I have a potential case of miscommunication by a recruiter which may have cost me my job offer. Though it also may be in part due to my stance.

I applied for a job at a much larger company at x salary (which matches my current salary). However after the interview process I was told the offer was 15% lower due to release of financials/budget restraints (the company admitted to the recruiter an error was made), however the company was "thinking of making an offer" at y salary.

At this point perhaps my naivety of never using a recruiter came into play - in the past I have only ever dealt with companies directly and usually received an e-mail with the offer and a full breakdown of benefits. So when the recruiter has said "thinking of making an offer" in my mind nothing is concrete until an e-mail is received.

So for the past week I have asked my recruiter to liaise with the company and see if there are any options to get closer to my current salary. There has been a forwards and back with little movement - I have been asked the lowest I could accept - my answer has been "in reality I think z amount is fair BUT please could you send me a detailed document of the package i.e. benefits etc so I can "do my due diligence and assess it as a whole". In fact I have asked 3 times for a breakdown of benefits from the recruiter with no success. The reason this is important to me is for two jobs I have had now the list of benefits has been longer and more detailed than just what was advertised - so it has made a difference in the past.

24 hours after this conversation I have had a call from the recruiter to say the offer has been withdrawn as it has been 7 days and due to the difference in salary expectations they need to move on. This has caught me off guard as I still haven't been able to assess the package as a whole and I was not aware that "thinking of making an offer" is a concrete statement. On my side all I have thought is a conversation has been taking place in the background and a final offer will be made so I can sit, think and make a decision.

What avenues are open to me? The recruiter is a lovely individual so going directly to the company behind her back doesn't feel right - but I do feel I have lost an opportunity without being able to do my due diligence or realising I am on the clock. Considering I have been in this process since December and each slow down has been on the company's side, to have the offer withdrawn in such a manner does hurt somewhat.