Interesting perspective. The biggest negotiation point for most people is the job offer, and the usual advice for that is to, as an applicant, never give them a

Interesting perspective. The biggest negotiation point for most people is the job offer, and the usual advice for that is to, as an applicant, never give them a number first. Perhaps the more important points are: 1. Never give them any of your previous salaries, as this may anchor you to a much lower price than they are willing to pay for your talents 2. Never negotiate salary before they have conditionally agreed that they want to hire you, as this is when their perceived value of you is the highest. If you start negotiating before this point, their value of you will be lower, and you'll have to either refuse to go down and have to break off the whole thing, or anchor yourself to a lower number than your talents are really worth. On top of that, giving them a number first is usually not to your advantage, as you probably have less information about what the market is really like and what they are really willing to pay for you, but this is a weaker point than the above two. It could go the other way in some situations, especially if you have some sort of rare, special skill or connection above and beyond the typical salaried employee.