In the current world, recruiters want you to believe they have all the power.
I had a phone interview the other day and they seemed to try and put me on the defensive, like “prove what you say is true. What projects did you work on with that product…”
I pushed back with questions about salary, benefits and working from home.
Of course they did the old salesman tactics and instead of telling me the salary band, asked how much I expected and how much I'm earning now.
This is a business deal amongst equals. They need us as much as we need them, or more even.
This is not us begging for a job to survive, as they wouldn't like us to believe. There are plenty of jobs out there.
Anyway, I said if they can't give me a salary band right now on the phone, forget it (in a nice way). They gave me the Salary band. It was low (Surprise surprise).
They also let slip that I'd be expected to fly 400 miles on my own dime “as required”. I said that didn't seem normal to me.
Anyway, I saved my time and theirs by cutting it short early and wished them the best.
They literally seem to be fishing for desperate employees, which doesn't seem beneficial to anyone. If they hook one, they'll obviously flee at the first opportunity.
If we all started realising that we're not on the back foot, forcing employers to compete, we'd get a better marketplace with less time wasting, lying job ads.