I know this sounds silly, but I feel so happy and refreshed by this very brief exchange.

Because of my history with recruiters and prospective employers, I have gotten to the point where whenever I get a recruitment message or a response to a submitted resume, my very first message/statement is my salary expectations.

I understand it may be considered rude or blunt to some, but I just have been burned too many times jumping through 3 or 5 or even 7 hoops between phone screens, team interviews and 1-on-1s with department heads just to not discuss compensation until the final meeting and find we are drastically far apart in our numbers.

This guy sent me a message on LinkedIn with a fairly good opportunity from a company I know in my industry. I sent my usual polite reply that includes something along the lines of "I am currently only pursuing positions with a minimum base pay of ________". Rather than give me the run around or ask for a resume or any number of excuses I'm used to, he simply said:

"Thank you for the follow up. Blunt is perfectly ok.....I think your target is going to be outside of the range that my client is looking at unfortunately, but please let me know if I can be a resource for you in your search!"

I reacted glowingly, gave him a copy of my resume for potential future opportunities and thanked him for his professionalism and respect. Feeling so happy to not have wasted hours to days of my life on an opportunity I never would have considered.