How to answer “What are your salary expectations?” in a job interview
· by the InterviewCrusher team
This isn’t a getting-to-know-you question. It’s the opening move of a negotiation, and it tends to arrive earlier than you’d expect: sometimes in the very first phone screen, before you even know the real scope of the role. The person asking wants to know two things. One, whether your numbers fit their band, so nobody wastes time. Two, how you value yourself: a figure that’s too low tells them you don’t know the market or doubt yourself; one that’s too high with nothing behind it tells them you’re lost.
The mistake almost everyone makes is answering blind. They blurt out a single number because the silence makes them nervous, and with that they set a ceiling they’ll never raise, or a floor that gets them screened out. The good news is that this question is won before the interview, through research, and executed with a simple structure that gives you room to move without sounding evasive.
This isn’t about throwing out a number and praying. It’s about showing that you know what you’re worth, that you’ve done your homework, and that you negotiate like a professional, not like someone who’ll take anything as long as they get hired.
What mistakes should you avoid when answering “What are your salary expectations?”?
- Giving a single, fixed figure right away: you either set a ceiling you can’t raise or a floor that gets you screened out. Always give a range.
- Saying “whatever you’re offering” or a flat “I’m flexible”: it sounds like you haven’t done your research and you’re giving away leverage before you even start.
- Tossing out a number without having checked the market for your role, seniority, and city: if you can’t justify it, nobody buys it.
- Anchoring low out of fear of being screened out: underselling yourself doesn’t make you more hireable, it makes you cheaper and easier to dismiss as mediocre.
Research, anchor, and leave room to flex
- 1
Do your research first (the homework)
Before the interview, have a real market range for your role, your seniority, and your city or work setup (remote changes the numbers). Cross-check several sources: salary sites, published postings with visible bands, people in your industry and, if you can, someone doing that job today. Don’t settle for a single data point. Walk in with three clear numbers in your head: your acceptable minimum (below it you say no), your realistic target, and a ceiling that’s ambitious but defensible. If the posting already includes a published band, use it as your reference — don’t ignore it.
- 2
Anchor with a reasoned range
Give a range, not a lone figure, and place your target near the bottom end of the range you offer (that way, negotiating upward within your range still works in your favor). The anchor sets the game: if you can, make your range start where your target sits. And justify it in one sentence with your experience or the scope of the role, never with your expenses. “Based on what I’ve seen for this profile and my experience in X, I’m working with a range of A to B.” The why is what turns a number into a defensible position.
- 3
Leave room to flex (without giving away leverage)
Close by keeping the door open without lowballing yourself: make the figure conditional on the actual scope of the role and the full package (bonus, equity, time off, remote work, training). That gives you an exit if they push, and it shows you think about the whole picture, not just base pay. If they press you to get more specific, return the question once: “What band do you have budgeted for this role?” The person with the data is usually the one holding the offer. If they insist, state your range with confidence and don’t apologize for it.
Sample answers
“I’ve looked at the market for a backend profile with my experience here, and given the kind of responsibilities you’ve described, I’m working with a range of €42,000 to €50,000 gross per year. My target sits around the middle of that, about €45,000, though it depends on the actual scope of the role and the full package: if there’s a bonus, training, or remote work, I weigh it all together. Before settling on a figure, it would help me to know what band you have budgeted for this role, so we can both calibrate.”
“I’ll give you a range, because I don’t know the full scope of the role yet and I’d rather be honest than throw out a blind figure. For this kind of role and with my experience, I’m between €38,000 and €45,000 gross. If you tell me what you have budgeted, I’ll gladly confirm whether it fits, but that range reflects what I’ve seen in the market for this profile.”
Quick tips
- Whoever says a number first anchors the negotiation. If you can return the question (“what band do you have for the role?”), do it once; but if it lands on you, arrive with your range already decided and never give a number you aren’t willing to accept.
- Always talk gross annual salary and clarify the work setup. Mixing net with gross, or ignoring that an on-site salary and a remote one aren’t worth the same, makes you look like someone who doesn’t have a handle on their own numbers.
- Tone matters as much as the figure. Say your range without apologizing, without your voice rising at the end as if you were asking a question, and without rushing to fill the silence afterwards. The confidence you say it with is half the negotiation, and that only gets sharp by saying it out loud, not by reading it.
Knowing the answer isn't the same as saying it out loud
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