The Salary Question in Interviews: The "What Are Your Expectations?" Trap
The first phone screen. The recruiter wraps up the introduction, asks you to summarize your background in two sentences, then it lands: "What are your salary expectations?"
If you are not prepared, you face three bad options. Say a low number and cap the negotiation yourself. Say a high number and drop off the shortlist. Say nothing and look indecisive. None of those wins.
This post unpacks how the salary question gets asked, when it lands, and why it lands so early in software interviews. The real issue is not the number you say, it is who moves first.
When does the question show up?
Most candidates assume salary comes up at the end, when an offer is on the table. The reality is different. A typical Türkiye software interview flow looks like this:
- HR screening call (15-30 minutes): The recruiter usually drops the salary question within the first ten minutes. They want to filter for budget alignment.
- Technical interview: The topic rarely comes up. The hiring manager might ask, but it is uncommon.
- Final or culture round: The number can be revisited, with a "is the range we discussed still valid?" question.
- Offer stage: A single number from the range arrives. Real negotiation starts here, but the ceiling has already been set.
The salary question opens the process, it does not close it. The number you give in the first call sets a ceiling for everything that follows. Saying "actually I expected more" later means breaking your earlier word.
The anchoring effect: why does the first number win?
Negotiation literature calls it anchoring. The first number on the table becomes the reference point. The other side does not reject it outright, they negotiate around it.
Practically: if you say you expect 250K TL, the company can have a 320K budget and still deliver an offer between 250 and 280. They have no reason to reach 320. You drew your own ceiling, the company collected the difference.
The reverse holds too. If the company throws the first number, "the range for this role is 280 to 340", you might not push above the upper bound, but you will not slip below the lower one either. The ceiling and the floor become whatever the company stated.
The strategy is clear. Whoever drops the first number loses. When the question lands on you, deflect before naming a figure.
Three classic traps and how do you handle them?
Trap 1: "What are you currently earning?"
The second most frequent question on a screening call. If you answer, the company calibrates the offer 15-25 percent above your current pay. Even if you started with high targets, your ceiling now anchors to your current job.
There is no legal ban on the question in Türkiye, but you are not required to answer either. A natural way to deflect: "I would prefer not to share my current pay, because what matters for this role is what it is worth, not my history. For this position my expectation is in the X-Y range."
You still avoided a single number, you gave a range. Set the lower bound 10 percent above the minimum you would actually accept, and pull the upper bound past market median. The getSalary salary guide gives the current median for your level and stack as a starting reference.
Trap 2: "Our budget is tight, do not push the upper limit"
This sentence is sometimes real, sometimes a bluff. Imagine a scenario where you assume it is real and lower yourself: there is a 90 percent chance it was a bluff and you just dropped your own floor.
The right response: "I understand the budget. I want this role, but going below X is hard. Is there flexibility elsewhere in the package? Sign-on bonus, performance bonus rate, vesting period, learning budget."
Asking about the total package opens several doors. A company with a fixed base salary can still close the gap with a sign-on or a higher bonus rate. The total compensation guide lays out a checklist for valuing the non-base parts of an offer.
Trap 3: "You have to give a number, it is part of the process"
Recruiters sometimes claim they cannot move forward without a figure. Most of the time it is not a real rule, it is pressure. But if it really is a rule, give a range.
How to set the range? You need three inputs:
- Market median (from getSalary data, by your level and stack)
- 25-40 percent above your current salary (changing jobs has to mean a step up)
- The minimum you would actually accept (below that, the move loses meaning)
Build the range above all three. Example: market median 280K, 30 percent above current is 290K, minimum acceptable is 270K. The right range is not "270-330K" but "300-360K". Whatever you put as the lower bound bounces back as the offer; keep the lower bound above your target level.
Three natural ways to answer
Below are three methods that work on screening calls. They all delay the number without closing the door.
Method A: Pull information back
"Before we talk about salary, I would like to understand the role and the responsibility scope a bit more. How big is the team, what stack is in use, what are the expectations for the first three months? With that context I can give a better answer."
This method moves the question to role requirements. The recruiter usually has to share role details. While they do, you assess the weight of the role and adjust your range.
Method B: Bounce to the market
"Market data suggests that this level and stack falls in the X-Y range. Is your budget for this role inside that range?"
This method throws the ball back. It looks like you gave a number, but you cited the market median, not your expectation. If they say "yes", negotiation starts above that range. If they say "no, our budget is lower", you drop the role early without wasting weeks.
Method C: Give a range, keep the lower bound high
"My expectation is between X and Y. There is room to flex inside that, depending on total package, scope, and growth."
If you must name a number, set the lower bound 15-20 percent above the minimum you would accept. The upper bound is your target level. Hint at flexibility through "total package", do not leave a single naked number.
What to avoid
- Do not say "a fair offer is enough". Fair is whatever the company decides, you always lose that.
- Do not say "I do not negotiate". The line drops the offer, you think it sounds gracious, but you become the weakest seat at the table.
- Do not say a number below your current pay, and 10 percent above is also too thin. If the move does not deliver 20-30 percent, reconsider why you are switching, see job hopping and salary growth.
- Do not muddle gross and net. In Türkiye conversations, "is this gross or net" stays ambiguous. Tag every figure: "gross 290-340K TL". Convert to net only when asked.
- Do not share your current salary at the start of the process. It comes back as the anchor. The deflection script is above.
Remote and abroad scenarios
A remote role at a foreign company runs on a different model. The company often opens with "our budget for Türkiye is X-Y". Here you do not have to drop the first number, but you also cannot push above the range.
Strategy: defend a position inside the range with concrete signals. For a senior role: "Could I sit at the upper end of the range? I have eight years of production experience and led the architecture decision on these systems." The working remotely for foreign companies guide goes deeper into geographic pay zones; understanding where the range comes from is half of negotiation.
The second version of the salary question: counter-offers
Your current employer hearing about an offer and asking "what would it take to keep you" is a different interview. The number game continues here too: do not fall into the "I will stay if I get X" trap. The real value of a counter-offer is not the number, it is the conditions: role, reporting line, scope. For details see counter-offer decision.
Quick recap
- The salary question opens the process, it shows up on the first screening call. Do not get caught unprepared.
- Whoever drops the first number loses. Learn to deflect, delay the figure.
- When you have to give one, give a range, with the lower bound 15-20 percent above your minimum.
- Do not answer "what are you currently earning?". You do not have to, the pressure is a bluff.
- Before you give a number, learn the role, build the range above market median, current salary, and minimum acceptable.
- Tag gross or net on every figure.
Salary negotiation is not a speech skill, it is about who moves first. Whoever breaks the order and drops the first number loses; whoever deflects and gives a range wins. The getSalary dashboard gives you market data by level and stack as your starting anchor.