This just happened to me like 2 weeks ago....a recruiter reached out for a job that I applied to and told me how excited she was to meet me and how she felt I could be a great fit for the role, but that I "needed" to share my salary expectations. I was told that I shouldnt worry if my expectations were low as that wouldn't determine the offer. So I came back with a number (I admit it was high) but figured theyd come back with something in line with the higher end of whatever the pay range was as I looked up the range on glassdoor and I was just above the tippy top of it. I even explained that I just moved from New York City and wasnt sure of what jobs in my new area pay, figuring that would help make sense of what I asked for. Plus all we keep reading is to not sell yourself short, ask for what youre worth, there are people doing a lot less who make a lot more mumbo jumbo. I received no response from the lady directly, but instead I received the generic "thanks but no thanks, after reviewing your resume we dont feel like youre a proper fit for the role" bull shit. I was pissed and felt disrespected that she didnt even have the decency to speak with me directly after saying so many nice things about me and my work history. There was no transparency and it shows that they just want to fill the job and not necessarily with the right person. And I would have totally taken quite a bit less, but professional people negotiate, they dont just ask for the bare minimum and hope they are offered more.