Ask HN: How much you increase your salary for a new job?

[trtobe]

Hi all,

I am being interviewed for few jobs. That's a good thing however I am struggling every time to give a number when asked as I don't know how much I can ask mainly because I am not earning too much at my current job and also to be fair I am afraid to give my willing number.

I have already learned once you gave your current salary you cannot expect much increase.

So would be appreciated if you could give me some insights how you have dealt with kind of this situation.

[dudul]

Don't give your current salary, it's irrelevant, and you're right, it will be used to cap the offer.

You should not feel uncomfortable communicating your expectations. Ideally, add a little padding to your expectations to account for the company's counter-offer.

As an example, if you want to make $100k, I would say "I'm looking for something in the 110k to 120k range". It leaves room for negotiation.

When asked how much I'm expecting in my new position, I usually give a ballpark estimate and immediately ask "what kind of budget are you working with?". And they better give me an answer, because I just gave them a range, I expect the same willingness to share information.