Talking about salary in your first job

When it comes up

Almost always in the first call with a recruiter. The question is "what are you expecting", and the answer decides whether the conversation continues.

Prepare in advance: improvised, people either name too little and regret it, or too much and get screened out.

How to prepare

Learn the market. Look at ten or fifteen postings in your field and city that state a range. Discard the extremes, take the middle.

Fix three numbers for yourself:

• A floor you won't go below.
• An expectation — the number you'll say.
• A pleasant figure you'd accept immediately.

Without those three the conversation runs blind.

What to say

Bad: "Whatever you offer" or "The experience matters more to me". That reads as an invitation to pay the bottom of the range, and it gets taken.

Good — name a range anchored to the market:

I'm working to around this figure. I understand that for a first role a lot depends on what the work actually involves, so I'm open to discussing it.

A range instead of a single number leaves room, and the market reference shows it isn't invented.

Can a beginner negotiate

Yes, carefully, and once. It's appropriate when:

• you've been offered the job and they liked you — that's your peak leverage;
• you have a second offer;
• the figure is noticeably below market.

Phrase it calmly, without ultimatums:

Thank you, I'm interested. Based on the market I was working to something slightly higher — is there room to discuss it? If not, I'm happy to revisit this in six months based on how the work goes.

That last sentence matters: it leaves the door open even if the answer is no.

When to accept less

A first job gives more than money. Taking less can be sensible when in exchange there is:

• a mentor and code review — that accelerates your growth by a year;
• real work, not minor edits;
• a good team with something to learn from.

A few thousand's difference in a first salary is dwarfed by what a strong team gives you. Accepting deliberately low pay "for the experience" somewhere nobody teaches you, though, is a bad trade.

What to get in writing

The gross figure, the length and terms of probation, and what happens to pay afterwards. Verbal agreements have a habit of being forgotten.

What strengthens your position

Being able to show you've already done similar work. A finished project, team experience with a confirmed contribution — all of it moves the conversation from "beginner with no experience" to "someone who can already do things". Those are different conversations, and different numbers.