I applied directly as a referred candidate. I had one phone screen with the recruiter and was told I’d meet with the hiring manager next along with a few panelists. The salary range was lower than my qualifications and expertise would dictate, however, I clearly stated that I would still be interested in exploring it as I was excited about the opportunity. He said he’d find out about the salary to see if they could go higher, but I never heard back from him. I must’ve followed up at least four or five times. Finally when I CCed the hiring manager (I had his email because my contact was kind enough to send an intro email with the hiring manager), I got a response saying that they couldn’t meet my salary expectations (even though it wasn’t a an “expectation”). I’m also a former employee, so this whole experience just left a very sour taste in my mouth. He finally apologized…but unfortunately, too little, too late. I ended up getting another offer that was along the same salary range, so the whole salary conversation made no sense. The whole situation could have been avoided had the recruiter either gotten back to me proactively, or responded to one of the many follow ups I sent him. I love Varian’s mission, but I don’t think I would ever choose to interview here again.