A career advisor has spilled details on the best way to answer one of the most trickiest questions in a job interview: “What are your salary expectations?”
Erin McGoff, from New York, warned job applicants to never give away the exact figure they “wish” or “hope” to earn — or how much money they currently make.
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“Ah, the classic, ‘What are your salary expectations?’, also known as, ‘How much are you looking to make?’,” Erin explained in her Instagram video.
“Companies ask this to see how little you’ll go for or if you’re out of their price range.
“What they should do is list the salary range upfront so you can see whether or not their budget aligns with your expectations.
“But them asking you first allows them to have more negotiation power.”
Erin shared some worse case scenarios to help job applicants avoid making the mistake.
Reenacting a potential candidate in a job interview, she answered: “Well I make $45,000 a year now so anything better than that would be great… I mean in a perfect world, I’d get like $60,000 a year?
She urged everyone to stop answering the question directly.
“This question is tricky,” Erin said.
“If you say too low of a number, you risk them lowballing you and if you say too high of a number, you can risk them writing you off as too expensive.
“Try this instead: ‘Thank you so much for bringing that up, I would love to know the approved salary range for the position.”
If the hiring manager responds: “We don’t really have a set range”, Erin suggested saying: “Got it. Well my salary range is flexible but I’d like to learn more about the specifics of the role before giving out a solid number.
However, if the interviewer urges you to give a range, Erin advised saying: “Well I can tell you that I’m currently interviewing for roles that are in the $65,000 to $95,000 range.
“I’m flexible on salary depending on other elements of the compensation package.”
She added: “Keep it open, polite and professional — you got this!”
This to avoid
❌ Saying one number
❌ Telling them what you currently make
❌ Saying you “hope” or “wish” for
❌ Being unprepared
❌ Saying you’ll take whatever
Best practices
✅ Avoid putting out a number first
✅ Ask for their approved range or “salary band”
✅ Say you’re flexible
Her video has been viewed more than 41.7 million times — with many weighing in on her advice.
“As a recruiter this is spot on! But always give a range. It’s annoying when candidates don’t give anything,” one shared.
Another revealed: “I used your method in an interview and was offered well above what I had been hoping for!”
One added: “I wish I knew this before I took my last job, I loved the job but I erroneously said a direct number and basically low balled myself, was hired on the amount I gave them and resented my job for it the whole time because everyone else in my department was higher paid.”
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