I got invited for interview by the company directly via a recruiter agency. The process was slow but pleasant. The job portal through which I was contacted clearly stated my expected salary but after about 5-6 weeks of hope and excitement, I was offered quite lower than my expected salary which actually turned out to be lesser than what I was making at my then employer. The offer was declined. The product, culture and personnel seemed cool but the business probably still operates as a conventional German entity where they offer the bare minimum in the hope of negotiations (pure speculation on my part). However, nowadays it is difficult to trust an employer with that mindset as it gives the impression that throughout your tenure at the company, you will have to negotiate for any raises. I personally believe in such a scenario your financial growth totally depends on your power of negotiation and not on your ability and/or skills.