The recruiter asked me my current salary, and I caved and told her. I wish I hadn't because I feel it's low and I don't want them to think they can offer me a slightly less low salary, but still low. How can I work this to my benefit?
If you're located in California they are not allowed to ask that question
Who told you that?
there are some laws about it, they can ask but you definitely don't have to answer.
Have multiple interviews in parallel. once you have more than one offer it doesn't matter what's your current compensation - it only matter which offer (and company) is the most interesting option for you.
just tell them you don't discuss your salary history, and instead say what range/number you are looking for. it's none of their business really, even though they all try to ask
Read "Never Split the Difference" by Christopher Voss if you really want to succeed in salary negotiation
Most places are not allowed to ask. I would just say you'd rather not discuss salary at this time and rather negotiate based on my skills when the time comes
You told it to the recruiter, which doesn't really matter. If you get through the funnel, they'll offer you the minimum of what your ask was, and you can always counteroffer it. Just use online salary sources like paysa to assess what you think you deserve.
Potentially, you can counter-ask "what is the range for this position?" and then reply "I'm comfortable with that" or "I'd need to be towards the top of that range."
I always says that I want to focus on making sure we are a good fit and we discuss comp for the value of the role that I can bring to the company at the end. If they require a value for that, I put $1. Patrick McKenzie has a great blog post / podcast episode about salary negotiation for engineers. http://www.kalzumeus.com/2016/06/03/kalzumeus-podcast-episode-12-salary-negotiation-with-josh-doody/
Not providing current salary is often enough to kill your application. Even if that doesn't happen, recruiters usually have HR contracts in the larger companies and can get at that info without you. You may think you're being cagey and smart, but it actually hurts more than in helps. The right company will pay you what you're worth. If you spend a long time looking and can't ever seem to get that number, it may be time to reflect whether the market has made a more accurate assessment of your worth to any given company than you have. Positive allusions are a double-edged sword.
This is terrible advice. I've never heard of someone losing an offer from not providing their current salary. It just doesn't matter wrt the range for the position. The right company is always willing to negotiate on comp if they really want you.
I've seen plenty of offers not given because someone wouldn't give salary data. It's all relative. Maybe I've had more visibility into the hiring process at the companies I've been at, maybe you've worked at companies with a significantly different approach to hiring. We've obviously had different experiences. What I've observed is that salary history is a reflection of market valuation. HR inevitably gets that data. If you're unwilling to give them the data, it's because your ask significantly outstrips what can be justified by history. Instead of hiding it, I'd face it head on and address why your ask is justified by your skills and experience, and why your history doesn't support that. If they don't agree, you can expect the gap to exist in any evaluation the company does of you in the future, such as perf evals and comp reviews. Best to move on.
do a lot of research to help argue your case for a competitive salary