[jshawl]

"I'm looking for the right fit in a career and am open to many different compensation options".

and then after three or so more iterations of that:

"I appreciate your persistence but there's truly no single thing, including salary, that would convince me to accept or pass on an offer"

[jshawl]

but.. what if they lowball in the end? isn't that a reason to give up your expected salary?

IMHO I'd rather have the interview and negotiation experience than the time back. Practice makes perfect.

[batmaniam]

Yea but what about 2-3 years down the line? You've basically set the baseline at which the recruiter will start from. Your next jump will be just maybe +5k instead of +20k since they know how much you made.