Salary expectations email

An email that answers salary expectations with one target, a narrow band, and a request for their range. Copy it, then replace the sample number.

Currency Base salary Annual base, before bonus. Annual bonus Expected cash bonus for the year, not a percent. Equity, yearly value A yearly value you believe. Leave blank if you will not treat it as cash. Equity terms Your target The number you would accept, not a padded one. That target is Role Optional. Used so the script can name the job.

What you can say honestly I have a competing offer I can describe Competing offer, in your words Leave this blank if you do not have one. The script will not invent it. Scope you can defend Current total pay Optional. Spoken only if you check the box below. I will say this current-pay number. It is the real one. Market data you will cite

Channel Tone

The script updates on this page. These boxes are not uploaded.

Your script

No offer numbers yet.

Target total compensation: $170,000.

Opener

Thanks for asking. I would like to hear the band you have for the software engineer role, and I can tell you the number I am targeting so we both know if it is worth continuing.

Anchor and justification

My target is $170,000. For the scope we have discussed, that is the number I would accept. I can work from $163,000 to $179,000 if bonus, equity, or level changes the total. I would not want an offer at the bottom of that range unless another part of the package made up the difference.

What band are you hiring against?

The market check I can cite is that for this level and city I have seen totals around $160,000 to $185,000.

Give the target, then ask for their band. Do not fill a silence with a lower number.

If they say this is our best offer

I hear you, and I appreciate you saying it directly. If this base is the ceiling, I still want to see whether a signing bonus, the equity grant, or the level can move. If none of those can, I will decide on the package as it stands rather than ask the same question again.

Thank them before you ask what else can move. Then wait.

If they say the budget is fixed

Understood. A salary band is often fixed once the level is fixed. Signing bonuses and equity grants sometimes sit outside that annual budget. Is either of those actually open? If both are closed, what does a pay review look like in six months, and what would have to be true for the level to change?

Ask one question, then stop. A list of demands sounds like you did not hear them.

If they ask for your current salary

I would rather keep this on the pay for this role. A prior salary is a different job, and in some places an employer should not ask. The number I am using here is $170,000.

I am not going to invent a current salary, and I am not required to answer with one.

You can decline. If you answer, use the real number.

Non-salary asks

If salary cannot move the whole way, I will ask about other terms I actually want. I will start with a signing bonus.

If base cannot reach the target, I would like to talk about a signing bonus that closes part of the first-year gap. I want the amount, and any payback terms, in writing.

On equity, I would like the grant size, the vesting schedule, the cliff, and what happens to vested shares if I leave. If these are options, I also want the last independent valuation and how long I have to exercise after I leave. I will not treat a percentage as cash.

I would like to know how refresh grants work here: whether they happen on a schedule, what they depend on, and whether this offer is only the initial grant.

Remote work matters to me. I would like the written policy: which days, which locations are allowed, and whether pay changes with location.

I would like to confirm paid time off: the number of days, whether they are accrued, and what happens to unused days.

I can start on a date I can keep. If you need someone sooner, tell me the real date and I will say yes or no, rather than agree and then slip.

Pick the two you care about. You do not have to read all six.

Closing

I would like to get to yes. If $170,000 is possible, I can move forward. If it is not, I am open to a different mix of base, bonus, and equity that lands in the same place. What is the next step on your side?

Email version

Subject: Salary expectations for the software engineer role

Hello,

Thanks for asking. I would like to hear the band you have for the software engineer role, and I can tell you the number I am targeting so we both know if it is worth continuing.

What band are you hiring against?

The market check I can cite is that for this level and city I have seen totals around $160,000 to $185,000.

If base cannot reach the target, I would like to talk about a signing bonus that closes part of the first-year gap. I want the amount, and any payback terms, in writing.

Thank you,

[Your name]

Sometimes the expectations question arrives in email, or you promised to send a number after the screen. Write it so it can be pasted into a form or forwarded to compensation. This page uses the email channel and the expectations wording, with a sample target of $170,000. There is no offer filled in, because this note usually happens before one exists.

What to include

State the target, the band around it, and that the target is the number you would accept for the scope you have discussed. Ask for the band they are hiring against. If you have a market source you are willing to name, put it in the market box so it appears as your words, not as a vague appeal to “research.”

Leave current salary out unless you have decided to share the real number and checked the box. Do not add a competing company for color. If you have a real process and a real timeline, describe that timeline in the detail box. If you do not, the email should not mention one.

Sign with your name. Replace the “[Your name]” line. Keep the note short enough that the number is the sentence they remember.

Questions

Should I put a range or a single number in the email?

Both, in that order of importance: the target you would accept, then a narrow band if bonus or equity can change the mix. A range with no target lets them pick the end that suits them.

Updated 2026-10-08. Wording help, not legal advice.