You&#x27;re still needlessly leaving money on the table with your plan. What if (made up numbers) I am currently making 50k. To move to a new job, I would want 60k. The job budget is actually 70-80k. I tell them 60k, they say &quot;Great!&quot; and accept. I just potentially lost $20,000 per year.<p>So you have two options: ask for a range up front and get people that turn you down because of it, or waste your time with interview processes with people who wind up low balling you. I choose the former. Or the third option, you presented, give them a minimum up front and leave tens of thousands on the table, save time, and also potentially wind up working for a company that is shitty in its hiring practices and attracts employees accordingly.<p>Negotiation isn&#x27;t a matter of how much you would be happy with, it&#x27;s a matter of how much you can get.