The best salary negotiation advice I've ever received (aside from improving my BATNA[1]) is to push till <i>after</i> I get to the offer stage of the interview. That way they already like me, they've gone through the process, and they are willing to try to meet me somewhere reasonable. So you're already a step ahead of the game in that sense.<p>I've used something to the effect of "I'm sure you have a range in mind for this position that's commensurate with fair market rates. And I'm willing to be a team player and probably meet you somewhere along those lines. Can you tell me roughly what you're targeting for this role?"<p>Most recruiters will be fairly candid with you. They'll offer something at the lower to mid range of the target band. At least that'll be a ballpark. From there, you need to decide if it's worth pursuing the process based on whether you'd be happy accepting what they told you + whatever you might be able to negotiate on top of it.<p>The downside to this approach is that you allow them to anchor [2], in other words, your continuation of the process implies an inherent acceptance of the reasonableness of what they quote you. (And this is Google, after all, so they are likely to suggest something pretty reasonable in the first place.)<p>There is no upside to quoting your current salary, and it is almost never a dealbreaker if you punt on answering.<p>[1] BATNA = Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement. In simple terms, this is your fallback option. The best fallback option is the strongest market price you can get independent of this offer. This isn't an invitation to shop an offer you receive, but rather, an establishment of your market value. A soft offer from another firm, ideally prior to going down the line with Google, is a form of BATNA. If you have no other options at the moment, then your current salary becomes your BATNA by default.<p>[2] An anchor is a frame of reference established by the first person to throw out a number. A ballsy approach would be to anchor high right off the bat. Sometimes this works. Sometimes it backfires. I wouldn't suggest a bold anchor unless you know what you're doing. I also would caution against a high anchor if you know it's unreasonable relative to your best guess at the band this position occupies.