Timing is everything when it comes to salary discussions. Yet, many job seekers make the mistake of answering the dreaded question—”What are your salary expectations?”—far too early in the process. When a recruiter asks this during an initial screening call, it might seem like an innocent question, but your response could cost you the job or leave money on the table.
We’re going to discuss this question from both the candidate’s and recruiter’s point of view, then we’ll give specific guidance on how you can strategically navigate this conversation to maximize your offer.
Timing Matters: Why You Shouldn’t Share Salary Expectations Too Early
One of the most common and potentially damaging questions job seekers face during the hiring process is:
“What are your salary expectations for this role?”
If you’re asked this question too early—especially during a screening call with a recruiter—do not answer it.
Why? Because sharing a number too soon can either disqualify you from the job or be used against you later in the negotiation process.
Why Do Recruiters Ask About Salary Expectations?
Smart recruiters typically ask about salary expectations at the end of the first conversation. There are both good and bad reasons for them asking this question so early.
The Good Reasons for Asking Early
- Recruiters need to assess whether your salary expectations align with the company’s budget. If a role is budgeted for $70K–$80K and you won’t consider anything under $150K, then it saves everyone time to identify the misalignment early.
- Sometimes, salary ranges are dependent on experience (DOE). A company may have a budget range of $70K–$150K but allocate lower salaries for junior candidates and higher salaries for senior candidates. If they perceive you as junior but you’re asking for a senior-level salary, the opportunity isn’t a fit, even if the budget technically allows for that amount.
If this was all a recruiter was doing, our recommendation would be for you to be upfront and honest about your salary expectations at all times, since it serves your purposes as well.
Unfortunately, this is not the complete story.
The Hidden Risks of Answering Too Soon
Unfortunately, many recruiters ask this question for reasons that aren’t in your best interest. Here’s why answering too early can backfire:
You Could Get a Lower Offer
If you give a number slightly lower than what they were expecting, they’ll see it as an opportunity to offer you even less. Employers rarely pay more than what a candidate asks for. If they were willing to offer $150K but you said $140K, you just lost $10K with zero benefit to you.
The number you provide here follows you until a job offer is made. If your target salary is lower than what they had in mind, you would have cost yourself money, without increasing your chances to get the job offer. Employers are not going to hire Candidate A over Candidate B because Candidate A was asking for 5% less compensation. So you essentially cost yourself money without benefit.
You Could Get Eliminated from the Process
If your number is higher than they expect, but you’d be willing to negotiate, they often won’t give you that chance. Instead, they’ll simply reject you outright without asking if you’d be open to a lower offer.
Example: You’re aiming for $125K, but to avoid being lowballed, you ask for $150K. If their budget is $125K, they might assume you’re too expensive and move on—even though you were actually a perfect fit for the role.
Your Value Might Be Judged by Your Number
Have you ever shopped for flour at the store? If you are anything like me, I assume that the most expensive flour is the best. Is that a good assumption? Probably not.
Recruiters are the same, especially when they don’t have knowledge about the role they are filling. If you provide a salary expectation that is too low, recruiters assume you lack the skills or experience they initially thought you had. Employers often associate higher salaries with more competent candidates (they are more in-demand!), so quoting too low not only costs you money, it also costs you in perceived value.
The Best Strategy: Make Them Give the Range First
Based on all of this, the smartest move is to refuse to give a number early in the process. Instead, try to get the recruiter or hiring manager to share their range first. This keeps you from accidentally pricing yourself too low or too high and allows you to negotiate from a stronger position later on.
When a recruiter asks you for your desired compensation, you want to answer – “it’s too early”.
Let’s see how this works.
Recruiter: “What are your salary expectations for this role?”
Candidate: “There’s a lot that goes into compensation for me. I don’t know enough about the role yet to provide a range.”
Why does this work? Because it’s a valid and perfectly reasonable response! There are all sorts of factors that go into compensation, including WFH options, workload and stress, commute time, benefits (we know how much recruiters love to talk about their 401k!), training opportunities, bonuses, etc. Why would any reasonable and informed candidate tie themselves to a number without knowing these factors?
What If the Recruiter Pushes for a Number?
If the recruiter insists on you listing a number, make sure to hold steady. There is no reason for you to provide a number at this point, and the more they insist, the more likely they are trying to use what you say against you later on.
Candidate: “As I said, I do not know enough about the role yet and I cannot provide you with a number”.
A good recruiter will respect this and move on. Typically, the next question those recruiters will say is, “Our salary range is between X and Y – does that align with your expectations?”
The response then (assuming you are still interested) is:
“Assuming the other factors about the job align, that is definitely in the range I was looking for.”
Be enthusiastic! You don’t want to commit to a number, but you still want the recruiter to think this job is a good match. This response keeps you in the conversation without locking you into a specific number. You can still negotiate later—but negotiation should happen at the end of the process, not the beginning.
Bad Advice You Should Ignore
Some career advice suggests giving a salary range when asked. Big mistake.
Here’s why: Recruiters only hear the lowest number.
Even if you say, “I’m looking for $120K–$140K,” they’re likely to only record $120K in their notes. That number then gets passed to a senior recruiter, who passes it to the hiring manager—and guess what? When it’s time to make an offer, the hiring manager only sees the lowest figure you mentioned.
Some other advice you might hear:
“I want to be paid commensurate with my experience.”
This sounds professional in theory, but in reality, it hurts your chances.
It sounds obnoxious. Most recruiters are just trying to have a normal conversation, and this kind of robotic, rehearsed response comes off as arrogant.
It makes you seem unprepared. Instead of signaling confidence, it suggests you don’t know your market value.
It makes you look unsure. Even if you truly don’t know your ideal salary, you never want to appear uncertain.
An Alternative Approach
If you know the salary question is coming and want to get ahead of it, you can turn the tables by asking:
Candidate: “I’d love to learn more about the budget for this role. Could you share the salary range you have in mind?”
This keeps the conversation open, forces them to reveal their budget first, and ensures you don’t accidentally undersell yourself.