Salary expectations: what number to name

Why the question is uncomfortable

Because it feels as though naming too much gets you rejected and naming too little gets you exploited. Both risks are real, but the first is greatly exaggerated.

In practice a low figure does more harm: it's accepted, you spend a year on less, and subsequent rises are calculated from it.

Learning the range

Read postings. Open vacancies with stated ranges for your field, level and city. Thirty of them give you a picture.

Industry salary surveys. Published regularly, covering different fields and locations.

Ask people. Field-specific chats usually answer. "What does a beginner earn in this role in this city?" isn't considered impolite.

Allow for spread. The difference between regions and between companies can be twofold. Remote work levels it somewhat, not entirely.

The result: you should hold a range, not a single number.

What to answer

Give a range. "I'm looking for this figure, and I'm open to discussing it depending on the work and conditions." A range leaves room and doesn't read as an ultimatum.

The lower bound is what you'd genuinely work for. Not what you'd grudgingly accept: name it and that's what you'll get.

The upper is slightly above your target. A small margin for negotiation.

If asked at first contact, you may ask back: "Could you tell me the range for the role, so we know whether to continue?" It's often given, and it saves both sides time.

About a first job

Honestly: in a first job you have almost no leverage. You arrive without experience, you're being taken on to be taught, and negotiation is limited.

A sensible approach:

Don't undercut yourself absurdly. "I'll accept anything" is a bad sign to an employer too: this person doesn't value their work.

Aim at the lower third of the market. For a beginner that's normal.

Look at everything, not only the number. A mentor, the work, training and a decent team in a first job are worth more than a fifteen per cent difference. A year in a good place produces growth that repays itself many times over.

But don't confuse that with a willingness to work for a nominal sum "for the experience". You give the company experience too.

When and how to negotiate

The moment is after the offer is made. Then you're wanted, and the conversation starts from a different position.

How:

Calmly and briefly. "Thank you for the offer, everything suits me. On the figure I was hoping for this much — is that possible?"

With grounds, if you have them. Another offer, skills unusual for the role, your prior experience in the field.

Don't bluff. An invented second offer is easily caught.

Not only about money. A review in six months, paid training and working arrangements are all negotiable.

A five to ten per cent increase on a polite request is routine. Asking at this stage almost never withdraws the offer itself.

What to clarify besides the number

• Base salary or base plus bonus, and what the second part depends on.
• Before or after tax. A frequent source of misunderstanding.
• The form of engagement. Employment contract, contractor agreement, self-employed status — this affects both tax and rights.
• When it's reviewed. Whether reviews are regular and what they depend on.
• What comes besides salary. Insurance, paid training, equipment.

These questions are fine to ask, and the answers also reveal how well-ordered the company is.