[bartread]

Speaking from the candidate's perspective, I tend to avoid companies where money is discussed upfront. I want to be able to demonstrate the value I can add, and then have a negotiation about remuneration based on that value.

Bluntly, yes, it does put the candidate in a much stronger negotiating position but, hey, if you really want to hire good people then I'm afraid it's hard cheese. Conversely talking about remuneration upfront puts the candidate on the back foot because there's substantially less of a basis for convincing negotiation, so it really becomes about cutting costs for the company.

Unless you absolutely have to - sometimes you might not have any other option, and you shouldn't let pride blind you to that reality when you're facing it - I'd always recommend you avoid working for anyone where you've had to discuss money first.

[developer2]

The discussion of compensation is an extremely simple concept: you wait for the candidate to bring it up, and you discuss it only at that point in time. The interviewer should never bring up compensation before the candidate does, unless the potential employee is so shy that they are waiting for the employer to do so first. The moment an employer tries to pre-emptively bring up the topic of money before it makes sense, it shows their true colors - they care far too much about the money rather than the talent they are hiring.

It really is that basic. When the company cares more about the money than what the employee can bring, they've shown their company cares more about their internal politics then they do about their future success. Simple as that.