Researching Compensation Bands Before Salary Comes Up

Why Salary Research Is Interview Prep

Most candidates think of salary research as a negotiation activity. It is actually an interview preparation activity. When the recruiter asks "What are your salary expectations?" in a phone screen, your answer shapes the entire process. Too low, and you leave money on the table or signal that you are underqualified. Too high, and you may be screened out before demonstrating your value. The right answer requires data, and data requires research done before the first conversation, not after the offer arrives.

Understanding Total Compensation

Before researching numbers, understand what you are researching. Total compensation typically includes four components:

• Base salary: Your fixed annual pay. This is the number most people fixate on, but it is often less than half of total compensation at senior levels or in the technology sector.
• Annual bonus: A percentage of base salary, typically 10-25% for mid-level roles. Some companies guarantee the first-year bonus; others do not.
• Equity or stock: RSUs, stock options, or profit sharing. This varies enormously by company stage. A public company's RSU grant has calculable value. A startup's stock options may be worth everything or nothing.
• Benefits and perks: Health insurance, 401(k) match, paid time off, education stipends, and other non-cash compensation. These can add 20-30% to the effective value of your package.

When researching and discussing compensation, always think in terms of total compensation. A $120,000 base with a 20% bonus and $50,000 in annual equity vesting is a $194,000 total compensation package, which is a very different conversation than "$120K."

The Six Best Data Sources

1. Levels.fyi

For technology companies, Levels.fyi is the gold standard. It crowdsources verified compensation data broken down by company, level, location, and years of experience. The data includes base, bonus, and equity separately, so you can see the full picture. Search for your target company and role level. If the exact company is not listed, search for comparable companies of similar size and stage.

2. Glassdoor Salaries

Glassdoor has the broadest coverage across industries. Search for the specific job title at the specific company. Pay attention to the sample size: a range based on 200 reported salaries is far more reliable than one based on 3. Glassdoor tends to skew slightly lower than actual offers because the data includes both current employees (some of whom have been in the role for years at older salary levels) and new hires.

3. Blind

The anonymous professional network Blind is particularly useful for technology and finance compensation data. Search for the company name and filter by role. The anonymity means people share actual offer numbers more freely than on any other platform. The downside is that the community skews toward high-compensation roles at large tech companies, so the data may not represent the broader market.

4. LinkedIn Salary Insights

LinkedIn provides salary ranges for many roles based on member-reported data. The data is less granular than Levels.fyi but covers a wider range of industries and company sizes. Use it as a cross-reference rather than a primary source.

5. Salary.com and Payscale

These sites provide market data based on a combination of employer-reported data and surveys. They are most useful for non-tech roles and for understanding regional adjustments. Both allow you to filter by location, experience, education, and company size.

6. Job Postings Themselves

An increasing number of states and cities now require salary ranges in job postings (New York, California, Colorado, Washington, and others). Even if you are not in these locations, check postings for the same role in jurisdictions with pay transparency laws. The ranges are often broad, but they give you the official band the company has defined.

Interpreting the Data

What Ranges Actually Mean

When you see a salary range of $100,000-$140,000, here is how to interpret it:

• Bottom of range ($100K-$110K): This is the offer for candidates who meet the minimum qualifications and have limited leverage.
• Mid-range ($115K-$125K): This is where most offers land for qualified candidates. It is the company's expected cost for this role.
• Top of range ($130K-$140K): Reserved for candidates who exceed the requirements, have competing offers, or bring a rare skill set. Reaching the top of range typically requires negotiation.

Adjusting for Location

Compensation data is highly location-dependent. A software engineer making $180,000 in San Francisco might make $140,000 in Austin and $120,000 in a small city. Use cost-of-living calculators as a rough adjustment, but know that companies often use their own geographic pay tiers that do not perfectly correlate with cost of living.

Adjusting for Company Stage

Startups (pre-IPO) typically offer lower base salaries with higher equity upside. Large public companies offer higher base salaries with more predictable but lower-growth equity. Mid-size companies often fall in between. When comparing offers across company stages, you are comparing certainty versus potential, not just numbers versus numbers.

Triangulating Your Number

Do not rely on a single source. Gather data from at least three of the sources above, then look for the overlapping range. If Levels.fyi shows $130K-$160K, Glassdoor shows $120K-$150K, and Blind reports suggest $140K-$165K, your realistic range is approximately $130K-$155K for total compensation. Your target should be the upper third of the overlapping range, which gives you room to negotiate down while still landing in a comfortable zone.

When the Question Comes

Armed with data, you have three options when asked about salary expectations:

1. Deflect (early stage): "I would like to learn more about the role before discussing compensation. Can you share the budgeted range for this position?" This works in phone screens and first rounds.
2. Range (middle stage): "Based on my research and experience, I am targeting a total compensation package in the $X-$Y range, depending on the full benefits picture." Always give a range, not a single number, and anchor it at the higher end of your research.
3. Counter (offer stage): If the offer comes in below your researched range, you now have specific data to support a counter. "I am excited about the offer. Based on my research on Levels.fyi and Glassdoor for similar roles at comparable companies, the market range for this position is $X-$Y. Given my experience in Z, I would like to discuss adjusting the base to $W."

Common Mistakes

• Researching only base salary: An offer with a lower base but strong equity and bonus can be worth significantly more. Always research total compensation.
• Using only one data source: Any single source has biases. Triangulate across at least three.
• Ignoring the level: A "Senior Software Engineer" at Google (L5) is a very different compensation band than a "Senior Software Engineer" at a 50-person startup. Level matters as much as title.
• Sharing your current salary: In many jurisdictions, employers are prohibited from asking. Even where it is legal, your current salary is irrelevant to what this role should pay. Redirect to market data and the value you bring.
• Researching too late: If you start salary research after receiving an offer, you have already lost leverage because time pressure works against you. Do this research before your first interview.