This advice seems fine but not great for salary negotiation. In general, because of the information asymmetry and extreme advantage the employer has over the e

This advice seems fine but not great for salary negotiation. In general, because of the information asymmetry and extreme advantage the employer has over the employee, accepting a weak offer can mean leaving over 30% on the table, and that matters to individuals. (It matters to some companies) You can have healthy conversations explaining that you want to reach an agreement that's good for both of you and still explain that you need to get paid. Companies and recruiters actually value that _more_. My recommended reading/listening on negotiating as an employee is patio11's posts. As a company, yeah, don't try to "win" and be fair (as much as is possible given funding constraints)