Career

How to Negotiate Salary When They Ask for Your Expectations First

Rive News Research Desk

Published October 09, 2026 · 8 min read

Key takeaways

The first number mentioned in a negotiation anchors everything after it, so never answer the expectations question unprepared.
Research supports ambitious, precise anchors: a specific figure like $87,500 beats a round $85,000 or $90,000.
If the employer anchors first with a low number, pause, then re-anchor with your own data-backed figure instead of haggling from theirs.

Two professionals shaking hands across a desk in an office

A handshake after a successful negotiation: the outcome is usually decided by whoever sets the first number. Photograph: MaryKPoe/Wikimedia Commons

Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons

"What are your salary expectations?" sounds like a simple screening question. It is actually one of the most important moments in your job search, because the number you name first becomes the center of the whole negotiation.

Most candidates answer without thinking, naming a figure that feels safe. Research on negotiation says that is exactly the wrong move. The first number on the table shapes every number that follows, even when everyone in the room knows it is just an opening position.

This article explains why the first number matters so much, how to answer the expectations question, which anchoring tactics research supports, and what to do when the employer anchors first.

Why the first number matters so much

Psychologists call it the anchoring effect: our habit of leaning too hard on the first piece of information we get when making a judgment. Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky showed it in their famous research: even random or irrelevant numbers pull people's later estimates toward them.

In salary talks, the effect is direct. The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School gives a clear example: if you walk in hoping for $75,000 but the interviewer opens at $50,000, you may find yourself countering at $55,000.

Had you named your number first, you might have asked for $80,000. The gap between those two outcomes, $25,000 a year, comes from nothing but who spoke first.

The pattern holds across studies. Negotiation research keeps finding that whoever makes the first offer tends to finish ahead on price. That is why employers ask for your expectations early: an early, low anchor from you saves them money for years, since raises, bonuses, and future offers all build on the starting figure.

There is even proof that silly anchors work. University of Idaho professor Todd Thorsteinson had participants negotiate with a candidate who jokingly asked for $1 million before naming a realistic figure. The joke anchor still pulled final offers upward.

You do not need theatrics, but you do need to respect how sticky first numbers are.

How to answer "what are your salary expectations?"

The worst answers are a single unprepared number or "I'm flexible." Both hand the employer a cheap anchor or an invite to set one. The strongest answer is a researched range, delivered with a brief reason.

Do the research before any number gets mentioned. Check salary surveys, job boards, and recruiter listings for your role, seniority, and city. Talk to peers if you can.

Your goal is a defensible market range, not a guess, because an anchor backed by data is much harder to brush off than one backed by hope.

Then answer in a range, with your target near the top of it. The Program on Negotiation notes that range offers can soften the boldness of anchoring while still pulling the final agreement upward. A range also gives the employer room to "win" by landing somewhere inside it, which makes agreement easier.

A script that works: "Based on my research for this role at this level in this market, I'm looking at the $92,000 to $105,000 range." Keep it calm and brief. Then stop talking.

Silence after your anchor is not awkwardness; it is pressure, and it belongs on their side of the table.

One more rule: never lie about your current salary to raise the anchor, and never invent competing offers. Anchors built on lies fall apart the moment they are checked, and they destroy trust you will need later.

Anchoring tactics that actually work

Once you understand the trick, a few research-backed tactics sharpen your position a lot.

Make your anchor precise, not round. Research by David Loschelder and colleagues, published in 2017, found that precise first offers beat round numbers. Their example: a home listed at $255,500 tends to attract higher offers than one listed at $255,000 or $256,000. Precision signals that you did your homework, and counterparts adjust less sharply away from precise anchors. They also make smaller concessions over time. So $97,500 is a stronger anchor than $100,000, and $98,200 beats both if your research genuinely supports it.

Aim high within reason. The same research found that bolder first offers produced better outcomes. Your anchor should sit at the top of your researched range, not the middle. Bold does not mean absurd: an anchor far outside the market gets dismissed rather than adjusted from. Stay inside the believable zone, at its ceiling.

Consider the "non-offer offer." If naming a hard number feels too early, you can plant an anchor without making a formal demand. The Program on Negotiation suggests phrasing like: "I may be mistaken, but I think the typical range for this type of work is about $100,000 to $120,000." It frames the conversation around market data rather than your personal ask, and it still moves the center of gravity.

Trade, don't concede. When you show flexibility on one point, like start date or title, always ask for movement on another, like base pay or a signing bonus. One-sided concessions teach the other side that pressure works. Paired trades keep the negotiation balanced.

Close-up of cash representing daily pay rates

Know the market rate for your work before anyone names a figure: data is the strongest anchor. Photograph: Rama/Wikimedia Commons

Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons

What to do when they anchor first

Sometimes the employer names a number before you can. A low opening offer is not the end of the story; it is an anchor you can counter.

First, pause. Do not react right away, flinch, or start haggling from their figure.

The Program on Negotiation's first rule for facing an aggressive anchor is to spot the move for what it is. Awareness alone weakens its pull.

Then re-anchor with your own data-supported number. Name the effect if it helps: "That figure doesn't reflect current market benchmarks for this role. Based on my research, the range is $95,000 to $110,000."

You are not arguing about their number anymore. You are replacing it with yours.

Treat "this is non-negotiable" as an opening position, not a fact. The Program on Negotiation reports the case of one HR professional who pushed back on a supposedly fixed cap with market data and landed nearly $10,000 above it. Policies bend when the data is solid and the candidate is worth it.

If the base truly cannot move, widen the negotiation. Signing bonuses, equity, remote days, title, training budgets, and review timelines are all negotiable value.

And remember your BATNA, your best alternative to a negotiated agreement (your best backup plan if talks fail). The 2023 research by Maaravi, Heller, and Levy in the Negotiation Journal confirms what practitioners know: a strong alternative, like another offer in hand, is the single biggest source of negotiating power. Even the believable ability to walk away changes the dynamic.

The sports world offers a famous example of bold anchoring from a weak position. In 1975, agent Leigh Steinberg opened salary talks for rookie quarterback Steve Bartkowski, who could negotiate with only one team, by demanding $750,000: more than any football player had ever received.

The Falcons eventually signed him for $600,000, then the richest contract in NFL history. The anchor was outrageous, but it reset the whole frame of the negotiation.

Frequently asked questions

Should I give a number or a range when asked for salary expectations?

Give a researched range with your target near the top. Ranges soften the boldness of your anchor while still pulling the final offer upward, and they leave the employer room to land inside your zone.

What if they press me for my current salary?

In many places, employers cannot legally ask, so check your local rules first. If asked where it is allowed, pivot to expectations: "I'd rather focus on the market range for this role, which my research puts at..." Never lie about current pay; it is easily checked and destroys trust.

Is it risky to name a number that is too high?

An anchor far outside the believable market range gets dismissed instead of adjusted from, so stay at the ceiling of your researched range rather than beyond it. Precise, data-backed, ambitious: that is the combination research supports.

What if the offer is "take it or leave it"?

Pause, then test it once with data before accepting the frame. Cite market benchmarks and ask what flexibility exists on the total package: signing bonus, equity, title, or an early performance review. If nothing moves, your backup plan decides whether to sign or walk.

The bottom line

The expectations question is not small talk; it is the moment the negotiation's center of gravity gets set. Research it like it matters, because it does.

Walk in with a market-backed range, anchor precisely and ambitiously, and never let a low opening number become the frame you negotiate inside. If they anchor first, pause and re-anchor with your own data. The candidate who names the first serious number usually names the neighborhood where the deal closes.

Tags: salary negotiation, job interviews, anchoring, career advice, pay

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