They asked for your number. Make them open the spreadsheet first.
What to Say When They Ask Your Salary Expectations First
When asked your salary expectations, hand the number back first: "You'll have a clearer sense of the band than I do - what range is this role budgeted at?" If the process genuinely needs a figure, give a researched range with the floor set at your target and tie it to the market: "For this scope, comparable roles commonly run [X] to [Y], so that's where I'd land."
The move only works if you've done twenty minutes of research so your range is real rather than a guess. Deflect when you have the least leverage - the early phone screen - and anchor high, tied to the market and your value, once they clearly want you.
The situation
The question sounds like logistics, but its real job is to get a number out of you while you're still guessing. The employer has a salary band on a spreadsheet; you have a hunch, and the person holding less information gives up more. Name a low figure and they'll never volunteer the difference - the offer just lands a little above your guess and feels generous. Name a high one with no reasoning and a junior recruiter may screen you out before anyone who values you sees your name.
Leverage is the other half. It peaks the moment they've fallen for you and bottoms out before they know you, so the early phone screen is the worst possible time to commit to a number - they don't want you yet. That's why the default early move is to deflect: stay warm, stay vague, and push the range back to them. Later, once they clearly want you, a high anchor tied to the market does the opposite work, because the conversation forms around your number instead of theirs.
Free-text field: Open / Negotiable based on full role details Range field (set the low end at the number you actually want): Enter: 130,000 to 145,000 (when 130 is your real target) Never: 100,000 to 140,000 (the employer hears the floor) Single-number field that rejects text: Enter a figure you would genuinely accept - not a low one, which becomes the floor for every later conversation, and not the very top, which risks an automated screen-out before a human reads your name. You reopen the real number in conversation, where the form has no memory of what you typed. Notes box, if there is one: Salary entered is a placeholder pending role scope. Open to discussing the full package.
Say this
- I'm flexible at this stage and more focused on whether the role is the right fit. What range has the team budgeted for this position?
- So I can give you a useful answer instead of a guess, what range is approved for this hire?
- For a role at this level with these responsibilities, comparable positions commonly run [X] to [Y], so that's the range I'd work within. Where does that sit against your budget?
- Here's where I'm aiming: [X] to [Y], based on the market for this role and the results I can point to. I'd rather start there than walk something back later.
- That's under where the market puts this role and where I'd need to be. What's the room to get closer to [X], with bonus and equity in the picture?
- I'd rather focus on the value I'd bring to this role than on past comp. Based on the market for this scope, I'm targeting [X].
Floor at your real target, top ambitious but defensible
Build a range where the bottom is a number you'd happily accept and the top is roughly 15 to 20 percent above it - a single number invites them to treat it as a ceiling and chip below. Source the figures from the posted band where the law requires one, from comparable titles for your exact city and seniority, and from one person doing the job. Then run your counter through the salary counter-offer calculator before you name it.
How it sounds
The early phone screen. The recruiter leads with money to filter you, not to pay you well.
Why this works: You answer a number question with a range question. The recruiter holds the spreadsheet, so you make them open it first, which puts you inside their real budget instead of your guess - and this early, before they want you, is exactly when you have the least to gain by naming a figure.
They push back, and the process genuinely wants a number before it moves on.
Why this works: You stop resisting before it costs rapport, anchor on the market rather than on need, and close on a question so the figure goes straight back to them. Deflecting once or twice is normal; refusing to ever give a figure when the process needs one is what reads as evasive.
You named your range, and the counter comes in low.
Why this works: You hold the anchor, name the gap without apology, and pull the conversation onto total compensation, where stuck salary talks actually get unstuck. A lowball is just an opening position - counter it calmly and it usually moves.
A real offer in hand, and you'd rather be here.
Why this works: A real second offer is the strongest lever there is, and it works best stated plainly, with a number and no ultimatum. Name the figure only when it helps you - if the other offer is lower than your target here, keep it vague and sell the demand instead. Never invent one, because a caught bluff ends the negotiation.
What not to say
Don't scaffold your number with personal need. Rent, debt, a partner's job - real as they are, they tell the employer how little you can afford to walk away, which is the opposite of bargaining power. Justify with the market, the scope, and your track record only.
Don't anchor off your current salary. "I make [X] now" invites "we'll give you a nice bump" and caps your raise at your old employer's number instead of this role's market value. Many US states and cities now bar employers from asking about or relying on salary history, though many jurisdictions don't and there is no federal rule - so wherever the job is, you can redirect to your expectations for this role rather than hand over the old figure.
And don't invent a competing offer. A second offer is the strongest lever you have, but recruiters talk and references get called, and one caught bluff sinks the whole negotiation. If you don't have one, source leverage from the market and from the rounds of interviews they've already invested in you.
Try it against someone who pushes back
Rehearse holding your number against PatriciaFree scenario · no card · she asks for your number early and pushes when you deflect
Common mistakes
- Naming a number first while under-informed. The default error, and the most expensive - research first, and a number becomes a tool instead of a gamble.
- Anchoring off your current salary. It caps your raise at your old employer's number instead of this role's market value; redirect to your expectations for the role.
- Justifying the number with personal need. Rent and debt aren't bargaining power - use the market, the scope, and your results.
- Putting your real floor at the bottom of your range. They hear the floor, so set it where you'd be genuinely pleased.
- Flinching and over-explaining after you name a figure. State the range, then stop talking - whoever fills the silence is at the disadvantage.
- Accepting on the spot. Even a great offer gets a 24-hour pause: "I'd like to review the full details and get back to you by Thursday."
- Inventing a competing offer. Recruiters talk and references get called, and one caught bluff sinks the whole negotiation.
Questions people ask
What do I put for salary expectations on an application form?
Enter a figure you would genuinely accept, never a low one, because a number on a form tends to become your floor. If the field takes a range, use one whose bottom is your real target and whose top is ambitious but defensible. If it is free text, write something like "open, based on the full role and market" or "negotiable". If it forces one number and you have not researched yet, put your researched target rather than a placeholder or a zero, since blanks and lowball entries can trip an automated screen-out.
How do you answer "What are your salary expectations?"
Hand the number back before you name one: "You'll have a clearer sense of the band than I do - what range is this role budgeted at?" If the process genuinely needs a figure, give a researched range with the floor set at your target and tie it to the market: "For this scope, comparable roles commonly run [X] to [Y], so that's where I'd land. Where does that sit against your budget?" Deflect when you have the least leverage, and anchor once they clearly want you.
Should I give a single number or a range?
A range, almost always, with the bottom set at your real target and the top roughly 15 to 20 percent above it. A single number invites them to treat it as a ceiling and chip below; a range lets you anchor high while sounding flexible. The exception is a form that forces one figure, where you enter a number you'd genuinely accept - never a low one, because it becomes the floor, and never the very top, which can trigger an automated screen-out.
What if I have no idea what the role pays?
Research first - twenty minutes is usually enough to stop guessing. Check the posted band (a growing number of US states and cities require it for many employers, and the EU is phasing in a similar rule, so it varies by where the job is), pull comparable titles for your city and seniority, and talk to one person doing the job. Build a range where the bottom is a number you'd happily accept and the top is ambitious but defensible.
They asked what I make now. Do I have to tell them?
In many US states and cities, and a growing number of countries, it's illegal for an employer to ask about or rely on your salary history - but there is no federal ban and many places have none, so whether the rule protects you depends on where the job is. Either way you're never obligated to volunteer the figure. Redirect to the future: "I'd rather focus on the value I'd bring to this role than on past comp. Based on the market for this scope, I'm targeting [X]."
Is it risky to deflect when they ask for a number?
Deflecting once or twice is normal and expected; recruiters do it to you constantly. What reads as evasive is refusing to ever give a figure when the process genuinely needs one. Deflect to their range first, and if they hold firm, give a researched range tied to the market. You satisfy the gate without committing to a single point estimate.
Practice the real thing
The techniques this uses
Drill it until it's a reflex
Rehearse holding your number against PatriciaFree scenario · no card · she asks for your number early and pushes when you deflect