&gt; Recruiters are often paid x% of one year&#x27;s base salary. In this case, your interests are aligned with the interest of the recruiter.<p>Not entirely. It may be in your best interest to walk away from a position that is not offering as much as you want. On the other hand, the recruiter gets 0 if you walk away or are passed over because someone else asked for less. So it is in the recruiters best interests to get you placed somewhere, even if somewhere is a little lower yearly salary because they undercut competition.<p>&gt; The reason recruiters ask for your salary is not to engage in price fixing but to ensure that they pursue a placement where 1) the candidate is getting a pay bump and 2) the candidate is priced competitively.<p>No, it&#x27;s so you don&#x27;t look like your biting off more than you can chew, which looks bad on them. If you move from somewhere with a low pay rate to somewhere higher and you try to get that big pay bump, they&#x27;re going to tell you that you can&#x27;t because you don&#x27;t look like you&#x27;re worth it based on your previous low pay.