How to Answer 'What Are Your Salary Expectations?'
What to say when a recruiter asks your salary expectations: research a range, deflect with confidence, or give a range without anchoring low. Scripts.
How should you answer 'What are your salary expectations?'
Research the market range for the role first. Then either ask for the role's budgeted range, or give a researched range whose bottom is a number you would genuinely accept, and tie it to the full package. Avoid naming a single low number early, because the first figure tends to anchor everything after it.
This question usually comes on the first recruiter call or the application form, long before an offer. That is what makes it tricky. You know little about the role, the level or the package, but the number you give can follow you into every later round.
This guide is about that early moment. Once you have an offer in hand, the tactics change, and the salary negotiation strategies guide covers that stage. For the rest of the screening call, see recruiter phone screen questions.
Research your range
Twenty minutes of research is the difference between a guess and a range you can defend.
Gather three sources
- Government pay data for your occupation, such as the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook
- Salary sites and company reviews that list pay by title, location and company size
- The posted range, if the job ad or a similar ad at a comparable company shows one
Adjust for this job
- Location or remote policy, level and years of experience
- Company size and stage; start-ups often pay less cash and offer equity
- The whole package: bonus, equity, pension or retirement match, holiday, benefits
Set your numbers
- Your walk-away: the lowest base you would actually accept. Keep it private.
- Your range: start at or above your walk-away, end at an ambitious but defensible figure
- One sentence explaining where the range comes from
Coursera suggests starting with median pay from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and comparing it with salary sites (Coursera). Outside the US, your national statistics office publishes similar data. Median figures are broad; narrow them with listings for the same title, level and location.
Three scripts for the salary question
Pick the one that fits the moment. Each is a template: replace the figures with your own research.
Script 1: Defer, politely
When: Very early, when you know little about the role or level
"I would like to understand the scope and the level first, so I can give you a number that is fair to both of us. Can we come back to it once I have spoken with the hiring manager?"
Works once. If they ask again, move to script 2 or 3.
Script 2: Ask for the budget
When: Almost always a good first move
"That is a fair question. What range has been budgeted for this role? I want to make sure we are in the same place before we both spend more time."
Coursera lists asking for the company's range as one of your options. If the range works, say so and move on.
Script 3: Give a researched range
When: When they will not share the budget, or you are ready
"Based on what I have seen for similar roles in this market, I am looking at 85 to 95 thousand base, depending on the rest of the package. Does that fit the range you have in mind?"
Figures are placeholders; use your own research. Make the bottom of the range a number you would genuinely accept.
Notice what none of them do. They do not apologise, they do not give a single number, and they do not reveal the least you would accept. Harvard's Program on Negotiation advises against revealing a weak alternative, because it signals you have few options (PON). "I would take anything above 70" is exactly that signal.
If you have other processes running, it is fine to say so in general terms. PON's BATNA examples show why a real alternative strengthens your hand. Save the details for the offer stage.
When the recruiter insists on a number
Some recruiters cannot move you forward without one. Give your range, calmly, and keep the package in the sentence.
| They say | You say (adapt) |
|---|---|
| "I just need a number for the hiring manager." | "Then please put down 85 to 95 thousand base. I am flexible within that depending on bonus and benefits." |
| "Is that your final number?" | "It is my range for now. Once I understand the full scope and package, I would expect to settle on a figure within it." |
| "That is above our range." | "Thanks for telling me. What is the top of the range, and is there flexibility for the right person or in other parts of the package?" |
| "What are you earning now?" | "I would rather focus on the value of this role. Based on my research, the range I am targeting is 85 to 95 thousand." |
The aim is not to win the exchange. It is to stay in the process with a range that leaves room at the offer stage. A recruiter who hears a researched range, said without hesitation, can usually work with it.
If they ask your current salary
Your current pay describes your last job, not this one. You can steer back to the range.
Some places restrict or ban employers from asking about salary history, and some require employers to show a pay range in the job posting. These rules vary by country, state and city, and they change, so check the rules where the job is based, usually on your local labour or employment authority's website. If a range is posted, use it in your answer: "The posting says 80 to 100; based on my experience I would expect the upper half."
Where the question is allowed, you can still redirect:
- "I would prefer to focus on the value of this role. The range I am targeting is 85 to 95 thousand."
- "My current package includes a bonus and equity, so the base alone would not compare well. For this role I am looking at 85 to 95."
If you do share it, be accurate. Never inflate a current salary; it can be checked, and a false figure can cost you the offer.
Practise the question until it is calm
The words matter less than the pause before them. Rehearsal removes the pause.
The recruiter screen practice on VirtualInterview.ai asks this question for real. An AI recruiter with ten minutes runs a short screen, asks "what are your salary expectations for this role?", and if you answer "it depends", pushes: it needs a number to take to the hiring manager. On the tough setting it pushes twice.
Compensation is weighted as heavily as Pitch in the report, ahead of Motivation and Control. Naming a number before asking for the band, or a figure below your own target, is called out. The target pay you enter in setup stays private. Scores are estimates from practice, the camera self-view is not recorded or analysed, and the tool does not feed you answers on a real call. For the offer stage, see the salary negotiation tips.
Frequently asked questions
- Should I give a salary range or a number?
- A range is usually safer early in the process, because you know little about the package. Make the bottom of the range a number you would genuinely accept, since employers often hear only the bottom. Later, once you have an offer, you can negotiate toward a specific figure.
- Is it OK to ask the recruiter for the budget?
- Yes. It is a normal question, and asking for the company's range is one of the standard options for answering. If they share a range that works, you have saved both sides time. In places with pay-transparency rules the range may already be in the job posting.
- What if my expectations are too high?
- The recruiter will usually say so, and that is useful information. Ask for the top of their range and whether other parts of the package can move. If the gap is large and you would not accept their range, it is better to know now than after four rounds.
- Do I have to tell them my current salary?
- Usually not, and some places restrict or ban employers from asking about salary history. The rules vary by country, state and city, so check what applies where the job is based. Wherever you are, you can redirect politely to the range you are targeting for this role.
- How do I answer salary expectations on an application form?
- If the field allows text, write a researched range or "negotiable" if allowed. If it requires a single number, enter one you would be comfortable having as the starting point, not a low figure. Then repeat your range when the recruiter calls.
- Can I change my number later?
- You can, especially if the role turns out to be larger or the package different than you thought. Explain what changed: "Now that I know the role includes managing two people, I would expect to be at the top of the range." Moving up without a reason costs credibility.
- How is this different from negotiating the offer?
- The screen question decides whether you stay in the process and sets an anchor. Offer negotiation happens later, when they have chosen you and you have more leverage. Answer the screen question carefully so you keep room to negotiate when the offer arrives.