Expected vs Current Salary: How to Fill Both Without Underselling Yourself

Put your expected salary as a researched range or a number at the top of that range, and treat current salary as optional in most cases. You usually don't have to reveal what you earn now, and you often shouldn't, because it anchors the offer to your past pay instead of your market value. Here's how to handle both fields cleanly.

The short version

Expected and current salary are two different questions, and they deserve two different strategies.

• Current salary: what you make today. Many employers can't legally ask, and even when they can, you're rarely required to give a real number.
• Expected salary: what you want for this role. This is the number that actually shapes the offer, so give it the research it deserves.

The core risk is anchoring. If you disclose that you currently make $65,000, a recruiter may build an offer around that figure plus a small bump, regardless of whether the role pays $90,000. Your expected number should reflect the job's market rate, not your history.

You often don't have to share your current salary

A growing number of U.S. states and cities have salary history bans that prohibit employers from asking what you currently or previously earned. Coverage varies and changes over time, so check your local rules, but the practical upshot is that "What do you make now?" is frequently a question they're not allowed to ask, and one you're never obligated to volunteer.

Even where it's legal to ask, you can decline. On a form, that means leaving it blank if possible, or using a neutral placeholder. In conversation, redirect:

"I'd rather focus on the value I'd bring to this role. Based on my research, I'm targeting the $X–$Y range. Is that aligned with your budget?"

That moves the discussion from your past to your worth, which is exactly where you want it.

How to fill each field

Here's a quick decision guide for the most common form situations.

Avoid the temptation to type "999999" or other junk to force past a required field. It reads as evasive, can break downstream filters, and a real recruiter will notice. If you genuinely need a placeholder, "0" or "N/A" is cleaner. We dig into why the nuclear option backfires in what to put for desired salary.

How to set your expected number

Your expected salary should come from data, not a gut guess.

1. Research the band. Check the job posting (many now list ranges), plus sites like Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, LinkedIn Salary, and Payscale for the role, level, and location.
2. Find your floor. The lowest number you'd genuinely accept. Never put a range whose bottom you'd be unhappy taking, because employers often hear the low end as the real ask.
3. Aim slightly high. Most offers get negotiated down, so set the bottom of your range at or near your true target. A range like "$90,000–$100,000" signals "$90,000 is my floor."
4. Match the format. Range for text fields, top-of-range for single-number fields.

If you're genuinely torn between a range, a number, or leaving it blank, the salary expectations decision tree walks through each path.

Watch the remote and relocation wrinkle

Location changes the math. A salary that's strong in one metro can be below market in another, and remote roles sometimes pay on a national band, sometimes on your local one. If the role is remote or could involve a move, anchor your expected number to the company's location or pay region, not just your own cost of living. This often comes up alongside the "willing to relocate" question, so think about both together before you submit.

Phrasings you can copy

For the expected salary field or follow-up conversation:

• "$85,000–$95,000, depending on the full scope and benefits."
• "Open to discussing based on the total package."
• "Targeting market rate for this role, around $90,000."

For the current salary field when you'd rather not say:

• "Prefer not to disclose."
• "N/A — focused on the value for this role."
• "Negotiable."

Keep it brief and confident. You don't owe a justification for declining to share your current pay.

Don't let the salary fields stall the whole application

These two boxes derail more applications than they should, because people freeze on them and abandon the form. Decide your strategy once: a researched expected range, and current salary left blank or marked N/A where you can. Then move on.

If you're filling out a lot of applications and these fields keep slowing you down, JobRizzer can autofill the standard ones for you across Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, and other systems, so you spend your energy on the judgment calls like your salary range rather than retyping your name and dates. It fills the form, and you review and submit every field yourself. The salary number is always yours to set.

The bottom line: separate the two questions, lead with your market-based expected number, and stay relaxed about current salary. You're being evaluated for the job in front of you, not the one you have now.