[Buckeye McFrog]

I always said that pay would be negotiated when I was actually offered the job

Hate to say it, but 7 out of 10 employers would end the interview right there. They want to have cost certainty (within a certain range) before investing their time and effort negotiating with you.

[Nifster]

I never encountered any problems what so ever. But then I had a skill set specific to the job offered that most people don’t have. My resume spoke for itself....the interview was to see if I was puffing anything. Once the knew I wasn’t they told me what their best offer was (usually). I either took it or didn’t. Rarely was the much dickering. They knew the market and I knew the market. The companies that didn’t make any offer weren’t all that serious anyway

[Svartalfiar]

I always said that pay would be negotiated when I was actually offered the job

Hate to say it, but 7 out of 10 employers would end the interview right there. They want to have cost certainty (within a certain range) before investing their time and effort negotiating with you.

Eh it's really a hit or miss type of thing. Yes, you can have a vague mention of salary range, and most people/companies do that. The business I'm in generally has a decently paid level ($25-50/hr) of people who know what they're doing, and a low ($10-15/hr) rate for kids who have no idea but can do the basics. Which some companies are mostly made up of. So anytime I look into a new position (I'm freelance/contract), one of the first things I do is ask about the pay range they're looking at. If they're on the mid-lower end, I usually just tell them that won't work for me and I don't want to waste their time or mine. Most people I've talked to hr/director/etc are usually understanding and cool with it. They know how the industry works.