A post on X (formerly Twitter) has gone viral after Dr Sumanth Raman, founder of Algorithm Health Ltd, shared an account of an unexpected exchange during a job interview. In his post, Dr Raman described interviewing a candidate with four years of experience who is currently drawing a cost-to-company (CTC) of Rs 7.2 lakh per annum.
According to him, when asked about salary expectations, the candidate stated a demand of Rs 16 lakh. The interviewer noted that the expectation was more than double the current pay, to which the candidate reportedly responded that this was indeed what he was looking for. The conversation, as per the post, ended shortly after.
He further added, “Increasingly feeling out of touch with today’s generation.”
The post quickly gained traction on social media, drawing mixed reactions from users who questioned both the hiring approach and broader salary benchmarking practices in the industry.
One user questioned the relevance of current compensation in hiring decisions, saying, “Admittedly lot of youngsters are bit “airy” in their salary expectations. But why would you need to know their current CTC? What value addition does it make in selecting a candidate, except to restrict your offer to that number, if your internal budget is a lot more? Just curious,”
“There could have been a room for negotiation between both, as of today the market is employer driven and there is a huge parity between experienced who is stays loyal with a company for long term vs fresher who get 7 digit package out of college,” said another.
“Simply don’t understand what the current pay has to do , if the candidate is skilled enough and if the budget for the position matches the demand then why don’t you fill it. Stop comparing senior techies with GenZ for every random thing,” a third user wrote.
Another comment pointed toward shifting expectations in the job market, “Not surprised. I have interviewed candidates asking 20LPA with mere 3 to 4 years and they feel not happy even when the offer is matched.”
Adding a different perspective on market value and underpayment, one user wrote, “He is actually underpaid in the current job. It is very easy to get more than 20 lakhs package with this experience given the skill set.”
Meanwhile, a more reflective take came from another user who questioned the fairness of using previous salary as a benchmark, “I m 40, so I am also not in touch with this generation.. but isn’t the pay for a job, based on market norms for that position and not on current CTC ? What if he was getting underpaid in the previous job?”