Salary Negotiation

Just got dropped after 2nd round interview at a debt fund. Had a strong referral, job aligned very well with my background.

Having trouble identifying the issue and I wonder if I set my salary anchor too high.

Interviewed with 3 team members. They went well; I was prepared and can’t think of anywhere that I fumbled. Can always do better obviously, but outside of minor tweaks, I don’t regret my answers or conduct.

The interviews were mostly behavioral with next step being a modeling test, then a 3rd round interview if I passed that.

They told me that, based on my experience, they expected my main hurdle to be just adjusting to their models (said this would take 1-2 months). They said this would be the case for basically anyone. So, I figured I would at least get weeded out on the modeling test, if anywhere.

I got a rejection email a week later. Kind of confused. I’m not so arrogant to think it was a guaranteed offer, but I feel like it was early in the process to get dropped.

I’m wondering if I anchored too high. Salary range $115-$180k. Asked $165k (5th year associate). I expected to negotiate down but I fear that they may have just rejected me without any effort to counter. How likely is this?

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