Interview preparation guide

How to Prepare for Salary Questions Using Evidence

Salary questions become easier when your answer connects scope, role level, and market evidence instead of treating compensation as a single number.

Define your target role precisely

Use the job description to identify expected scope, decision authority, and required experience. A title alone is a weak anchor because the same title can cover very different levels of ownership.

Prepare three inputs

1. Your current compensation and the responsibilities attached to it.
2. Comparable ranges from sources relevant to location, company stage, and role level.
3. The range you can accept while still meeting your practical constraints.

Use a range with a reason

A range should reflect genuine differences in scope, not an attempt to sound flexible. Explain what would place an offer at the lower or upper end: team size, ownership, on-call responsibility, geographic adjustment, or growth expectations.

Practice the pause

Do not rush to fill silence after the first number. Ask what is included in the package, confirm the level, and give a considered range. Rehearse the sequence aloud so the answer stays calm when the interview moves quickly.