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How to answer "expected salary" without lowballing myself?
I'm an ex-recruiter, here's the insider truth. We ask early to screen out people out of budget, so refusing to answer entirely can get you dropped. But you can deflect once: "I'd love to understand the full scope and package first, but based on market I'm looking in the range of X to Y." Always give a range, and make your current-plus-15-to-20% the bottom of the range, not the top. Research the range on MyCareersFuture and Glassdoor SG for the exact title first. Never state your current salary if you can avoid it, quote your expectation instead. And factor in that AWS and variable bonus are part of total comp, so if they lowball base, negotiate the bonus or sign-on. The candidates who got the most were the ones who anchored high but with a reason.
17First-hand experience