For contracting in Europe: They will ask you about your rate and find a placement based on that. You should decide what's your price and be ready to show your e

For contracting in Europe: They will ask you about your rate and find a placement based on that. You should decide what's your price and be ready to show your experience that supports it at the interview. Usually they won't tell you the rate beforehand because they don't even know it. They know a rough budget and then it depends on your level of experience. Their budget info can be a range between (for Europe) e.g. 300-800 EUR/day. They will take a very senior guy for 800 EUR and they will take a less experienced guy for less. It all depends on your level, but they are unable to assess it themselves - the client does that, the recruiters don't have the necessary technical knowledge. About chatting: Just be very direct and straight forward with them. Tell them exactly what's your situation and what you're looking for. You can only gain by this - they won't bother you with deals that aren't interesting to you. Don't over complicate it, I send them one-sentence answers if that's enough. If somebody stops replying or takes too long, just move on. There's plenty more. Similarly, if you take too long, they will just move on.