What they're really testing
Risk, not curiosityTwo things are happening. First, a screen: the recruiter needs to know whether your expectations fit the band they have, so they don't run a full process with someone they can't afford. Second, an anchor: whatever number you say tends to frame everything that follows. That's why a confident, researched range works in your favour and a low guess works against you. You're not just answering a question, you're setting the starting point of the negotiation.
- Alarm · the single low numberSay "around $120k" and you've likely capped yourself there, even if they'd have paid more.
- Alarm · whatever you think is fairIt hands them all the leverage and signals you don't know what the role pays.
- Alarm · wildly out of bandA number far outside their range can end the process, sometimes without a counter-offer.
- Alarm · refusing to engageA flat "I'd rather not say" reads as difficult. Deferring with a reason does not.
The shape of a strong answer
Range, anchored, composedGive a range whose floor you would genuinely accept, because you may be held to it. Anchor it to the market rate for this role, at this level, in this location, rather than to what you're paid now. Say the number once, without apologising for it or immediately hedging it, and add the basis so it reads as researched rather than hopeful.
Fill this in
“Based on what I'm seeing for [role] at [level] in [location], I'm looking at [floor] to [top]. I'm flexible on the mix between base and equity depending on how you structure it.”
The last clause matters more than it looks: it keeps you engaged and cooperative without moving the number. Once there's an offer on the table, the conversation changes shape entirely, and how to negotiate a job offer covers that half.
The hard cases, answered honestly
Where it gets stressfulAlmost nobody gets asked this in ideal conditions. Here's how to answer in the situations that actually come up.
It's the recruiter's first question
Move · ask for their rangePerfectly normal this early. Ask what they've budgeted for the level, and most recruiters will tell you. If they won't, give your range rather than refusing.
You're currently underpaid
Move · anchor to market, never to nowYour current salary is irrelevant to what this role is worth, and in several places they aren't allowed to ask. Price the job, not your history.
They ask what you currently earn
Move · redirect to expectationsYou don't have to answer it, and in parts of the US, UK and EU they can't require it. Redirect once, politely, and give your researched range instead.
You have no idea what the market pays
Move · do it before the callHalf an hour on levels data, job ads with published bands, and people at your level gets you close enough. A researched range is the whole answer; without it you're guessing with your own money.
Your range is above their band
Move · ask what's flexibleDon't retract the number immediately. Ask what the total package can flex on: equity, bonus, level, title, remote. A base-only view of a gap often isn't the real gap.
They push for one specific figure
Move · give the top of your rangeIf they won't take a range, give the top end with the basis attached. Naming the midpoint under pressure is how the range quietly becomes its own floor.
How to negotiate a job offer →The number shrinks when you say it. Almost everyone holds a range on paper and quietly shaves the top off it out loud.
Score my answer →What not to say
The short blacklist- Don't give one low number. It's the single most expensive thing you can say in the whole process.
- Don't say whatever's fair. It hands over the leverage and tells them you haven't looked.
- Don't anchor on your current pay. If you're underpaid now, it carries the problem into the next job.
- Don't apologise for the number or start negotiating against yourself before they've responded.
- Don't refuse flatly. Deferring with a reason is professional; stonewalling reads as difficult.
Rehearse it out loud before it's live
Saying it is the testThis is the answer where saying it out loud changes the number. People hold a range fine on paper, then shave the top off it under mild pressure, or add a hedge that turns the floor into the expectation. Say yours below and Calibrd will score it on preparation, anchor and composure, which are exactly the three places this one goes wrong. When you have an offer, how to negotiate a job offer picks it up.
Answer out loud · free · nothing to sign up for
“What are your salary expectations?”
Say the number without flinching
Hold your range when it's actually being asked.
Paste any real job and Calibrd shows you what the role pays at your level and location, the questions that company asks, and lets you rehearse the answers out loud until the number comes out steady. Free to start.
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