I'm a staff eng., so I get a decent amount of people reaching out on LinkedIn, and occasionally it's something that seems interesting to me. Of course, it's still a job, and I'm unlikely to leave my current job for $100K less in salary, so I ask 2-3 quick intro questions, including "what's the salary range for this role?". I figure it saves us both time if expectations are way different. I find that about 25-40% of recruiters are straightforward and will answer my questions. Another 25% will say that they can't discuss that at all, or not until the offer stage(which is an immediate red flag and I stop communications there). About 10% will say "What's your target range?" Again, major red flag, as they're trying to make me negotiate against myself. But about 40% will say "I can answer that and any other questions in a 30-minute call. Please send your resume to my email and set up a time on my calendar". Like, uh no, I'm not going to update my resume and take 30 minutes out of work so that you can then answer some basic questions that would take all of about 45 seconds.
How do most of you handle these types of inquiries? I've typically treated any recruiter who isn't fairly straightforward and open with me, as someone I'm not so interested in working with. If their interest was truly in me rather than the company, then they would answer these questions without hesitation. And if their interests lie with the company, then their "buddy-buddy, I'm here to help you" attitude is just BS. I've had decent success with that strategy, but presumably what they're doing works. What do other people typically do in these situations? Update the resume and take the call? Or wait until someone more forthcoming comes along?
JobAdvisor:
No salary discussions, no call. I’m not wasting time with a recruiter that cannot tell me the “competitive salary” they offer.
Personally, before hopping on a call I need to know the salary and how many interviews are performed by the specific team. Those help me decide if I care enough to find out more via an initial meeting.