Every time this advice comes up I groan because it's so specific to a single type of individual and a single sector-economy convergence. If you're not a top engineer applying to companies with massive salary caps, or especially if you're not a typical dev/PM role this advice is generally crap and will waste your time.
My advice for people who don't fall into the above:
1) Spend time to actually figure out what you are realistically worth in a new role. Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, H1B comp reports, ask your friends, there are tons of resources to do this.
2) Set a "reach" salary based on #1 and ask for that up front. 20% above your target salary is a good starting point. This accomplishes two things: a) it immediately weeds out all the spam recruiters and low-balling companies without wasting hours of your time on interviews; and b) it puts you in the right place to negotiate with the companies that are serious rather than trying to play chicken the entire time.
3) Set a floor below which you walk away and stick to it. The floor is going to be different for different companies. If there's a company you really want to work for because they're doing interesting things and you like the people there, your floor should be lower than at a generic job you're just considering as a ladder rung.
Will this advice potentially get you less than the absolute max you could make? Sure. But if that's your only goal then you should hire a personal recruiter working for you.
My advice for people who don't fall into the above:
1) Spend time to actually figure out what you are realistically worth in a new role. Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, H1B comp reports, ask your friends, there are tons of resources to do this.
2) Set a "reach" salary based on #1 and ask for that up front. 20% above your target salary is a good starting point. This accomplishes two things: a) it immediately weeds out all the spam recruiters and low-balling companies without wasting hours of your time on interviews; and b) it puts you in the right place to negotiate with the companies that are serious rather than trying to play chicken the entire time.
3) Set a floor below which you walk away and stick to it. The floor is going to be different for different companies. If there's a company you really want to work for because they're doing interesting things and you like the people there, your floor should be lower than at a generic job you're just considering as a ladder rung.
Will this advice potentially get you less than the absolute max you could make? Sure. But if that's your only goal then you should hire a personal recruiter working for you.