Let's say we're hiring for a Ruby Dev. My client needs talent, and we're not the kind of place that is going to say "Must have 2 years with X and 4 years with Y

Let's say we're hiring for a Ruby Dev. My client needs talent, and we're not the kind of place that is going to say "Must have 2 years with X and 4 years with Y", because we're smarter than that. So I know we might get someone with 1 yr, or we might get someone with 5 yrs. So the range might be, realistically, 70-120K. I tell you our range is 70-120K, and you tell me you are 1 yr out of school. Then you try to negotiate to 120K. I tell you that is for someone with more experience. This happens all the time in the business. 15 years recruiting, saw it most of my first 10, and now I don't get into ranges. When I'm working with senior level folks I respect their time and let them know if I think they'll need to take a haircut on compensation or if they are underpaid and might expect a nice bump. Most recruiters probably don't do that. Giving the lower end of the range doesn't really provide any benefit to either party (that I can think of anyway). If the candidate is making more than the low end, he/she is likely to ask for a high end. If the candidate is making less, he/she is probably happy that they might get a bump.