In this article
Before you start
This page is one step of the how to negotiate salary learning path. If you are new to spoken interview answers, the behavioral interview guide shows how to structure what you say aloud.
Why interviewers ask this
The first number spoken in a pay conversation often becomes the number everything else is measured from, so the current-salary question decides how the rest of the talk goes. A recruiter may ask it to check that you fit the budget, to save time, or to anchor the offer. You cannot tell which, so a good answer is safe in all three cases.
A weak answer states the current base at once, or invents a higher figure. A strong answer declines the number politely, keeps the tone friendly, asks for the range and stays truthful. A Staff-level answer also knows that the rules differ by place, can repeat the redirect without sounding evasive, and can name a bounded, true figure if it chooses to share one. The recruiter screen compensation page shows where this question usually appears in the process.
Answering a current-salary question from first principles
- Salary history
- Salary history is the record of what an employer has paid you, including base pay, bonus and equity, and sometimes what you are paid now. Employers ask for it to size an offer, and some places limit how they may ask for it or use it.
In plain words
Imagine selling a used bike. If the buyer asks what you paid for it and you answer, the buyer starts bargaining from that old price. The bike is worth what it is worth today. The analogy breaks in one place: the employer already has a budget for the role, so the old price is only one of several numbers on the table.
In one precise sentence, a current-salary question asks for your past price, and a strong answer moves the talk to the value of the role. Timing matters here. The recruiter usually asks early, before any range has been shared, so whoever names a number first sets the frame. Decline calmly and ask for the range. Then the employer's own budget is the first number on the table, and the talk starts from the role.
Step 1: Know the rules where the job is
The rules about asking for salary history depend on where the job is located, so check them before the call. The California rule, Labor Code section 432.3, says an employer shall not rely on an applicant's salary history in deciding whether to offer employment or what salary to offer, and shall not, orally or in writing, seek salary history information about an applicant (California Labor Code section 432.3, accessed 26 October 2026). Other states and cities have their own rules. Some cover the question itself, some cover only how the answer is used, and many places have no rule at all.
This page relies only on those two statements, subsections (a) and (b) of the California section. Read the full statute and your local rules before depending on any other detail, and check whether the rule that applies to you says anything about information you volunteer. Treat this page as general information, not legal advice. Input: the job's location. Output: how firmly you can decline. You now know where you stand; next comes the sentence you say.
Step 2: Say it again, shorter, when the recruiter asks twice
When the recruiter asks twice, repeat the same redirect in fewer words and keep the tone warm. The scripts here are the page's own advice, not a sourced finding.
First reply: "I'd rather focus on what this role is worth than on my past pay. What range have you set for it?" Second reply: "I'm keeping my current pay out of this so we can talk about the role. What's the range?" Third reply, if the recruiter says a number is required: "If a figure is a blocker, tell me what you need it for, and I'll tell you the total package I'm looking for."
Each reply is one sentence that names what you want to discuss and ends with a question. Then stop talking, because a pause hands the next move to the recruiter. Declining to share a figure is not lying. Input: the repeated question. Output: either the range or a clearer statement of what the recruiter needs.
Step 3: See why a current-salary number works as an anchor
A current-salary number works as an anchor because an offer built from it inherits the gap between your old pay and the role's market value. Take an illustrative candidate with a base of 90,000, a yearly bonus of 8,000 and equity worth 5,000 a year, so total compensation is 103,000.1 The illustrative range for the role is 110,000 to 130,000, with a midpoint of 120,000.1
Suppose the employer adds an illustrative raise of 10% to base. Base plus 10% is 99,000, below the range low of 110,000, and 21,000 below the midpoint.1 Starting from total compensation instead, total compensation plus 10% is 113,300, below the 120,000 midpoint by 6,700.1 At 21,000 a year, a four-year gap is 84,000.1
The same candidate can send two different "current salaries", which is why the single figure is ambiguous.
Text description of the diagram
- Base plus 10% is 99,000, below the range low of 110,000.
- Total compensation plus 10% is 113,300, below the 120,000 midpoint.
Step 4: If you share a figure, share a true and bounded one
You may choose to share a figure, and if you do, it should be true and clearly described. Say what it includes: "about this much in base, plus a bonus and equity". A bare number invites the recruiter to treat it as the whole story.
As general advice, not a sourced finding, avoid stating a false number. Employers can sometimes check pay later, so an invented figure can surface and cost you trust. Once you name a figure it becomes the anchor, so pair it at once with the range you are aiming for; the negotiating a tech offer page covers what to say and count after the offer arrives.
Input: your own pay data. Output: one honest sentence, such as "My total is in the high range of what you described, and I'm looking for a package in the range for this role." The four moves in order are check the rules, redirect to the range, know the anchor, and share only a true, bounded figure.
Text description of the diagram
- The rules depend on where the job is.
- Redirect to the range for the role and repeat briefly if asked again.
- The first number named becomes the anchor.
- If you share a figure, share a true, bounded one.
Knowing it is half the job. Saying it is the other half.
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Start Free Trial →The Staff-level answer
What is your current salary?
I'd rather not anchor on my current figure. It reflects one employer's budget and my history, not what this role is worth, and I'm happy to talk about expectations. From the scope you've described, I'd be looking for a total package in line with the range for this role in this market. What range have you budgeted for the position? If it's in the right area, I can tell you quickly whether we're aligned, and if it isn't, it's better we both know now.
What makes it Staff-level is the order: a calm decline, a reason that is about the role and not about secrecy, a concrete question, and an offer to move forward.
The rubric
| Dimension | Weak answer | Strong answer | Staff answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honesty | States an invented or inflated figure | Declines or shares a true figure | Declines, and can say what a shared figure includes |
| Redirect | Answers, then stops | Moves to the role's value | Moves to the range and repeats it briefly if asked again |
| Tone | Defensive or evasive | Friendly and brief | Warm, and treats the recruiter's need as legitimate |
| Rules | Unaware that rules differ by place | Knows rules may apply | Checks the local rules before the call |
| Follow-up readiness | Freezes on a second ask | Has one repeat sentence | Has a third sentence for a required field |
Three variants of this question
The direct ask on a recruiter call
Use the first reply of Step 2: say you would rather focus on what the role is worth, and ask for the range. If the recruiter repeats it, shorten the same sentence and keep the question at the end. The salary expectations page covers what to say once the range is on the table.
A required current-salary field on the application form
Enter a placeholder that is clearly not a real figure only if the form allows it, or use any "prefer not to say" option, and raise the point with the recruiter in your own words. Do not enter a made-up figure that reads as real.
A current pay that is above the range
Say that you are looking for a package aligned to the role's scope and ask the range first. If the range is below what you need, say so plainly and ask whether there is flexibility, instead of arguing from your old figure.
Common mistakes
- "My current salary is this much." (wrong) It names the anchor before you know the range. (right) "I'd rather focus on what this role is worth. What range have you set?"
- Giving a higher number than the truth. (wrong) It can surface later and cost trust. (right) A true figure with what it includes, or no figure.
- "I can't tell you that, it's illegal." (wrong) Rules differ by place and mostly concern the employer. (right) "I'd rather talk about the range for the role."
- Quoting base only when your real pay is mostly bonus and equity. (wrong) It understates your total. (right) "Base is part of it; I count total compensation."
- Going quiet or defensive after the redirect. (wrong) It signals discomfort. (right) Ask the range question warmly, then stop talking.
Follow-up questions
Do I have to tell a recruiter my current salary?
In general you choose what to share, and a polite redirect to the role's range is a normal reply. Where you live and where the job is can change what the employer may ask, so check the local rules. If the recruiter says a figure is required, ask what it is needed for and offer the total package you are looking for.
Is it illegal to ask about salary history?
It depends on the place. In California, Labor Code section 432.3 says an employer shall not, orally or in writing, seek an applicant's salary history information, and shall not rely on it to decide whether to offer employment or what salary to offer (California Labor Code section 432.3). Other places differ, so check the rules for the job's location.
Can I lie about my current salary?
No. A false figure is not worth the risk, because pay can sometimes be checked later and the number becomes the anchor for your offer. Decline or give a true figure instead.
Should I share my base salary or my total compensation?
If you share anything, say which one it is and what it includes, because a bare number is ambiguous. The recruiter screen compensation page explains how to describe total compensation clearly.
How do I politely decline to share my salary history?
Use one warm sentence that names what you want to discuss and ends with a question: "I'd rather focus on what this role is worth. What range have you set?" Then stop talking and let the recruiter answer.
- Decline the number politely and move the talk to the role's range.
- Repeat the redirect in fewer words when the recruiter asks again.
- The first figure named becomes the anchor, so avoid naming your old pay first.
- If you share a figure, make it true and say what it includes.
- Rules about salary history differ by place, so check them before the call.
Before the call
Write your one redirect sentence on a card, and say it aloud once before the call so that it sounds calm and short. Add the range you will ask for if the recruiter shares theirs, and the date by which you want the written offer. Then check the local rule one more time, because a rule that covers the question changes how firmly you can decline.
Sources
- California Labor Code section 432.3 (salary history) — California.Public.Law (California Legislature code text), 26 Oct 2026
- California Legislative Information: Labor Code section 432.3 — California Legislative Counsel (official code text), 26 Oct 2026
