From a posted response last year: Know Your Value (A great book by Mika Brzezinski, BTW highly suggest to anyone on this site who has not read it!). Research your position and experience on sites like Salary.com, Glassdoor.com, LinkedIn.com and even Indeed.com - this will give you a good range of what the market is as a starting point. On Glassdoor, you can look up a company and see salary of positions within the company, perhaps there's a similar one to your role that would give you some insight. When asked, pointedly in an interview or screening, I say, "I'm sure you/the company, have a range in mind that would be commensurate to my level of experience, perhaps we can begin there." This usually opens their eyes and their mouths. Get them to divulge first if at all possible. If they push back, you can say, well, with my level of experience and market knowledge, salary.com (or wherever you garnered your base range from) says $xx is a fair beginning point for discussion. I'd be happy to work with you if you're within that range. If they come back lower, don't simply jump at it out of desperation. Breathe, look away and say something like, well, that would work for the initial on-boarding. I would like to see that number increase by $xx after my 90 day review. I'm sure you will see my value by then and be willing to work with me on this. Negotiating is a 2-way street. You don't have to play hard-ball. Generally you can negotiate with confidence as long as you have done your research and can back up your expectations. I recently had a recruiter pursue me for a similar position to mine. He asked what my salary expectations were, I answered with the "I'm sure your client has a range in mind...I would have to do my research on S, Gd, LI and I before I could give you a $ for this position." He then said it's range is $-$$, I told him I would not have looked at the position in that range and would not have applied for it. So he offered to propose they bring the $ up a bit either at hire or 60 days in (in writing in the offer).... So yes, you can get them to tell you the range AND get them to discuss more. Just be aware, confident, and remember to take a breath before responding.