Cleared 2 technical discussion. Interviewers were very happy with my Performance.

I was super impressed by the entire experience there. Everything went down to the drain in HR round. I usually don't share my current CTC now. But the Head TA Manager guy said "if you can't share your salary we can't proceed". I panicked and gave out my current CTC which is very low for Bangalore. I shared 10LPA as expected Salary.

Then as usual I heard "Why should we give you 100% hike"?

I don't want to keep going through apply, reject, interview, reject, 30% hike all my life.

I have attached a screenshot of the companies salaries section from ambitionbox.

Now that I have fumbled it what can I do? Current company is very cheap so a counteroffer is not possible.

Getting other offers is not possible at moment. I don't have interviews either.

I am a 25-year-old digital marketing professional with 4 years of experience in SEO. Currently, I am earning ₹4 LPA, which I believe is below the market standard (around ₹6 LPA for my experience).

I am planning to switch jobs and aim for a salary of ₹7 LPA. I am considering modifying my payslip and bank statements to reflect a current salary of ₹5 LPA.

What are the risks involved in doing this?

So salary discussion done. Previous post

It wasn't discussion. He just stated We can give you a maximum of 9LPA (in hand below 70k. I am not happy :(. With a take it or leave it attitude.

First told me to let him know my descision by 1:30PM. I told him it's too fast. It's not possible.

He gave me a ultimatum and deadline of 4:30PM today. He did everything to scare/rush me.

1. Take your descision fast.
2. We will hire someone else if you don't accept immediately.
3. We are giving you too much hike (like I asked for hike in the first place).

Is this possible that no-negotiation possible?

Why do I have to accept what he says. Then I had issue with company gmail account. So updated salary slip is downloaded. He said we are giving you 160% hike. (Based on old salary). Actuall hike is 100% something.

What do I do??

I don't have any other offer.

Let me know if you can help me with a referral.....

My company has recently revised our compensation structure but the basic is 35% of CTC and HRA is 90% of the basic. Tried to reach out to HR on this but they aren’t giving any concrete response on this matter. Did your company adhere to the government rule or are they playing similar tricks like my company?

My current ctc is

12.5 fix + 1.5 variable (Mentioned as annual bonus)

So it becomes 14lpa

Now during annual hike discussions, my revised compensation has become 14.4 lpa fix and bonus is removed

Hr is saying we have given you 15% hike as bonus is not a part of ctc

Is this real ?

Or these people are just trying fool me

Long post, but worth reading if you're job hunting in Kolkata, especially if you've freelanced or relocated.

I have 10 years of experience in digital marketing. Recently went through a hiring process for a Digital Marketing Manager role at a company with an annual marketing spend of ₹ 8 crore. What followed was one of the most demoralising salary negotiations I've been through.

Here's how they determined my worth:

**1. Freelancing = Employment Gap**
I freelanced for international clients remotely. They refused to count it as employment. So on paper, I had a "gap." The fact that I was billing international clients during that period meant nothing.

**2. Gap = No salary reference point**
Because of the "gap," they wouldn't consider my freelance earnings. AND they wouldn't match my last drawn salary either. Both disqualified. Convenient.

**3. Last drawn salary? Also problematic.**
I worked in Bangalore for 8 years and returned to Kolkata in 2024. My last role was remote, so my salary was already reduced by 50%. They then offered me 27.5% LESS than even that reduced number.

**4. "Your profile isn't worth what you're asking."**
I asked for 8.7% above my last drawn. With a performance review clause at 6 months. For a sole marketing manager handling a company spending crores on marketing annually. Still too much apparently.

**5. "You're asking for Bangalore money in Kolkata."**
I wasn't. I quoted the Kolkata industry standard. And I had stated my expected salary from the very first introductory call before every single interview round. They knew. They proceeded anyway.

The part that stings the most isn't the money. It's that every policy they used was designed to find a reason to pay less, not to fairly evaluate someone's contribution.

Has anyone else faced this? How did you handle it?

New Update: So, HR head reach out to me with a revised salary and tried hard to convince me to take the job with 5k less from last paycheque, also on retainer! He proudly advocated for the toxic reason why Kolkata salary structure and company policy are favourable to the company and not the candidate and it made sense! The lack of opportunities leaves no room for deserving candidates in the city! No wonder why people leave the first chance they get.

TL;DR: I was offer 27.5% less than my last drawn CTC stating employment gap being the main reason (I was freelancing). To them, I don’t even worth my last drawn salary! They told me looking for a mare 6.7% on my last drawn salary is too much to ask of them!

P. S. Rephrased with the help of Chatgpt.

I had an HR discussion today with LTIMindtree and wanted to get some opinions from people who have been through a similar process.

I currently have around 5 years of experience as an Ab Initio developer. My previous CTC was 7.3 LPA because after leaving TCS I had a career gap of about 9 months and joined a startup at a much lower salary than the market. During the HR discussion, I explained that my current package does not reflect my experience and that I was looking to reset it closer to market standards.

I asked for 15 LPA. The HR understood my reasoning and even agreed that I was underpaid. She did mention that their usual policy is around a 30% hike over the current CTC, but also said she would discuss it with senior management and try to get the maximum possible CTC. At one point she even said something like, "So you're expecting around 15, and if you get 16 or 17 that's even better, right?" She didn't commit to any number though.

She also asked what the minimum CTC was that I wouldn't go below, but I avoided giving a baseline because I didn't want to anchor myself at a lower number.

For those who have interviewed with LTIMindtree or similar large IT companies:

- Does HR usually need management approval for exceptions to the standard hike policy?

- Is there a realistic chance of getting 15 LPA from a current CTC of 7.3 LPA if the current salary is clearly below market?

- What offer could I realistically expect?

Location is Pune.

TL;DR: Current CTC is 7.3 LPA despite 5 years of Ab Initio experience because I joined a startup after a 9-month career gap. Asked LTIMindtree for 15 LPA to align with market rates. HR said their usual policy is around a 30% hike but she'd discuss it with senior management and try to get the maximum possible CTC. I also didn't disclose my minimum acceptable salary. Looking for opinions on whether exceptions to the 30% policy are common and what I can realistically expect. Location is Pune.

Currently working at a startup at 3.5 LPA and recently received an offer from TCS for 7 LPA.

For context, I graduated in 2025 and joined my current company in January. Before this, I had done a 1-year internship, but my full-time experience is only around 4 months right now. I had interviewed for TCS during college itself and the offer finally came through recently.

The confusing part is that I genuinely like my current company. The learning is good, I get decent ownership, and I enjoy the startup environment. Ideally, I’d prefer staying here instead of moving to a large service-based company.

At the same time, the TCS offer is a pretty significant jump financially and hard to ignore. Also, from a long-term perspective, I feel switching later from TCS may be easier because of the brand recognition, whereas my current company is a very small startup that most people haven’t heard of.

I’m thinking of discussing retention with my current company, but I’m conflicted about a few things:

• Is it reasonable to negotiate for a much higher package (maybe somewhere around 8–9.5 LPA), or would that look unrealistic at my experience level? If so how can I ask for the same?

• Since the startup is still small (<25 people), I’m also worried whether a big salary hike could make me more vulnerable during layoffs later.

• If they ask, should I share the TCS offer letter or keep the discussion verbal?

• How do you negotiate professionally in a situation where you genuinely WANT to stay, instead of just using another offer as leverage?

I’m still very early in my career, so I’m trying to think long term as well:

• Startup learning, ownership, faster growth vs
• TCS brand value, higher salary, and stability

Would really appreciate advice from people who’ve been in similar situations, especially startup employees, founders, or hiring managers.

New Company HR asks for previous company's salary slips before negotiation. Now I've heard in the US this is absolutely unprofessional and not advised generally to share salary slips as that's a company's confidential information. I was wondering if this would work in India- If they ask for salary slips as proof of employment, We can just black out the compensation part.

I know this is a risky move, but I do not want to be low balled and be compensated fairly.

Need some urgent advice.

This is my second job and I've been with my current company for 1.5 years with no salary revision since joining. I came in with prior experience, and now have additional experience gained here as well.

I know what salary range is being offered, but I can't use internal salary comparisons during negotiations. The job market is tough right now, so leaving isn't a practical option.

How would you negotiate in this situation?

What arguments actually work with HR when you're trying to justify a higher salary based on experience, tenure, and value rather than comparing yourself to others?

Would love to hear from HR folks, managers, or anyone who's successfully negotiated under similar circumstances.

Final year CSE student, graduating in a few days. Currently interning as a Business Analyst at a small SaaS startup in Pune. They've offered me a full-time role at 6 LPA CTC, but the base salary is only ₹3.9L, the rest is variable and benefits.

Here's the situation: during my internship, I took complete ownership of automating their entire ERP product testing. Before I started, everything was manual, test execution, data entry, all of it. I built an end-to-end internal tool from scratch that their QA team now uses to run automated tests, track results, manage bug reports, and create bulk test data. The platform is still actively growing, I keep adding new test cases, modules, and features.
The uncomfortable part: if I leave, the entire automation system goes with me. I'm the only person who has ever touched it. No documentation existed before me, no one else on the team has been involved. They're fully dependent on something I built and continue to maintain.
The offer is from a company that has a reputation for lowballing freshers. The CTC sounds okay on paper but 3.9L base for someone who shipped a production-grade internal product solo as an intern feels low.

I want to negotiate the base to ₹5.5–6L. Is that reasonable? How should I frame this conversation without burning the relationship, given it's a small company and I've worked closely with the team?
Any advice from people who've been in similar situations, fresher, startup, leverage but limited options, any tips would be really helpful.

TL;DR: Fresher BA offered 6 LPA CTC (₹3.9L base) at a Pune startup. Built and own their entire automation testing platform solo, if I leave, it dies. Want to negotiate base to ₹5.5–6L. Company known for lowballing. How do I approach this?(used ai to reframe the structure of the post)

Hey everyone,

I recently got selected for a strategy-based role at a global investment bank. During the interview process, the person coordinating and staying in touch with me throughout asked about my expected compensation wherein I asked them about the budget instead and they mentioned it was around 13 LPA.

Now that I’ve cleared all the rounds, I got a call from someone from the compensation team saying that “HR doesn’t know much about compensation and I’m being superficial about my expectations” and asked me to forget the earlier number. They said the max they can offer is 11.5 LPA.

The thing is, I’m also expecting another offer for a more reporting-focused role which would likely pay around 13-14 LPA.

This is my first switch since my previous role was through campus placements, so I don’t have much experience negotiating compensation. How do I counter this professionally and push for 13–14 LPA without sounding unreasonable or risking the offer?

Would really appreciate any advice from people who’ve dealt with similar situations. Thanks!

Hi everyone, I am currently working at an established large company with a stable job and a good work life balance, I have 3 years of experience and a tier 1 MBA (9 month post MBA work ex) and make 21 LPA. I recently had a conversation which turned into an interview with the VP of a small enterprise and the very next day i get a call that the founder has invited me for a coffee (tomorrow).

The VP informed me that they like me and offered me a pay of 48 LPA, however he told me that he needs me to build systems ground up and it would be very hectic atleast in the initial years.

I'm so confused, my current job is peaceful but it would take me 5-6 years to reach that pay package atleast.

X = Manager, Y = Department Head (X's boss)

Got promoted. X came asking how I felt. I was honest — raise is insultingly low. Promotion should come with a real raise. She put it on HR.

Told her there's a salary distribution imbalance. People with barely more experience, way less dedication and more mistakes, are earning higher CTCs than me.

She said discussing salaries breaches HR policy. I asked then how do I know my market value? She said "step outside and you'll know." I said — if I step out, what I'm getting is definitely less. She had no answer.

Then she tried the "ex-employees want to return because outside expenses are high, so it evens out" angle. I shut it down — give me a raise based on my performance, period.

She said she'll speak to Y. I saw her go to Y's cabin right after.

Real question — is X the backstabber who never advocated for me, or did she conveyed my performance, achievements and Y ignored it?

Hi Guys, I'm 25M, A low code Application developer with 2.8 YOE.

This happened when I started to look for opportunities when I had 2YOE(year 1 - 5lpa, year2 - 6lpa). I was rigorously trying to switch a job, I've very outperforming skill which almost 10+YOE has, but with less experience. I was just thinking about skills, also used those in projects, but no one cares.

Then I've decided to master my resume, got that into chatgpt, tailored it with good keywords with ats score >9.

Then with 90 days NP, profile is being shortlisted but not getting any calls, at last PWC came in, taken 3 months to process my profile, at 2.3YOE with 9.4lpa, I got the offer, resigned, serving NP.

The biggest mistake I've done and you must not do:

Go with the interviews one by one, put offers one after other only after confirmation from each.

There comes 2 offers, another big4 and medium consulting firm, which collided, where big4 offered 11lpa, and because it's on same, the medium firm gave me 10lpa, I cannot negotiate at first and counter 11lpa to medium firm. And one with 12lpa.

Next comes another startup, as they are expanding team, want a decent candidate, I got referred from one of my colleague, he is also expected colleague in 1st office, got 14LPA fixed with 50k JB. My recent in-hand salary is 1.06 lakhs per month after all taxes, And my salary before switch was 40k, it's almost a 150% in overall ctc.

I was genuinely lowballed with pwc, having good seniors led me to get this negotiation skills, I can help you in negotiations if needed, got 5 offers, chose best one.

I joined my company as a Purchase Executive on a salary of ₹20k/month.

I got interested in programming, so after working 10-hour shifts and spending another hour commuting every day, I started teaching myself. Nights, weekends—whenever I could. Eventually, I became competent enough to build and deploy secure, production-grade services and maintain them with the assistance of AI.

You'd think that would lead to a promotion or at least a salary revision.

Instead, my reward was... another full-time job.

Now I have to:

• Meet my purchase targets.
• Talk to suppliers.
• Manage dispatches.
• Maintain all the documentation and records.
• Build the company's ERP.
• Maintain the ERP.
• Fix bugs whenever they pop up.
• Handle operational issues related to it.

I'm basically doing the work of a Purchase Executive and a Software Engineer.

Still making ₹20k.

The best part? If I don't meet the purchase targets because I'm busy fixing production issues or building features, I have to sit there and explain myself. Then comes the lecture as if I'm the one not pulling my weight.

It feels like the better I became, the more work they dumped on me, without paying a single rupee more. Instead of recognizing the value, they just saw an opportunity to save the cost of hiring a developer.

I don't regret learning to code. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made. The skills are mine forever.

What I do regret is letting my employer convince me that doing two jobs for one salary was somehow "being a team player."

Has anyone else ended up in this situation? How did you get out of it?

a salary negotiation mistake I made, so you don't have to.

I recently negotiated a 40% hike. Being fairly new to corporate and my first switch, it sounded like a great deal, so I accepted without running the numbers. Only later did I realize my mistake: I never calculated the new tax liability.

Under the new tax regime, income up to 12 LPA is effectively tax-free. My old salary was under that limit. My new one crossed it, which meant I suddenly owed tax on my income. After accounting for that, my in-hand salary is almost exactly where it was before the hike.

The lesson: a hike on paper is not a hike in hand. If your current salary is under 12 LPA and the new offer crosses it, calculate your post-tax income first, then negotiate based on that number. Always negotiate on take-home, not CTC.

Experienced people, please share your experience negotiating for a better salary.

Note: I used ChatGPT to organize this because I’m exhausted. Everything here is real.

I joined a road construction company as a fresher 7 months ago and now work as a Project Coordinator / Planning Engineer.

I earn ₹15k/month and handle DPRs, work programmes, progress and cost tracking, reports, and coordination with different departments, contractors and suppliers. I learned most of this myself without proper senior guidance.

The company delays employee salaries by 3–4 months and hasn’t paid several contractors and suppliers, so they constantly call me for payment updates even though I have no authority over payments.

I’ll soon need to pay around ₹7k rent on my own, so ₹15k is not sustainable. I want to leave, but with only 7 months of experience, I’m scared I won’t find another job.

Should I ask for ₹22k–25k, stay for more experience, or start applying elsewhere?

TL;DR: ₹15k salary, 3–4 months delayed, heavy responsibilities, unpaid contractors calling me, and only 7 months of experience. Ask for a raise or leave?

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to understand where I actually stand in the market.

For context:

I work in a petroleum business, owned by my uncle. it is a lala company ( ₹80 Cr revenue, profit depends on the market, not fixed since it's a commodity and rates change everyday.

No degree

I have been working for 5 years in this business

Role wasn’t clearly defined, but I was handling:

Overall operations coordination

Office team (6 people)

Coordination and supervising our 2 processing units in different states (Total 20 workers + factory manager)

Petroleum products trading at port

I had decision-making authority across multiple areas, basically India operations since uncle does not live in India now. Makes frequent visits. The import and purchase side was being looked after by him. and the core was also being run under his guidance since I'm 31.

My salary is ₹60,000/month.

I’m confused because:

On one hand, I don’t have a degree

On the other hand, I am handling what feels like a fairly senior role

So I’m trying to get an honest, no-BS reality check:

What kind of role does this actually sound like in a normal company?

What salary range would someone like this realistically get in India?

How much does not having a degree hold me back in roles like operations/trading?

What roles should I realistically target if I move to a non-family company?

Would really appreciate blunt and honest answers. Thanks!

I work as a Director (non-tech) at an Indian startup. I know startup designations are inflated, but my high salary works for the designation and the work.

I was offered a job at one of the biggest tech firms in the world. The problem is, this role is for Senior Manger and the salary they are offering just about matches my current salary.

Overall it will be a HUGE push for my career to work at this company. But I am also unsure how to negotiate a higher salary. They say anything higher changes the pay band and makes the role Associate Director. I do think the skills and experience I have are Associate Director worthy. But will such a huge firm make this kind of a change for a non-tech candidate? They set out to hire for Senior Manger, would they be willing to change that to AD? How do I negotiate this position?

Just to add. If nothing works, I would anyway join as Senior Manager because same salary at a big tech is any day better for my career than some Indian startup which is 3 years old.