
How to answer the “What’s your current salary?” job interview question - mooreds
https://medium.com/@JoshDoody/how-to-answer-the-whats-your-current-salary-job-interview-question-486254cb59ad
======
DoubleGlazing
I find that a lot of the tactics used to deflect or avoid answering awkward
questions in interviews just do not work.

There are two questions that always get me in interviews. The first one is the
salary one. If I am evasive, or try to deflect, the interviewer will probe
deeper. They just wont take no for an answer. In fact I've even been told
straight up "Give us a figure, or we won't proceed".

Another one is about my children. They are five and seven and finish school in
the afternoon, when they are collected by their after school service. Under EU
law interviewers cannot ask about my family life, but they do. They ask what
my children's ages are, they ask when the finish school, and crucially what
happens if there is a problem that would require me to dash out to pick them
up (illness etc). When I say my wife will take care of that they ask what she
does for a living. If I say that I'd rather not discuss that then I can be
certain no matter how skilled I am for the job, I wont be getting it.

In my experience most interviewers know all the tricks. If they want an answer
to a question they will get it. If you don't play ball then you probably wont
get the job.

~~~
falsedan

      > Another one is about my children. They are five and seven and finish school in the
      > afternoon, when they are collected by their after school service. Under EU law
      > interviewers cannot ask about my family life, but they do.
    

That's a huge red flag. Just asking the question in an interview situation
leaves them open to unfair discrimination lawsuits, and you can easily get a
negotiated settlement whenever they end the interview process.

I would find the time to have a brief consultation with a lawyer familiar with
workplace & EEO law, and hear what they think.

Note that EEO law usually aren't regulated (companies don't need to show they
are in compliance, and government agencies don't conduct spot checks with
'mystery candidates'); they have to fear the punishment of a settlement in
order to abide with the law. If they're a tiny fly-by-night company they might
just close up and re-establish elsewhere to avoid the suit.

~~~
DoubleGlazing
Oh I know, but what can you do. It's your word against theirs. And if you were
to tape the interview and successfully claim for unfair dismissal your name
will get around the local IT industry pretty quickly.

~~~
falsedan
Talk to a lawyer to find out what you can do; they will know the likelihood of
a successful case, and most would be happy to at least do a free consultation
for 30m-1h.

> _And if you were to […] successfully claim for unfair dismissal your name
> will get around the local IT industry pretty quickly._

That's also unfair discrimination! But I'd be amazed if any settlement didn't
include a gag clause to prevent the parties from commenting on anything
related to it. If they did, then it's back to court for a breach of contract…

This isn't personal, it's just business. Companies use these tactics because
candidates let them get away with it.

------
pleasecalllater
My experience is quite bad with such companies. There are some huge ones, who
are mostly remote, and the first question is "how much do you want to get". I
answer, then there is no negotiation, and I usually want just too much (which
usually is what I was making at that time). They don't also want to talk with
me about any different figures, there is no counter offer, nothing. This is
really sad, seems like they don't care because they have an endless pool of
talents to hire.

But then it seems like that's not true, as the companies are posting the same
job ad for the next months (or even years), and cannot find anyone for that
position. And people from those companies cry that they cannot find
programmers. And forums keep filling with comments about their stupid
recruitment process.

It seems to me that the companies which want to talk, and negotiate the
salaries are winning, and can find people.

For the question about my current salary, I answer that my contract doesn't
allow me to tell that. If they insist, I ask them if, after getting me hired,
they would like me to tell my future employers how much they pay me. That
usually ends these questions.

However I don't have any good reason not to answer about my salary
expectations, but it seems like I usually want too much :)

~~~
falsedan
That sounds like a recruiter going off the script. If they're being that
direct, turn it around: my salary expectations depend on how I'd fit in at
your company, and how much value I'd add. I hope we can talk about that
further along in the interview process, but for the sake of not exceeding your
hiring budget, please let me know what the salary range is for this position
and I will let you know what we'll need to negotiate on to get to an offer
which will work for me.

The intent here is to negotiate in good faith: if they come back with upper
salary that is 75% of your expected, go back with: thanks for sharing that
information, in order for me to be comfortable with that compensation I'll
have to (ask for extra leave/holiday, part-time hours, work from home, X
conference trips per year, stock compensation, 3/6/12 month review with
performance targets agreed up front which will bump your salary up).

------
josh_fyi
Say "My contract prevents me from disclosing my compensation package"
(probably true), "and I treat my commitments seriously."

~~~
cies
This! And if it does not say so in your contract you can add a little "I
_believe_ my contact..." in there.

Many other advocate lying. I'm kind of hesitant to do that because of my
believe that it is "starting off on the wrong foot".

~~~
falsedan
You can say, I'm sorry but I'm restricted as to who I can share that
information with. Who's restricting you? me, falsedan! Don't tell potential
employees your current salary, unless they've given you an offer and you want
to negotiate up.

------
beaconstudios
Here's something that worked well for me: I deferred the salary question until
after I'd had some contact with my potential employer (rather than the
recruiter) so they had a sense of my value. Then, when asked what my current
salary was, I said something along the lines of the following: "my current
salary is well below where I want it to be, because I started out in a low-
level job and worked my way up getting the usual incremental pay rises when I
changed jobs. I'm currently on £XX,XXX but rather than give me an incremental
offer I want you to give me an honest offer of what you think I am worth".

It depends on the company, but in my experience SMEs aren't out to screw
people on salary and being honest and straightforward netted me a much more
generous offer than I would have gotten otherwise. Many of the comments in
this thread seem to advocate using tricks to fight the tricks that recruiters
use, but sometimes being honest and letting your potential employer see your
perspective can work wonders. Especially once you've gotten to know them a
little bit in an interview or phone call so they don't feel like they're
taking a gamble by employing you.

~~~
sneak
It has nothing to do with "screwing people". This is terrible advice. Salary
negotiation is the single most important financial decision you will make in
your life. That shit _compounds_ , son!

Do. Not. Give. Them. A. Figure. First. Don't!

@patio11 explains why in exquisite detail here:
[http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-
negotiation/](http://www.kalzumeus.com/2012/01/23/salary-negotiation/)

~~~
beaconstudios
you say all this like I suggested anything different. Salary negotiation is
important, and in my experience the worst thing you can do is either mentally
commit to taking the job before you negotiate a salary, or sow the seeds of
mutual distrust early on. If you try to pull the same bullshit on the
recruiter that they're pulling on you then you're playing their game on their
terms.

What I've suggested, contrary to your (unnecessarily abrasive) reply, is not
to give up on negotiations but to push past the impersonal arguing over
numbers and get to the actual negotiation at hand by laying not only your own
cards, but the other person's cards, on the table. You implicitly say up front
"if you try to pull the same old $salary * 1.1 game with me I'll turn down
your offer" while also laying out what your expectation is. You name a number,
and say "that number is not good enough, make it better" and thus leave the
ball in their court. This is not you saying "well I want a better salary than
I have now, I make £20,000 and I will accept £27,000" \- you're saying "well I
want a better salary than I have now, I know I'm underpaid, I make £20,000
right now - it's on you to guess what I place my value at, but you know it's
not a small jump".

All this without making you look like a distrustful asshole like many of the
previous suggestions would do.

Oh, and I forgot to mention in my previous comment - you can be ambiguous
about the amount you make too if you want, e.g. "I make below market rate" or
"I make about 2/3 of what my friend makes for the same job". But it's very
transparent.

~~~
sneak
You suggested giving a number first. Your mental gymnastics about why that is
justified or professional do not somehow make that a game-theoretical good
choice.

Seriously, you don't come across as "distrustful asshole" when you repeatedly
refuse to divulge it, you come across as _competent at business_.

Transparency is not your friend in a negotiation. You profit from having
secrets. Every professional negotiator knows this.

~~~
beaconstudios
your black-and-white view of "giving a number" and complete refusal to
seemingly even read my comment shows that there's no point trying to explain
this to you again.

------
dood
As developers we are highly in demand right now so don't have to be overly
clever in negotiation.

I use a simple and foolproof strategy when asked for my current or expected
compensation: "sorry I'm not willing to disclose my current comp, but I am
looking for around X", where X is the amount you would need if there are no
other bonuses or perks.

Then they can talk you down from there if they want to proceed, you have
anchored the conversation appropriately, and demonstrated you are negotiating
from a position of strength, not weakness - which is the key to not getting
pushed around.

If they push on current comp just stand firm and politely refuse - you likely
don't want to work anywhere that won't talk to you if you refuse to disclose
your current comp, and there are plenty of other options besides. Save your
time and energy for good companies willing to negotiate in good faith, there
are lots around.

The only hard part is determining what your labour is really worth - this can
take a fair bit of effort, research and soul-searching, but is an absolutely
essential prerequisite to negotiation.

~~~
falsedan
> _The only hard part is determining what your labour is really worth - this
> can take a fair bit of effort, research and soul-searching, but is an
> absolutely essential prerequisite to negotiation._

I disagree. I think the intrinsic value of labour is not necessary to consider
when calculating what you should be paid. The golden rule is: you're worth
what people will pay you.

I think you need three numbers: how much you need to be comfortable (i.e. you
have a budget for living expenses & savings goals); how much the market is
paying for similar positions; how much value you will add to their company.

The first number is your low-end: you can't accept an offer under it, and
you'd accept an offer around it to build your skills, experience, and
networking. The third is their high-end: they can't pay more than you bring in
or else they'll go bust. They probably don't know this number, their budget
would be set based on market rates.

Your job as a candidate is to find positions where the market rate is above
your low-end, and then identify the areas where your skills & experience will
provide more value to the company that they expected, so they can better
calculate their high-end & are willing to negotiate up accordingly.

~~~
dood
Sorry my comment was unclear, I mostly agree with you. In a negotiation the
only thing that matters is how much the company values your labour, and how
much of that value you can capture. Figuring this out is the hard part.

~~~
falsedan
No problem, I made the jump to intrinsic value [of labour] myself.

------
gambiting
Yeah, nice idea, but then when HR comes into play you can't expect logic(or
you can, but a very twisted one).

I know someone who the engineering team really wanted, but he was paid 65k
currently, and he wanted at least 80k, because he would have to move to
London.

Who did the HR decide to hire? A guy who scored much worse during the
interview, but he "only" wanted an increase from 90k to 95k - and HR was
prohibited by corporate policy from offering more than 10% increase in
previous salary for new hires, so the first guy couldn't be offered 80k - even
though the person they actually hired was paid a lot more than that.

Is the policy stupid? Yes it is. But that's the real world situation you
sometimes have to deal with.

~~~
scarface74
I've heard this before. A little over two years ago, I was asking for what
amounted to a 22% increase in salary. I was perfectly within market range with
the increase. The HR person said she couldn't authorize this. I politely ended
the interview without answering any of her other questions.

------
minipci1321
I have changed employers a lot, never asked for much on average
(proportionally to the risk let's say), so my salary grew up a lot without
difficult negotiations. (And -- yes, it did happen to me that I was offered
more than I asked for... it is very, very far from being good thing for your
future in the new company.)

One point to keep in mind. In my personal experience, big companies are
frequently behave well when hiring for regular tech jobs -- they won't offer
stellar salaries, but will not try to squeeze you dry from the start either
(will try to get you to what they believe is median for your qualifications).
And usually will let you understand this during salary negotiation, so you
kind of have less reason to conceal your present figure.

However, as you salary grows, many of them will not be adjusting the grade in
the hiring process (and of course never afterwards, except for big
promotions).

So when negotiating, once you got the amount from them, ask where it lies on
the range for the grade you will be given. Make sure there is a margin for
growth. If there is not -- beware, it might be very hard for you to be raised
afterwards, however excellent your results might be.

~~~
jakub_g
> ask where it lies on the range for the grade you will be given. Make sure
> there is a margin for growth. If there is not -- beware, it might be very
> hard for you to be raised afterward

That's a very good piece of advice, thanks for writing that!

------
neverminder
And what if you lie? Also, I think it depends on what country you're in. For
instance in UK most recruiters are 3rd party companies operating only as
middlemen and their compensation from the employer company is directly
proportional to your offered yearly salary (usually something like 15%), so
they are interested in getting you the highest possible salary within reason.

~~~
mooreds
Lying (about anything) seems like a poor way to start a relationship between
you and your employer.

Of course, negotiation is expected and you shouldn't lay all your cards on the
table, but outright lying might poison the relationship.

~~~
Cakez0r
When the question is designed to exploit you financially, I have no problem
lying to answer it.

~~~
mooreds
Agree that the question is exploitative, but curious why you wouldn't just
take one of the approaches outlined in the article rather than lying?

------
jaimex2
Outright saying I'm currently on X has worked wonders for me.

X is 20% more than what I actually earn.

~~~
uncle_d
I saw an article a few years ago, where they said most people disadvantage
themselves unknowingly - by not negotiating their salary for their first job
out of college harder.

The thinking being that if most people usually move jobs for their current
salary +x%, that initial figure has a profound compound effect throughout the
rest of your earning career.

~~~
jaimex2
You don't usually have anything to offer fresh out of college. Jumping jobs
more often I think has a much higher pay off, and you naturally get better at
negotiating from the experience.

------
chrisbennet
If at all possible, avoid going in through the front door i.e. use your
network to get introduced. Perhaps someone you worked with or went to school
with works at the company you're interested in. This may give you a little
more leverage with H.R.

An even better way is avoid companies that are large enough to even have an
H.R. department.

When faced with the "give us a number or we're done" just stand up, reach out
to shake their hand, smile and say "Thank you for your time." You have no
leverage, and the company is demonstrating that they want to hire developers
like they are an interchangeable commodity - they don't really value them.

------
credit_guy
Here's a better advice, if you allow me to quote the title of a book by Cal
Newton: be so good at what you do that they can't ignore you.

Don't play little games like that. You end up wasting everybody's time. Maybe
you don't care about their time, but you should care about yours. The
interview process is taxing, you can't focus properly at your current job, the
uncertainty eats at you, you can't treat it as a zero cost to you.

~~~
jedikv
Problem is that's just vague self-help-esq feel-good advice that applies to
everything and subsequently means nothing.

------
eel
In my experience, most recruiters push harder to get a number than the
hypothetical conversations in the article. Maybe I'm not as much of a
charismatic speaker as some. Fortunately, for the most part, they don't care
if the number is your current salary or your expected salary. Generally, they
are willing to meet or slightly exceed my current salary, but low ball my
expected salary. I much prefer to give an expected salary (of about 10-15%
more of my actual expected) than my current salary.

With the availability of Glassdoor and old-fashioned networking, it's really
not hard to figure out market prices (at least for software engineers) in an
area and company type.

I've tried to follow some of the advice of avoiding/deflecting the salary
question, and I think it generally is a poor substitute for being well-
informed. It also makes for some extremely awkward conversations when it comes
time to negotiate. Maybe it's a personality thing, but I would rather set the
upper bound and let them try to negotiate me down rather than letting them set
the lower bound and try to negotiate them up.

------
josh_fyi
Like the OP says, you should avoid revealing your salary. If and when the time
comes for that, you can give a wide variety of numbers for "my compensation is
$X". That X can include some or all of your benefit package. They are not
going to drill down to the details. If they do, and for some reason you have
to reveal that, you can feel comfortable that you have told the truth.

------
dazbradbury
As a tech founder, who see's lots of CVs, I'd like to call BS on salary
expectations being simply a negotiation tactic. Knowing what salary the
candidate expects, in an industry where salary ranges are extremely large,
allows you to compare and contrast to other candidates with similar
expectations. This creates a fair playing field for _all_ candidates.

We publish our salary ranges, but the ranges are large - and I think this
comes down to different ways people hire in tech. Big corporates say - we want
a person @ £80k pay grade and expect them to have XYZ experience. On the other
hand, a start-up will say, we want great coders - straight out of uni? 10
years experience? Doesn't matter. We want great coders. You'll be compared
against others in your pay bracket when you apply.

It is in the candidates interest to state their expectation, as it doesn't
waste anyone's time. If a candidate appears to be wasting our time, I'll
automatically be less inclined to proceed - hiring isn't a game where you try
to outsmart the other person. It's someone's livelihood, and ensuring both
parties are clear, upfront, and honest is vital to a good employer / employee
relationship.

As a candidate you should be thinking what makes me infinitely more hireable
than the other candidates - playing a salary negotiation game from step 1
isn't going to do that.

As an employer, we try to be as clear as possible about our expectations - and
it seems to work. Alternatively, we could of course split the "roles
available" into 10 different pay brackets each with different expectations and
force candidates to apply to the bracket they feel most suited for (and hence
tell us their salary expectations), but this doesn't match reality, is
disingenuous, and feels like a pointless exercise when it's so easy to be up-
front and honest when neither party is trying to game the other!

~~~
scribu
> It is in the candidates interest, as it doesn't waste anyone's time.

Wait, isn't it also in _your_ interest to not have your time wasted?

So why not just share the salary range with the candidate, then?

~~~
dazbradbury
We do, of course. But the candidate also has an expectation and the range can
be large.

Also, people still apply with expectations above the range - knowing that up
front is useful!

------
billybiro
Firstly, if you're desperate for a job, ignore the advice below. If you're not
desperate, and can afford to walk away and move on to the next interview,
following the advice below will ensure you're not taken advantage of during
the interview and recruiting process.

Two golden, inviolable, rules:

1\. Never lie.

2\. Never be the first to name a number.

For the "What is you current salary?" question, you can answer with any of the
below responses. They get increasing stern, so gauge which one to use based
upon your impression of how aggressive the employer is.

\- "My current employer does not allow me to discuss the terms of my
employment"

\- "This position is not exactly the same as my current job, so let’s discuss
what my responsibilities would be here and then determine a fair salary for
this job."

\- "I’m happy to help you evaluate what I’d be worth to your business based
upon my skills, experience and the value that I can add to your organisation,
but my current salary is personal and confidential, just as the salaries of
your own employees are."

For the "What salary are you seeking?" question, use the Noel Smith-Wenkle
method
([http://infohost.nmt.edu/~shipman/org/noel.html](http://infohost.nmt.edu/~shipman/org/noel.html)).
In a nutshell, you move through the following answers for each time they
repeat the question or try to pin you down to a specific figure.

1st answer: "I am much more interested in doing (type of work) here at (name
of company) than I am in the size of the initial offer."

2nd answer: "I will consider any reasonable offer."

3rd (and subsequent) answers: "You are in a much better position to know how
much I'm worth to you than I am."

------
raspasov
Here's the simple, one line answer:

"I expect a salary that's competitive for someone with my abilities and
experience."

Do not ever say any numbers, exact or ballpark (as the article says in so-
many-words).

If they insist, you repeat the same answer.

If they insist yet again, you repeat the same answer again.

------
jakub_g
What if... your min-salary-absolutely is 70k, but their max-salary-whatever-
happens is 50k, and you waste _weeks_ of your time on several stages of
interviewing only to learn that?

None of those "never tell your salary expectations" ever respond that
question.

~~~
scribu
Except this article does address that concern, tangentially: ask the recruiter
for the salary range.

~~~
michaelt
Would an employer normally disclose the salary range? I mean, wouldn't
candidates then always demand the maximum in the range?

~~~
scribu
I'm not sure if knowing the salary causes candidates to always ask for the
maximum.

But that possibility doesn't seem to deter some companies from making salary
ranges public (see Stack Overflow job listings for examples).

------
michaelt
It's one thing not to say what your current salary is, sure.

If you don't have required salary figure, there's a risk you'll spend a bunch
of time interviewing for companies that can't afford you.

The times I've received job offers, I've had to spend at least two weekends
preparing and two days of annual leave to reach the offer stage. And if the
employer's pay scale caps out at a fraction of what I currently earn, why
waste my time?

Of course, I'm fortunate enough that I've been in the industry for a
reasonable amount of time, and I think I've got a good idea of what my skills
are worth.

------
scarface74
Simple answer. Build your network and get to know some recruiters. Recruiters
can help you gauge what the market needs right now and what is being paid.

When I go into an interview, the salary I'm looking for is already known. I
make my minimum salary clear - which is within the market range.

I don't need to negotiate. Could the rate I'm asking for be slightly lower
than what I'm asking? Maybe in the short term . But eventually if you keep up
with market, and are willing to aggressively change jobs. You should be within
range.

------
british_india
This is what I said recently and it worked spectacularly well. (Increased my
salary by 25%.)

I said: "I would prefer that you tell me what the position pays and let me
decide based on that. If I suggest a number and you feel inclined to match it,
the I would have placed a target on my back, taking a salary the company was
not comfortable with."

What ends up happening is the company spooks itself into paying you more than
they would have--to avoid insulting you and having you walk. It works.

------
FullMtlAlcoholc
A well-run company will commonly list a salary range for position so that
there is less confusion about this issue. How much another company paid you
isnt the best signal of your worth and unfairly affects people who were paid
less than they were worth and vice versa

Since companies don't open up their finaces to me during the interview
process, it's none of their business and if they ask, it is generally 5-7%
less than the current salary Im seeking

------
aedron
"I prefer to not say" _smile_.

Seriously guys, how hard is this?

~~~
alkonaut
Or just say "I'm looking for around X for a position like this". What's
between the lines is you not saying "...and what I make right now isn't
relevant at this point".

That said, there are traps here. a) for e.g. some public authorities and such
it might be the case that your salary is public and the interviewer already
has it. or b) As where I live, it's one step worse - everyones salary is
public (or rather their _tax returns_ are - but it's pretty easy to deduct
someones salary from their tax returns if they are ordinary employees).

So I would always assume the interviewer already has the number, and I
wouldn't worry much about whether they know or not - but I'd try to steer the
conversation away from it and not try to anchor at the current salary.

------
bonaldi
There's no reason to answer that question. Instead, talk about your
expectations: say that your understanding is the role involves X, Y, and Z,
and you have experience in related areas A, B, C, and accordingly you'd be
looking to get $x for this role. Then, transfer it all back to them: "Does
that fit with your range for the position?"

~~~
mooreds
One point raised on the article is that they will have a better idea of market
and salary range than you will (or they should!). So if you give them your
desired salary it might be out of their range (too high or too low). Also,
especially at the beginning of the hiring process, you don't know everything
about the company, so how can you have a valid desired salary?

Also, your value to them as a possible employee increases as you go through
the interview process, so why would you limit yourself up front (I have done
this before and it ended up in a offer that I didn't take).

~~~
bonaldi
The key point is that your desired salary should be an accurate amount based
on your needs and expectations. If you're genuinely out of their range, why
would you settle anyway?

This is why it's crucial to focus the conversation on your expectations, not
your current compensation. That might not be enough for you! That might be why
you are looking for a new role! It's a waste of everybody's time if they
misunderstand your expectations and hire you for less than you want/need.

(Yes, your value increases as you go through the interview process, but this
point of the process isn't the salary negotation. You're not going in hard at
this point, just setting their expectations).

~~~
mooreds
Did you read the article and not find the salary determination process
convincing?

Of course you should have an expectation, but why is it incumbent on you to
list your range? Why is it not incumbent on them, since they'll be an
effective monopsony of your labor?

I guess it is a question of whether you want to maximize your potential income
(in which case you want the cards close to your chest) or if you'd be happy
getting what you expected (and maybe a bit more). I've been in both places in
my life, but I remember an older person telling me when I was young
(paraphrasing) that you should take your company for all it will give you,
because you can bet they'll do the same to you.

------
anotherevan
I think the next time I'm asked what my current salary I think I'll try
responding, "Well, what's your budget for this position?"

When they baulk, you can say that it sounds like neither of us are prepared to
talk about that just yet, so lets focus on figuring out the role will be a
good fit for the both of us first. Wonder how that would fly.

~~~
foobazzy
Forgive me for being rude here, but I laughed at your comment. I made that
rookie mistake, and I paid for it. I also kept making it and didn't realise
what I was doing wrong. So, the thing here is a little more complicated than
getting/giving a straight answer for this question, however logical that might
sound.

1\. Yes. Companies do specify a budget when they tell a recruiter to look for
candidates for a position.

2\. How much you get offered in the end defines what the recruiter's cut is
going to be.

3\. Companies want to low ball you for 2 reasons. a) Get the guy for a minimum
at first, so that the damage is minimum when and if he doesn't work out in the
short term. See what we can do in the performance review some months down the
line. b) The recruiter's cut will be lower.

As you obviously know already, there are many opposing forces at play in the
this game and your salary is _always_ going to be x% of increment over your
current salary (with a minimum of $y, maybe). Hence, asking a direct question
has never worked for me. Neither do I see why it will work for someone else
(until of course, you're charming).

------
hypercluster
Really complicated in the States. In Germany you kinda have to put your
desired salary in the application. Also there are a lot of companies where the
workers are bound by a collective agreement, so there is little wiggle room.

------
dawidw
\- What is your current salary? \- My contract doesn't allow to tell you? \-
What are your salary expectations? \- My expectations are that you'll tell me
your figures and I'll tell you if I accept it.

Problem solved :-)

------
shizzlest
No answer is as bad as the truth or a lie.

how about " Well, I did apply to your company to improve, so we should rather
have a conversation about the money I expect than what I currently have. Here
is what I want to get paid [insert number 20% higher than what you really
would settle for].... Does it fit into your range ? "

That gives enough room but also leaves enough chance to go on in the
interview. Remind yourself that getting a job at a price that you set by
yourself is better than being afraid of loosing out the opportunity to max out
to the limit. Good staff always gets a second chance !

------
uncle_d
Double it and add 5k?

------
jlebrech
I would double what it really is, and if it's too much for them then it's "too
bad" they should learn how to negotiate.

------
jlebrech
the more you ask for the less the job will stray from the job description, if
you low ball it they'll make you clean the toilets.

