r/ITPhilippines • u/MasteerAL • 16h ago
Career / Job Related Workstreet Interview Experience
Sharing this because I think a lot of Filipino professionals applying for remote jobs need to hear it: ask about the salary early, and get it in writing.
I recently interviewed with Workstreet for a Trust Services Engineer role. It’s a cybersecurity/GRC position focused on security questionnaires, evidence, policies, working with SMEs, and frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, CMMC, NIST, and FedRAMP. During my first interview with the recruiter, salary came up. I told her clearly that even though I’m based in the Philippines, I currently work directly with a US client through an EOR and earn around $3,000/month, so my expected range was $3,000–$3,500/month. She told me that was within their range, so of course I continued with the process.
I went through another interview with the Manager I would potentially report to, then a final interview with the Senior Manager. Both went well. The final interview especially felt like we were already talking beyond the basic “can this person do the job?” stage. The Senior Manager told me that if I joined, I would be working under the same Manager whose team I had just interviewed with. She also confirmed whether I was okay working the graveyard shift and shared some of their upcoming plans for the Philippines, including how local holidays may eventually be handled through PTO. We also talked compensation again. I explained that now that I understood the role better, I wanted to know if there was room above my original $3,000–$3,500 range for a strong candidate. She said yes, particularly for the Senior level, and her closing remarks were that the team would discuss whether they would offer me Trust Services Engineer or Senior Trust Services Engineer. At that point, I honestly thought things were heading in a very good direction.
Then after the final interview, the recruiter emailed me asking for my salary expectation in PHP. Since the Senior Manager had literally just told me there could be flexibility above my original range, I gave ₱250,000/month, roughly $4,000, and said I was still open to discussing the package depending on the final role. The recruiter replied that my expectation was above the approved budget. Fair enough, so I asked what the budget actually was. Her answer: ₱39,387.90 base + ₱3,050 allowance, or around ₱42,437.90/month total. Yes. Around forty-two thousand pesos. After I had already disclosed $3,000–$3,500 during the very first interview. After I was told it was within range. After multiple interviews. After reaching the Senior Manager. After being told which Manager’s team I would be under. After discussing graveyard-shift expectations and future PH holiday/PTO arrangements. After being told the Senior role could potentially pay more.
And that’s the part I really don’t get. If your approved budget is around ₱42k and a candidate tells you in the first conversation that they’re already earning around $3,000/month and expecting $3,000–$3,500, just say “Sorry, that’s outside our budget.” That would have saved everyone a lot of time. Instead, I went through the whole interview process only to find out later that the recruiter had apparently given me the wrong salary range during our initial discussion. Companies can pay whatever they want, and yes, location-based salaries are a reality. But candidates also have jobs, time, and expectations. The funniest part is I went into the final interview wondering if a Senior Trust Services Engineer could go above $3,500. Turns out I should’ve been wondering whether we were even talking about the same currency. 💀
To fellow job hunters: be careful out there. Verify the recruiter, salary range, contract, and company details before investing too much time. If the numbers suddenly change or the story stops adding up, treat it as a red flag. Some hiring processes are messy—others can be misleading or outright scams.
