I hate this with a passion. The pay in this country varies wildly based on where you live and the compensation package I'm willing to accept has other things in it like health insurance, dental coverage, extra holidays, work-from-home and stock options. None of that seems to get taken into account.
I just lie now. “Yeah, I'm totally currently being paid whatever your job advert says your job pays.”
I had one recruiter say that they wouldn't put me forwards for a job I was more than qualified for if they felt like my potential increase in earnings was too big of a jump. I lied and said my income was almost double what it actually was and they nodded sagely and said “Yes, I think we can swing that.” I then did the maths of how much it'd actually cost to live in the area, the commuting costs and so on. Turns out, I'd be making a loss at their offered salary compared to my current job. Madness!
Is this policy just to stop people making a better life for themselves? Is it to stop people moving from one economic area to another? Accepting a poorly paying job can stunt your entire career. What the hell is going on?!