INTERVIEWS

How to answer "What are your salary expectations?"

The interviewer wants to know whether the pay you want fits what they can offer. Know your range before the interview. If you can, ask for theirs first. If you go first, give a range whose bottom you'd take, add one reason and stop.

It can come up in a first call with a recruiter, later in an interview or as a box on the application. Prepare your range once, and you'll have it for all three.

Most of the work comes before the interview: finding what the job pays and picking your range. The rest is saying it. A number you've only ever typed can come out rushed, or rise at the end like a question.

Before the interview: find your range

Look up what the job pays where you live. CareerOneStop's Salary Finder, sponsored by the US Department of Labor, shows low, median and high pay for a job in your area, yearly and hourly, next to the figures for your state and the country.
Read the job posting again. If it lists a range, start from that.
Decide where you fit. Years in the same work, a license or a skill the posting asks for move you up. If you're new to the work, start lower.
Pick the lowest pay you'd take for this job. Make that the bottom of your range.
Set the top at what the job pays someone with your experience, or a little above. Keep the range close: $52,000 to $58,000 tells them something, and $40,000 to $80,000 doesn't.

The structure: their range, your range, one reason

If you can, ask for their range first: "Is there a range set for this role?" If they share it, say where in it you see yourself and why. If they want your number first, give your range and one reason, like what similar jobs pay in your area or the experience you bring. Then stop and let them answer.

Aim for two or three sentences. Unlike questions that ask for a story, this one gets a short answer, and a long one can sound like you're talking yourself down.

The short answer

If they want it quick, one sentence will do: "Based on what similar jobs pay here, I'm looking for [the bottom] to [the top]." Then stop.

Six sample answers

The people, places and numbers below are made up, so use your own research for your range. Read each answer out loud. Each takes under half a minute.

A first call with a recruiter

"Thanks for asking. Before I name a number, could you share the range you have for this role? I'd like to make sure we're in the same place."

If they'd rather hear yours first: "Sure. Based on what operations coordinators make in Columbus, I'm looking for $52,000 to $58,000, depending on the benefits."

When the posting lists a range

"The posting says $55,000 to $65,000. I've run payroll for a company of about 300 people for four years, so I'd see myself in the upper half, $60,000 to $65,000."

An hourly job

"I'm looking for $21 to $23 an hour. That's about what forklift operators make around here, and I've driven one for two years in a warehouse this size."

A teacher

"I've looked at the district's salary schedule. With six years of teaching and a master's degree, I'd expect to start at the six-year step on the master's column."

A new grad

"For entry-level marketing jobs in Atlanta, what I found runs about $45,000 to $52,000. I ran social media for a local bank during a year-long internship, so I'm looking for $48,000 to $52,000."

When you'd rather not name a number yet

"I'd like to learn more about what the job involves before I name a number. Could you share the range you have in mind?"

If they ask again, give it: "Sure. Based on what I've seen for similar roles, I'm looking for $70,000 to $78,000. I'm glad to revisit it once I know more about the job."

If their range is lower than yours

Say so plainly, give your range again and ask what can move: "Thanks for telling me. That's below what I'm looking for, which is $60,000 to $66,000. Is there room in the range, or in other parts of the offer?" Then decide whether you want to keep going. If their range is higher than yours, answer from theirs: say where in it you see yourself.

In an email or on an application

If a recruiter asks by email, answer the way you'd say it, in two or three sentences: "Thanks for asking. Based on what similar roles pay in Phoenix, I'm looking for $60,000 to $66,000, depending on the benefits. I'm happy to talk it through on a call."

On an online application, if the box takes text, write your range. If it takes only one number, enter one from your research that you'd be glad to get.

What to leave out

"Whatever you think is fair." It leaves the number to them.
A bottom you wouldn't take. They may offer it.
A range so wide it doesn't help, like $40,000 to $80,000.
What you need to cover rent or loans. Base the number on the job and your experience.
A question at the end, like "...if that's okay?" Say the number, then stop.
Other offers you don't have.

How to say it

The answer is a sentence or two, so how you say it matters.

Say it as a statement: "I'm looking for $52,000 to $58,000," not "I was kind of hoping for maybe around 52?" If you hedge a lot, see how to sound confident.
Say both numbers in full, at the same pace as the rest of the sentence. Rushed numbers are easy to miss.
Let your voice come down on the last number. If it rises, the number can sound like a question. See how to stop upspeak.
Then stop. The pause after a number can feel long. Let them speak next.

If you're a student or a new grad

Look up entry-level pay for the job. The posting, your school's career office and the Salary Finder all help. Start your range near the lower part of what the job pays, and higher if you bring something the posting asks for, like an internship in the same work.

If you have years of experience

Base your range on what this job pays someone with your experience, not just a raise on what you make now. If the new job is bigger than your current one, your range can be bigger too.

In a teaching interview

If the district has a salary schedule, a table that sets pay by years of teaching and education, find where you'd fall on it before the interview, and answer with that. Ask how many of your years they'll count, especially years in another district or state.

Practice it out loud

A chatbot can write you a line. You still have to say a number to a stranger without rushing it or letting it rise, and you won't know how it sounds until you hear it. So practice it the way you'll give it: out loud.

Write your range and one reason for it, a few words each.
Say your answer into your phone's voice recorder.
Play it back. Check that both numbers come through, that your voice comes down on the last one and that you stopped after it.
Say it again until it comes out in one breath.
The next day, have a friend ask the follow-ups: "Is there any flexibility on that?", "That's above our range. What would make it work?" and "What's the lowest you'd take?" Answer each in a sentence or two.

For the rest of the interview, there's a 15-minute routine in how to practice for an interview by yourself. The other common questions are in how to answer interview questions.

The same question in other words

"What is your expected salary?", "What are your salary requirements?", "What are your compensation expectations?" and "What salary range are you looking for?" all ask the same thing. Answer them the same way: their range if they'll share it, then yours with one reason. "For this position" or "for this role" means this job, so base your range on its work, not your last job's.

Practice it with an AI coach in Charisma Lab

Charisma Lab is a speaking coach on your iPhone. In Speak, tap INTERVIEW under PRACTICING FOR. Then tap the center, say what the job is and tell the coach you're practicing "What are your salary expectations?" Give your answer and stop, since a pause of about two seconds ends a take. You hear each take played back. When something is off, the coach says what to fix, then the mic opens again.

To say your number like a statement, try Train's The Declarative. It's open from the start in the Presence and Conviction tracks. It gives you a line like "I'm confident in this approach." and compares the pitch of your last word with the rest of the line. A take passes when you say the line and your last word is more than 5% lower than the average pitch of the other words. Setup is free. If you tap MAYBE LATER when it shows the price, then SKIP FOR NOW when it asks you to sign in, setup goes on to a short live session with the coach. After setup, the app needs Pro, which is $14.99 a month in the US. See pricing.

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FAQ

Should I give a number or a range?

A range, with a bottom you'd take. If a form needs one number, use one from your research that you'd be glad to get.

Is it okay to ask for their range first?

Yes. If they won't share it, give yours.

What if I don't know what the job pays?

Look it up before the interview. If the question comes first, ask for their range. If they still want yours, say you'd like to check what similar jobs pay and send it by the end of the day. Then do.

What if they ask the lowest I'd take?

The bottom of your range. You picked it as the lowest you'd take, so say it plainly: "$52,000. That's the bottom of my range."

What if the number I gave was too low?

Bring it up once you know more about the job, before the offer if you can: "Now that I know the job includes managing two people, I'd like to adjust the range I gave you, to $60,000 to $66,000."

Should my range include benefits?

Give your range for base pay, and add "depending on the benefits" if they could change your mind.

More practice guides

Updated November 4, 2026.