[arachnids]

> If you share and your amount is > the employers, you have no job.

FWIW, I have never had this happen to me in the Valley. Companies will either make projections on what their stock will be worth in the future to make their offer look as attractive as my current pay, or they'll straight up tell me that they have a leveling chart and $X is the maximum they can offer.

Asking me is a rational thing for them to do because they have nothing to lose - same outcome if I decline, win if I accept.

[fleitz]

Exactly, it's game theory. The trick to getting high salaries is not to try to win individual negotiations but to win in the general marketplace. I always disclose and ask for their pay so that we can get that out of the way quickly, and I can move on to somewhere that pays what I'm looking for.