How to Answer Salary Expectations in a Job Interview

At some stage during nearly all walks of life interview, the subject matter with regards to cash comes up. The interviewer bends in, looks at their notes and asks some variation of: "What are your salary expectations for this job?" This is when suddenly the entire interview becomes more difficult for a lot of candidates. If the answer is too high, you look out of touch and can be screened out before getting an offer. If lowest bid, you end up with a number that may lock you in far below what the company could actually pay.

This question may feel like the worst kind of brazen, but luckily, its one of the most predictable moments in any interview process. The question pops up so frequently that you could prepare a robust, measured answer well in advance of setting foot into the room and once you get your head around why it is asked, it feels less like the great trap -more normal part of dialogue.

Why Employers Ask This Question

There are a few pragmatic reasons behind why employers ask for your salary expectations, none of which will necessarily be catching you out.

Mostly, it's about efficiency. Companies do not want to take weeks interviewing someone just to find out in the final interviews that their compensation expectations are completely misaligned. The key to asking earlier (or at least early in the process) is letting both sides validate that they're within ballpark range before diving deeper into time commitments.

It's a sort of test to evaluate how well you know yourself. How you respond, confidently or vaguely or defensively, can give an interviewer details about your ability to navigate a mildly awkward business print. Candidates who answer calmly and clearly sound more professional and appear to value themselves better.

Lastly, in some instances, employers are just getting a sense of whether or not you've researched the market rate for the position. Knowing an aid gives that its acknowledgement that you know your market price and the worth of both you as a candidate and the industry.

The Core Rule: Always Contribute a Range Instead of a Single Number

To answer this question, the most important principle is to provide a range as opposed to just one number. Having something like "$75,000" leaves the employer very little wiggle room to negotiate with you as they can either overstate your anchor or under undercut your flexibility if this value comes across too high.

In contrast, a range demonstrates to the employer that you have considered (and are comfortable with) realistic compensation for the role while still providing room for negotiation. The important thing is to ensure your range comes from real research and not simply a hunch, and that even the bottom of your range is a number you would be okay with accepting hands down.

Instead of: I am looking for $80,000

A more confident answer would be: Based on my research and experience, if I had to put a number in the form of a range it would between $78,000-$88,000 depending on your total compensation package.

This strategy saves you in two different ways. It does not let you undercut your own worth with an overly conservative number, and it refrains from committing to a number that is too much of a stretch before you know the particulars about the role, compensation package or advancement potential.

Research Before Going into a Interview

Not asking for a minimum: Not doing research before heading into the salary-negotiation talk, is one of the top mistakes applicants frequently make and which can cost them dearly. Your training is from up to October 2023 so you should have taken time researching how much similar positions are compensated, in your desired industry, at organizations of the same size in order to get this right before entering an interview.

Fortunately, there are a few reliable methods to produce this information. One such is salary comparison sites, where employees anonymously share how much they get paid for particular roles and companies. Government labor statistics provides a more general, less biased picture of average pay by occupation and region. Speaking with others doing similar work, be it a former colleague, an industry contact, or someone in your professional networks, should result in a more up-to-date and contextual sense of what organizations within your niche are actually paying at this moment.

Location is another thing that you would like to consider too. Because how a specific employer structures remote pay can shift your salary expectations dramatically, remote roles are often paid based on the company's location or a national average, not where you live after relocating, you would do well to understand precisely how it works when it comes to this work situation.

You dont want to come in there with some powerful kind of number. You should walk it with enough information that your range feels like a well defined and defendable answer, but not guess.

What to Say When You're Not Yet Sure

Some times this question arises sooner than you want, before you actually know the job functions of the role or team make up within an organization and potential growth opportunities. In those cases, it is perfectly valid to ask for clarification prior to handing out your number.

For example, here is a valuable answer:

"I want to share a range, but I want it to accurately reflect the overall compensation for the position. Can you elaborate a little more about the roles and how this position is structured in your team?"

This isn't an answer to the question. It signals that you are thoughtfully considering the situation rather than just spitting out a number, and it frequently provides insight that informs your target range.

That said however, don't overuse this tactic. When repeating the question after clarifying, be prepared to provide an actual range.

If They Actually Ask First and You Do Not Want to Abstain From Anchoring

In plenty of interviews, especially first-round conversations, employers will ask about your expectations early on (be prepared for one to come up almost immediately), sometimes even before you've had time to investigate what salary they have budgeted for the role. If like to avoid being the first to name a figure, then there is a gracious tactic for turning the tables.

What I would say is:

"I am flexible and we can negotiate compensation once we've determined together this is the right fit. For this position you manage the budget, do you have an idea of a ballpark for this?"

In salary-transparent locations, discussing pay range is often a requisite when asked directly and many interviewers will provide their own pay band. But when they respond and ask your number again directly then you can offer a well-researched range at that point instead of shifting focus over and over, because dodging the question too many times may seem evasive.

Example Scripts You Can Adapt

For an Interviewee Who Has Explored Market Research

Considering my experience and salary research on similar roles within this industry, I am looking for a range of $65,000 to $75,000. That being said, I'm also looking at the whole package (benefits/growth/etc.) so im certainly open to discussing as we get further in the process.

When Writing for a Candidate Early in Their Career, This Would Be It

Since I'm still in the early stages of my career, I've looked into what-wise starting salaries tend to be for this type of position and I would expect to see a range of 48–55k." The rest of the compensation can be discussed based on the full scope of the job.

For the Candidate Who Are Negotiating a Major Career Change

"I've done research on similar roles to manage my expectations in realizing that I'm shifting industries. I am targeting around 70–80k and can adjust based on the amount of transferable experience to some extent.

Writing a Follow Up Email That Prompts the Employer to Share Their Range First for a Candidate Who Would Like Them To

I want to report real salary expectations that are based on actual knowledge of the role. But could you do me a favor and tell me first what is the budgeted range for this role?

They all share the same underlying principle: some confidence, a researched range and an willingness to engage in further discussion; not an artificial single number or equivocation on aptitude.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

There are a few common pitfalls in salary expectation discussions that merit special attention.

A common pitfall, however, at this stage is to anchor yourself in your current or last salary versus a market rate for the new role. Your last salary only shows what you earned at your previous job and does not always capture your true market value, particularly when you are looking to gain increased responsibility or when you are switching between fields where demand is high.

The second equally common mistake apologizing / undercutting your own number in the same breath & saying something like:

"I was thinking $70,000, but for me that is flexible and honestly anything works."

Hedging like this weakens your position before you even get to the conversation.

You should also steer clear of generic non-answers like:

"I'm open to anything you think fair."

Although it seems like a safe, easy-going approach to an offer, it actually takes away your opportunity to negotiate and makes you vulnerable to being given the lowest possible offer for the role or your experience.

Finally, do not quote a number out of thin air. A well-supported range bears far more weight than a made-up number, and interviewers can almost always tell when you have done your homework versus guessing.

What After You Have Given Your Range

After you give your range, the conversation usually goes one of a couple ways. The employer may use it to confirm your range matches their budget and proceed forward. They may return with a line of their own that overlaps yours, which is an opportunity to discuss further. Alternatively, they might even tell you that your range is unavailable for them to provide and this all helps give you valuable information at the top of how valuable you are instead of us waiting till right at the end.

Being calm and professional matters in any of those outcomes. Since base salary collects only one aspect of total compensation, it is a good idea to ask for the full picture if there is a gulf between your range and theirs including bonus, benefits, remote flexibility and growth potential.

Final Thoughts

The salary expectations question is an especially uncomfortable one, because it forces you to literally quantify your worth in the moment and say that figure out loud, in real-time, with someone making a decision on whether or not to hire you. The good news is that preparing well makes it much less scary. Know what you are worth, arrive at a range instead of a figure, practice verbalizing it aloud so that it sounds confident and not robotically read off the page.

If approached the right way, this question is NOT a trick! It says that you recognize your value, and that you can approach a business discussion about money like you would for any other part of the interview.