The first salary number you name should be...

A candidate I coached last year was interviewing for a product manager role at a Munich SaaS company. Her research said the band was €75–95k. Her gut said "I'd be thrilled with €80k." The recruiter asked her target on the first screening call.

She said €80k.

They offered €82k. She accepted. Two months later she found out the role had been posted internally at a €92k cap. She'd left €10k a year on the table in thirty seconds of conversation.

This is the most expensive sentence most people say in their career: their first number.

Why the first number matters more than the last

There's a pile of negotiation research on anchoring, and the short version is: whoever names the first number moves the center of the conversation toward that number. Not completely. But by a lot.

If you say €80k, the offer will land near €80k. If you say €95k, the offer will land near €90k. The recruiter is not going to say "actually, you should ask for more." Their job — their literal job — is to close you at the lowest number you'll accept.

The first number you name should be at the top of your researched range. Not the middle. Not a "reasonable" number. The top.

If that feels uncomfortable, good. It should. Comfort is not the target. A salary that reflects the market is the target.

The mistake: naming a number because they asked

Recruiters ask for your expectation early because it benefits them, not you. The earlier you name a number, the less information you have. You haven't interviewed yet. You don't know what the role actually involves. You don't know how badly they need to fill it.

So the first move, when they ask, is usually to not answer.

Try these, in order of softness:

"I'd want to learn more about the role before putting a number on it. What's the range you have budgeted?"

If they push:

"I'm not trying to dodge the question — I just want to make sure we're talking about the same role. Can you share the band, and I'll tell you if I'm in it?"

If they push again, and only then, name a number. Name a high one.

The number itself: how to pick it

Your first number should be:

At the top of the public band, plus 10–15%. If Levels.fyi says €85–100k for your role, you're asking for €110–115k. The public data is always conservative. The top of the public band is the middle of the actual band.

Backed by one sentence of justification. Not a speech. One sentence. "Based on what I'm seeing for senior roles at Series B fintechs in Berlin, I'd expect the range to be €110–125k."

A range with a floor that's still good. Never name a single number. Name a range whose bottom is higher than your actual target. If you'd be happy with €95k, say "€105 to €120." The recruiter will come back with the bottom of your range or slightly below it. €98k is a much better landing spot than €82k.

A concrete example

Same candidate, new role, six months later. Senior PM at a different Munich company.

Research said the band was €90–115k. Her honest "I'd be thrilled" number was still around €95k. This time, she named €115–130k when asked.

Recruiter paused, said "that's a bit above our band for this level." She said, "I understand — what's the range you're working with?"

Recruiter: "€95 to €118."

She said, "€118 would work. I'd also want to understand the bonus structure and sign-on."

Final offer: €115k base, €10k sign-on, 15% target bonus. That's €132k target comp versus what she would have taken at €95k in the old version of this conversation.

Same candidate. Same interview. The only thing that changed was the first number.

What to do when you realize you've already under-named

This happens. You got excited, you said a number, and now you've seen signals the role is worth more.

You get one correction. Use it early. Before the written offer arrives, send:

"I've been thinking about this more, and after talking to a few people in similar roles at comparable companies, I want to revise my expectation to €X. I'm still very excited about the role — I just want to make sure we start the conversation at a realistic number."

Recruiters hate this. They will still usually honor it, because re-running the interview process costs them more than €15k.

You cannot do this after signing. You cannot do this twice. You can do it once, cleanly, before paper.

Takeaway

The first number you name is the ceiling of the offer you'll get. Delay naming it for as long as you can. When you must name one, pick a number that makes you slightly uncomfortable — a range whose floor is still more than you'd have said off the cuff. The worst outcome is they say "that's above our band." That's not a rejection. That's the start of the real conversation.