Similar advice filtered through my own experiences: You're at $company for interviews, and the HR person says, "So let's talk salary. What are your expectation

Similar advice filtered through my own experiences: You're at $company for interviews, and the HR person says, "So let's talk salary. What are your expectations?" Your "A" strategy: "Oh, I just want to learn more about the team and the position for now. I can wait until we're moving forward with an offer to discuss compensation. I'm not worried about it." They will probably balk. They might suggest they "just want to be sure they aren't wasting your time." Your response is roughly: "If you're worried I might not be satisfied with your offer, I'm happy to hear the range you've got available and I'll think on it as I go through the process." They will likely agree to talk about it later, at which point you are out or they are invested. Your "B" strategy, if you're really, really pressed to name a number: Figure out a number that would make you excited -- like, a number you'd brag about to friends and family. Then increase it by 10-25%. That's your ask. They'll say no and counter-offer much lower. That's less than their top. Name your excited number or around there. And most important: be willing to walk away. Keys to making these strategies effective: - have other active job prospects on the go that you can allude to, but keep the status of those situations vaguely optimistic. Before you look for work, finally hit that Amazon or Google recruiter back. They have deep pockets. Now you can truthfully drop their names as people you're waiting to hear back on when $smallerCompany beats them to offer time. - Be seriously willing to walk away. You might not be fortunate enough to be able to do this -- it's a very privileged situation to be in. But by far, your strongest negotiating position comes from being able to not flinch too hard when they say no, and in being serious about leaving if they can't give a satisfying response. You might have to just leave with no offer. That has to be okay, or you won't get a good deal. This is cribbed from the classic kalzumeus blogpost linked in the article, modified by my own experience using it. Edit: A big last point: when they do eventually make an offer with real numbers, verbally or written, don't lead off with "okay", "amazing!", or "thank you!". You can tell them "that's a generous offer", "that's a great offer", "I appreciate that offer a lot", or something similar, to express that you acknowledge their work and that there's something on the table. Then, you tell them that you will (understandably) need to think it over, maybe to discuss it with your partner, and that you will get back to them as soon as possible. You're excited to work together. You now have the time and the space to exit that high pressure situation. Think, and ask yourself: are you happy with that number? Could you comfortably say no? Are there other things you can ask for? Etc. Make your next move later, from a position of comfort and strength.