I applied online through the institute's online application portal. I was contacted about a month later and invited to interview. I was notified that I was selected for the role about 3 weeks later. I was informed of the onboarding process (the documents, etc that were required on my part) and was also given the impression I could negotiate my salary, as I was inclined to believe my experience would lend me to be higher on the pay scale versus the level 1 of the offer. I contact former employers and collected all the necessary evidence to support my salary appeal and submitted these within 3 days of the offer. It took HR nearly 2 months to conclude that I was not eligible for a salary increase. Communication with HR during this waiting period was very intermittent and evasive. Had I known from the start that I would not get anywhere with the negotiation, I would have made my decision then and been able to start in that, or a different, role a lot sooner than waiting, expecting the decision week after week.