It's possible, sure, but that wasn't the case in this instance. While this acquaintance and I didn't spend a great deal of time together in college, he was the

It's possible, sure, but that wasn't the case in this instance. While this acquaintance and I didn't spend a great deal of time together in college, he was the only person I knew here when I moved (n.b. the job was a few hundred kilometers from home/college) so we ended up hanging out a bit more once I got here. I came to find out that not only was he not making less than their minimum, but he was actually able to negotiate for $2k more due to some previous experience in summer jobs / co-ops. The actual kicker in this story, and I'm only remembering this now, is that I actually knew the real number, but I just didn't realize it. This company had interviewed/hired a few people in my class, and I vaguely recall hearing of a different guys negotiations for a number close to what above-commented acquaintance managed to get. So, I could have probably negotiated a slightly higher salary, but thanks to some poorly timed misinformation by our mutual friend, I didn't know my numbers and I lost out.