Maybe this advice is good when applying to the big four, but otherwise it's a wonderful way to waste one's own time. From having conducted hundreds of in person

Maybe this advice is good when applying to the big four, but otherwise it's a wonderful way to waste one's own time. From having conducted hundreds of in person interviews and probably thousands of calls with recruiters or phone interviews, I find that figuring out the band a company is willing to pay is fairly easy. Also, it's not a wide band even at senior levels. In fact, the acceptable range is usually quite narrow. I save a ton of time by not interviewing with companies who can't even pay the low end of the range I'm looking for. This is the situation most of the time, in fact. I've done interviews and take home assignments only to find out the company's range and my range don't overlap at all. That's just stupid and a waste of time. These days, I discuss salary first if it comes up and definitely before dedicating any major amount of time to an interview. Is there a chance that I'm leaving money on the table? Maybe a very tiny one. Usually, I'm just saving myself hours or days of interviewing for a job I will never take. For almost all jobs, I find this advice to be wrong and a waste of time.