The best answer to "what are your salary expectations?" depends on how early you're being asked. In a first recruiter screen, deflect once and ask for their budgeted range. If they press, give a researched range with your target near the bottom of it, and never a single number. Once you have an offer in hand, the question is over and you're negotiating, which is a different conversation with different words.
Most people lose money here not because they don't know the theory, but because the question arrives eight minutes into a call they were not expecting to be about money, and they answer from instinct. Instinct almost always anchors low. Here are the actual scripts.
Key takeaways
- Deflect once, politely, then ask for the range the role is budgeted at. This is normal and recruiters expect it.
- If pressed, give a range, never a single number, and put your real target at or near the bottom of it.
- Research the range before the call. A number you can't justify is a number you'll abandon under pressure.
- The first number spoken anchors the whole negotiation. Getting them to say it first is worth real money.
- After an offer, counter once, specifically, and with a reason. Most candidates never counter at all.
- The failure mode is freezing, not ignorance. This is a live conversation skill, so rehearse it out loud.
Why this question comes so early
Recruiters ask about money in the first screen for an unglamorous reason: they're filtering. They have a band approved by finance, and a call that ends in "we were never going to be in the same universe" is a wasted hour for both of you. That's genuinely fair.
But the same question does second duty. Whatever number you say first becomes the anchor for everything after it. If you say a number below their band, almost no company will correct you upward. They'll write it down, offer you slightly above it, and you'll feel like you won.
So your goal isn't to dodge the question forever. It's to avoid being the one who sets the anchor, and to make sure that if you do have to set it, the number is researched rather than improvised.
Stage 1: the recruiter screen (deflect once)
This is the most common place the question lands, usually in the phone screen. Your first move is a polite redirect:
"I'd rather understand the scope of the role a bit better before putting a number on it. Do you have a budgeted range for this position? I'm happy to tell you quickly whether that works."
That's it. It's warm, it's cooperative, and it hands the question back without sounding evasive. Many recruiters will simply tell you the range, and in a growing number of places pay transparency rules mean they have to publish or disclose it anyway. If they give you a range, you've won the exchange: you now know the field before you commit to anything.
Two other versions, depending on the tone of the call:
"It depends a lot on the full package, so I'd want to see the whole picture first. What range is approved for the role?"
"I'm flexible for the right role. What did you have budgeted?"
Stage 2: they push for your number anyway
Some recruiters will insist, sometimes because their own process requires them to log a figure. Deflecting twice starts to read as difficult, so give a range. The script:
"Based on what I've seen for similar roles in this market, I'd be looking somewhere in the range of X to Y, depending on the overall package and scope. Does that line up with what you have budgeted?"
Three rules for building X and Y:
- Your real target is X, the bottom. Companies hear a range and reach for the lower end. If you'd be happy at 90, your range starts at 90, not ends there.
- Keep the spread sensible. Roughly 10 to 20 percent between X and Y reads as researched. A range twice as wide as that reads as "I have no idea."
- Attach a reason. "Based on what I've seen for similar roles" costs you nothing and makes the number feel derived rather than wished for.
Then stop talking. The silence after your number is uncomfortable and it is not your job to fill it. Filling it is how people talk themselves down before anyone has pushed back.
Stage 3: answering it by email
Written answers are easier because you get to draft them, and harder because they're permanent. Keep it short, keep the redirect, and don't over-explain:
Hi [Name], thanks for reaching out. Before I put a figure on it I'd like to understand the scope a little better, is there a budgeted range for the role? Happy to confirm quickly whether we're aligned.
If a form or an application field demands a number and won't accept text, put your researched target rather than a placeholder. "Negotiable" in a required numeric field often gets read as zero by the system parsing it, and a suspiciously round low number will follow you through the process.
Stage 4: you have an offer (now negotiate)
Once there's an offer, everything changes. They've chosen you, they've spent real time and money getting here, and re-running the search is expensive for them. This is the point of maximum leverage you will ever have with this company, and most candidates spend it by saying "yes, thank you" within the hour.
Counter once, specifically, with a reason:
"Thank you, I'm genuinely excited about this. I was hoping we could get the base to X. Given [the scope of the role / the depth of experience I'm bringing in this area / where similar roles are landing in this market], that's the number that would let me say yes right now."
The phrase that does the heavy lifting is "that would let me say yes right now." It converts your counter from a complaint into a closeable deal, and it gives the hiring manager something concrete to take to whoever approves it.
If base is genuinely fixed, the package rarely is. Sign-on bonus, an earlier review date, extra leave, title, start date, equipment budget, remote days. Ask what else is flexible, and be specific about which of those you actually want.
And if you're asked to justify the number, this is where a scored, evidence-backed sense of your own company and market research pays off. "That's what I want" is not an argument. "That's where this scope lands in this market, and here's what I'd be taking on" is.
The three answers that cost people money
| Answer | Why it costs you |
|---|---|
| A single number, given first, unresearched | Sets the anchor at whatever your nerves picked, and no company corrects it upward |
| "I'm flexible" / "whatever's fair" | Reads as no floor at all; the offer arrives at the bottom of the band |
| Your current salary | Carries an old, possibly underpaid market rate into a new job, and in many places they're not even allowed to ask |
On that last one: if you're asked what you currently earn, you can decline without drama. "I'd rather focus on the value of this role than what I was paid at my last one, my expectation for this position is X to Y." Depending on where you are, the question may not be legal to ask in the first place.
The real problem is that this is live
You can read every script on this page, agree with all of it, and still say "uh, whatever you think is fair" when a recruiter asks you at minute six of a friendly call. That's not a knowledge failure. It's a performance failure, and it's the same one that shows up in interviews: under mild social pressure, prepared answers evaporate and you default to being agreeable.
The fix is the same too. Say the words out loud, to something that pushes back, until they stop feeling rude. A counterpart that responds to your range with "that's above our band" or "is that negotiable?" is the rep that matters, because the hard part was never the number. It was holding it for the four seconds after you said it.
Prepare the same way you'd prepare for the closing questions: decide the words in advance, rehearse them until they're boring, then let the actual conversation shape which one you use.
FAQ
What should I say when asked about salary expectations?
Deflect once and ask for their budgeted range: "I'd rather understand the scope a bit better first, do you have a range approved for this role?" If they press, give a researched range rather than a single number, with your real target at the bottom of it, and add a short reason such as "based on what I've seen for similar roles in this market."
Should I give a salary number first?
Avoid it if you can. Whoever speaks first sets the anchor for the rest of the negotiation, and companies rarely correct a low number upward. Ask for their range first. If they genuinely won't move without a figure from you, give a range you've researched rather than refusing twice, which starts to read as difficult.
How do I answer salary expectations in an email?
Keep it to two sentences: thank them, then redirect once. "Before I put a figure on it I'd like to understand the scope a little better, is there a budgeted range for the role?" If an application form requires a number and won't accept text, enter your researched target rather than a placeholder, since low or round filler numbers follow you through the process.
What if my salary expectation is too high for them?
Then you found out early, which is the point. Ask where their band actually sits and whether the gap can be closed with other parts of the package. If it can't, you've saved yourself several rounds of interviews for a job you'd have turned down. Naming a real range is a filter that works in both directions.
Should I tell a recruiter my current salary?
No, and in many places they aren't permitted to ask. Your current salary reflects an old role and possibly an underpaid market rate. Redirect politely: "I'd rather focus on the value of this role than what I was paid previously, my expectation here is X to Y."
How do I negotiate after receiving a job offer?
Counter once, specifically, with a reason and a close: "I'm excited about this. I was hoping we could get the base to X. Given the scope of the role, that's the number that would let me say yes right now." If base is fixed, ask what else is flexible: sign-on bonus, an earlier review, leave, title, or start date. Then name the one you actually want.
How much should I ask for above the offer?
A counter in the range of roughly 5 to 15 percent above the offer is common and rarely causes offence, provided you can justify it with scope, market rate, or the experience you're bringing. What matters more than the exact percentage is that you counter at all, name one specific number, and pair it with a reason rather than a wish.