I don’t think this true if you are already near top of band (very lucky place to be in). Right now I have golden handcuffs and just ignore almost all recruiters

I don’t think this true if you are already near top of band (very lucky place to be in). Right now I have golden handcuffs and just ignore almost all recruiters because I know only a few select big companies (plus quant) can match my pay. Startups are a bit more hit or miss though, and if they are small enough they probably won’t even have pay bands. You need to do more due diligence there