yeah, this has been my experience over the past few months. Luckily I'm only on the fence as to whether I want to switch jobs right now. I've been very take-it-or-leave it.
> always tell them politely what it would take to inspire me to consider a move, which amounts to an above-market raise
Same. Recently a recruiter really pissed me off. He flatly stated that this company was "willing to pay." There were no limits. Of course, I was skeptical. The ballpark he kept repeating to me sounded fine. Interview went great. The feedback from the company: "we're not willing to pay anywhere near that." I passed the interview apparently, but did not fall into their desired salary range. A huge WTF all around. It was their advertised range for crying out loud.
Either the company was kicking the tires and wasting my time (they rescheduled the interview twice, so I suspect they weren't interested at all), or the recruiter was a liar. It's possible they both wanted to see if I would bend and become a bargain.
