Negotiation - done via phone call or email? Modes and stating a number?

My experience is that your point of contact has absolutely no ability to make a decision independently when negotiating. They have been trained in the art of candidate jiu jitsu, trying to use leverage against you to get a number. When they do tell you a number, they can’t change it themselves. You can make a counter, you can ask for at least TC of X, etc. You can say “nope, just higher” they will have a hard time. They know the first number is (possibly) below your minimum, or you’re bluffing. When you do give a counter offer or whatever, they just go to some unknowable entity and come back with a new offer. Doing this by phone gives you no advantage. They don’t have to make any decisions or have any pressure at all. At least by email you can craft a response, get feedback, etc.

Best to negotiate once you have a written/verbal offer. Typically you want to avoid giving a number.

Before Interview

Dodge the question "I'm more interested in understanding if this role is a fit for me. I'd like to first understand the role more before coming up with a number". They will typically give you a range based on JD and say ok just so you know this is the alotted range. I typically just say yes here. This is also typically base which has less room for negotiation

After Interview

I would definitely do it by email. If they put you on the phone and ask for a number pass it back and ask for a range. If they press you for an amount give a lower bound for alignment. Never give an upper bound. I would not initiate negotiation until they roll out some form of verbal/written offer

Never disclose what companies you are interviewing for. Just say I have no details regarding deadlines to share at the moment

How/when do you negotiate?

Definitely do email instead of phone. Negotiation is a game of information warfare, and you reveal less information via email. When you're on the phone, they can hear the tone of your voice, how you respond to things, etc. Even with audio-only, body language cues can shine through. In terms of when, play it reactively (i.e. when they give an initial number or ask you for one).

What do you do if they explicitly ask you what your salary # amount is?

Rahul's course covers this in-depth: https://www.jointaro.com/course/the-insiders-guide-to-negotiating-your-tech-salary-and-compensation/what-if-i-have-to-give-a-number/

In terms of revealing other companies, you can reveal it vaguely if you have leverage - In Meta's case, you would need other Big Tech companies or top startups. If you do have open loops at those companies, you can just mention that you're interviewing with other prestigious Big Tech companies (this makes Meta afraid that they'll lose you to a competitor).