There is no surefire way to get a recruiter to be honest with you about the salary range they're hiring within. That's the kind of information they want to keep private, usually for the purpose of lowballing interviewees if they can. Sure, there's the occasional recruiter who wants to give you a salary at the top of the range, but that really only happens when they're incredibly generous, you're literally the most qualified person in the world or both. Those factors rarely come together, so you, as a humble citizen, need to figure out a strategy for getting the most money you can possibly get. I think the best way is to be honest about your expectations and price yourself appropriately. It's vital that you don't lowball yourself before they can lowball you first. Redditors recently came together to share their strategies, and some of them sound more effective than others.