Negotiating pay when I have been out of work - what worked for you?

A recruiter asked for my salary expectations on a first call as I look for work as a pharmacy technician. I am in Baltimore, in case local advice matters. I looked up ranges in Baltimore and they vary a lot. What did you say?

I gave a range based on local postings and said I was flexible depending on the whole package. They did not push back.

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.