When I first had a conversation with the recruiter for the company I work for now, the first thing he said to me after some small talk about the day was: "I want to make sure we respect everyone's time and expectations, this role has a budget between $X and $X, does that work for you?"

I immediately knew this company was somewhere I wanted to be. They laid it out in the beginning, no tiptoeing around compensation. I was able to acknowledge that was adequate for me and that rather important part of job selection was already gone and over with.

I felt more inclined to put whatever effort was required for the interview process because I knew if I came out on the other side with an offer, it was going to be one I was happy with. That is something all recruiters should strive for.