I was contacted by a recruiter from the parent company - Kantar media. We had a very productive discussion and he was really impressed with my resume and experience. He was very excited about the prospect of hiring me. He even told me directly that of all the people he interviewed i had a perfect match of skills and experience. Next step would have been to schedule an in-person interview. Things went south when i told him about my current salary which is exactly the Chicago average (check Glassdoor product manager salary). He said he'll try to push my case but that salary is way over the current manager salaries at the company. Next day he gets back in touch with me to tell me that the company unfortunately cannot afford me.