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Not financial or legal advice
Pay norms, ranges, and whether negotiation is even expected vary enormously by country, city, company, role, and over time. Any numbers in this guide are illustrative placeholders, not recommendations. Research your own market and treat this as general guidance only, not financial, legal, or career advice tailored to you.
Who this is for
The salary question makes you sweat, you're worried about pricing yourself out (or short), and you don't know whether you're even allowed to negotiate. This is the calm version.
The expected-salary question is testing preparation
When a recruiter asks what you're expecting, fumbling signals you haven't done your homework. The fix is research before the conversation, cross-checking a few sources so you have a realistic range in mind, not one number from one site.
Useful starting points (cross-check several, and always sanity-check against your own city and the exact level):
- Global aggregators: Glassdoor, Payscale, and Levels.fyi (Levels.fyi skews toward big tech and senior roles, so it's a ceiling, not a typical junior figure).
- Job posts themselves, increasingly list ranges, especially as pay-transparency rules spread; collect several for the same role to triangulate.
- Local sources, national statistics offices, local recruiter salary guides (e.g. Robert Half, Hays, Michael Page publish annual guides), and country-specific sites. For the Netherlands, recruiter guides and Dutch job boards are more representative than US-centric sites.
- Real people, if you can, ask someone in a similar role/region. A single honest data point from a real human often beats any site.
The 2026 pay-transparency shift
The EU Pay Transparency Directive is being transposed into national law across member states (the deadline falls in 2026), and many regions increasingly require or expect pay ranges in job ads. Practical upshot: more employers will state a range up front, and you can reasonably ask for it. Specifics and timing vary by country, verify what currently applies where you're applying.
If it's genuinely too early to answer well, it's reasonable to defer briefly, for example, asking what range the role is budgeted for. Whether that lands well depends on the market and the person, so read the room.
Leaves money (or fit) on the table
Oh, I'm flexible, whatever's fair really. I'll take whatever you think is appropriate.
Prepared and anchored (example only)
Based on what I've seen for this kind of role and level in this area, I'm looking in the region of [X to Y]. I'm open to discussing it in the context of the full package, could you share the range you have budgeted?
- "I'll take anything" can signal low confidence and may anchor you low. You can be flexible without being a blank cheque.
- Give a researched range, not a single number, and tie it to the whole package, not just base pay.
- The bracketed figures are placeholders. Your real range must come from your own market research.
Negotiating an offer
In many markets and roles, a polite negotiation after an offer is normal and expected, and not negotiating can mean leaving money behind. But this isn't universal: some employers and some countries use fixed bands with little room, and pushing hard can occasionally backfire. Gauge the situation and stay gracious either way.
Reflexive yes
Thank you so much! Yes, I accept, that's totally fine, thank you!
Gracious negotiation
Thank you, I'm genuinely excited about this. I was hoping we could look at the base a little; based on my research for this role and what I'd bring, I was thinking closer to [Z]. Is there any flexibility?
- Lead with genuine enthusiasm so it reads as collaborative, not adversarial.
- Anchor to research and value, not to your personal needs or another candidate's number.
- Ask a question ("is there flexibility?") rather than issuing a demand. It keeps the door open and the tone warm.
Never lie about offers or current pay
Inventing a competing offer or inflating your current salary is risky and can unravel, some places verify, and a discovered lie can cost you the offer. Negotiate on research and value, honestly. Also note: in some regions, employers asking about salary history is restricted by law, another reason to anchor on market data, not your past pay.
Know what you're actually being offered
Juniors lose more to *not understanding* an offer than to weak negotiation. A salary number is only part of it, compare the whole package, and the take-home, not just the headline.
| Component | What to actually check |
|---|---|
| Base salary | The headline number, but always read it next to everything below, not alone. |
| Bonus | Guaranteed vs discretionary? A "target" bonus is not promised money. |
| Equity / stock (RSUs/options) | Common at startups/scaleups. Understand vesting (often 4 years), and that private-company equity may be worth nothing, treat it as upside, not salary. |
| Pension & benefits | Employer pension contribution, health cover, paid leave, real value that varies a lot by employer and country. |
| Local extras | Region-specific items matter: e.g. in the Netherlands, an 8% holiday allowance and possibly the 30% ruling for eligible international hires materially change take-home. |
Gross is not take-home
Tax, pension, and social contributions differ enormously by country, so the same gross salary can mean very different take-home pay. Before comparing or accepting offers across locations, work out the net, and for anything that materially affects you (tax schemes like the NL 30% ruling, equity decisions), consider a qualified tax or financial professional. This guide can't be that.
Takeaways
Key takeaways
- Treat every number here as illustrative, research your own market.
- Do salary research before the conversation; come in with a range.
- Give a researched range tied to the whole package, not "anything."
- Negotiation is often expected, but not always; stay gracious and read the room.
- Anchor on research and value, and never lie about pay or offers.
Note
This is general guidance, not financial advice. For decisions that materially affect you, consider your own research and, where relevant, a qualified professional.
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This is general, educational career guidance, not legal, financial, immigration, or professional advice. Examples are illustrative and simplified. Norms vary widely by country, company, role, and over time, so always verify what applies to your own situation. Nothing here guarantees an interview, an offer, or any particular outcome.