I don't know why everyone in these threads is always obsessed with hit rate. It's totally irrelevant. It doesn't tell you anything.
If your success rate is 90%, you're probably applying for positions that pay less than you're worth. If you stretch your salary target, your hit rate will go down. 2% hit rate on $200k jobs is better than 90% hit rate on $40k jobs, end of discussion. Final salary relative to actual value is all that matters, and that's very hard to evaluate.
I’m living in a major metropolitan area on the east coast. The salary range locally for any level is at most $35K -$40K. That’s real money, but the interview process is not much different for the high end and the low end. It’s mostly based on skills and experience.
> Of course it will affect specific stages more than others
I don't think thats particularly obvious; if a weak candidate is applying above their weight, I would think a resume/recruiter screen is just as likely to screen them out as a tech screen.
If your success rate is 90%, you're probably applying for positions that pay less than you're worth. If you stretch your salary target, your hit rate will go down. 2% hit rate on $200k jobs is better than 90% hit rate on $40k jobs, end of discussion. Final salary relative to actual value is all that matters, and that's very hard to evaluate.