[rubinelli]

After you say you are not allowed to disclose your current salary, they will ask you your intended salary. You should research your market's average salary in advance, and if possible, ask other developers in the company to give you an approximate figure. Aim a bit higher so you have a margin to negotiate. Don't go too high, or they'll think you lost contact with reality.

[mmaunder]

Please don't do that. Get them to throw out a salary first and flinch at their first offer. Then ask for more. Don't you dare discuss salary with developers in the company that is interviewing you.

You're going to need to learn to negotiate. This is the only book you'll ever need on negotiating. Even if you don't use a single one of these tactics (and I guarantee you will) you'll at least get an education of how much of an art negotiating is.

http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Power-Negotiating-Roger-Dawson...

Whether you're hiring, selling a company, getting hired or raising money - this is required reading for doing business.

[Silhouette]

It's true as a general principle of negotiation that the person who states a number first is at a disadvantage. However, someone has to budge sooner or later, and as long as you're being realistic there isn't really much to lose by giving the target. If it's out of range of what they're willing to pay, you might as well all know that up front and not waste each other's time.

Sure, if it may not get the optimal deal that might have been available. However, the original poster here is (a) in a relatively weak bargaining position because he's under pressure to move, and (b) so badly paid at the moment that any reasonable offer is still going to be a huge improvement in both money and working conditions.

For what it's worth, I agree with the earlier comment about not disclosing current salary. It's fine for them to ask what you're looking for, and it's fine to have negotiation, but there is no legitimate reason a prospective employer would ever need to know what you've been working on already. I have never accepted a job from a company that asked me for that information during an interview and persisted when I politely declined to give it, and if I were still working as an employee today I would consider it a huge red flag if interviewers (particularly management/HR types) stuck to their guns on that one. Also, in this case, disclosing the absurdly low compensation at present would make the poster look very weak and undermine any otherwise reasonable and honest story about outgrowing the company and looking for somewhere their improving skills will be better utilised.

[datawalke]

I actually have listened to this on audio tape. It is an awesome book and I'd recommend it to anyone.