The last interview process I went through was three weeks and four separate meetings (1 long email, 1 online test, 1 phone interview, and 1 in-person interview). All in all, it was about 9 hours of dealing with them, plus a 2 hour round trip to their office and having to take a half day at my current job. They never asked about salary expectations and I never gave any (a mistake on my part, I believe) and when they finally made an offer, it came in a full 25% under my current salary (which is what I had been looking for). Asking around, a few other devs received similar offers that they turned down from that company.
I feel that I could have saved myself the majority of those 9 hours if I had told them my salary expectations from the beginning. They would have either balked immediately or told me the position wasn't going to be paid that and we would have been done. I think that is how I will handle things going forward, personally.
> I feel that I could have saved myself the majority of those 9 hours if I had told them my salary expectations from the beginning
Or you could've asked their range upfront, and then you could be the one disqualifying and doing the balking. This information is freely given to third-party recruiting agencies (if they use them) as well.
For me, this serves more purposes than knowing what I'll get paid. I need to know that my coworkers are well-compensated: it's a huge indicator of the quality of team you'll be working with.
Sure, it's possible that the entire team is grossly overpaid, though it's not likely. You'll find out their competency in the interview loop.
I feel that I could have saved myself the majority of those 9 hours if I had told them my salary expectations from the beginning. They would have either balked immediately or told me the position wasn't going to be paid that and we would have been done. I think that is how I will handle things going forward, personally.