> You can ask hard salary questions beforehand without offending a recruiter. Nothing worse than going through a long process to find out the company expects to

> You can ask hard salary questions beforehand without offending a recruiter. Nothing worse than going through a long process to find out the company expects to pay below-market. This right here is invaluable. When I talk to company recruiters (inside a company) I try to get an idea early on whether it's a waste of time due to below-market pay. I've had my share of people who were honest and open about it and those who give me the "we pay market rate" nonsense. I take that as dog whistling for below-market. When talking to independent recruiters they're usually quite happy to give up this information, and/or find me positions more suitable. It tends to be more amicable.