How to Answer "What Are Your Salary Expectations?"
This question usually arrives early, often from a recruiter on a screening call, and the honest reason it is asked is to filter you out cheaply. Whoever names a number first gives up information. Your aim is to stay in the conversation without anchoring yourself: deflect once, politely; if they press, give a researched range rather than a single figure, and make clear it depends on the whole package.
What is actually happening
A recruiter with a req has a band they are allowed to pay and a number they would prefer to pay. If your expectation lands under their floor they may quietly downgrade the offer later; if it lands over their ceiling they may end the call. A range keeps you inside both.
Say this
Adapt the bracketed parts. The shape is what matters.
- The first deflection: "I would rather understand the scope properly first. What range has been budgeted for the role?"
- If they press once: "Based on what I have seen for similar roles, I would be looking in the region of [lower] to [upper], depending on the rest of the package. Does that sit inside your band?"
- If they ask what you earn now: "I would rather not anchor on my current salary — it reflects a different scope. I am focused on what this role is worth."
- Keeping the door open: "That is useful to know. If the scope grows in the way we have described, I would want to revisit it at the six-month review."
Rehearse this one part
The deflection. It has to come out warm and unbothered, not evasive — that is entirely a matter of delivery, and it is the sentence people most often fumble because they are braced for it.
Mistakes that cost money
The errors that quietly cost candidates money.
- Giving one number. A single figure becomes the ceiling, never the floor.
- Making the bottom of your range a number you would actually be unhappy with. They will hear the bottom.
- Disclosing your current salary when you are not obliged to. In some jurisdictions they may not even ask.
- Apologising for the range after you say it.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to give a number?
Not on the first ask. Turning it around once is normal and most recruiters will answer. If they press a second time, give a range rather than refusing again, or you start to look difficult.
Do I have to tell them my current salary?
You are generally not obliged to, and in several places employers are restricted from asking. Redirecting to what the role is worth is a normal, professional answer.
How wide should my range be?
Wide enough to stay in the conversation, narrow enough to sound researched. Make the bottom a number you would genuinely accept, because that is the number they will hear.