How to Research Your Salary Expectations: A UK and US Guide

To research your salary expectations, gather pay data from at least three sources (Hays, Robert Half, Glassdoor, LinkedIn Salary, ONS for the UK; Levels.fyi, Payscale, Glassdoor for the US), calculate the full compensation package, then set a target, an opening ask, and a floor. That evidence-based number is what you take into a negotiation, instead of a gut-feeling figure.

Ask for too little and you leave money on the table you'll never recover. Ask for too much without evidence and you signal poor self-awareness — and can lose the offer entirely. Surveys repeatedly show that many professionals feel underpaid yet never research their market rate before accepting an offer, and that gap is where most salary regret starts. This Epimoni guide walks you through the research process step by step, with specific tools and benchmarks for UK and US job seekers alike.

Why Salary Research Matters Before You Apply

Salary research is not just something you do before a negotiation. Done properly, it shapes your entire job search, helping you filter out roles that cannot meet your needs before you spend hours on applications and interviews.

Many companies now include salary ranges in their job postings, driven by transparency laws. In the US, Colorado, California, New York, and Washington State all require employers to include pay ranges in listings. In the UK, while there is no equivalent legal requirement yet, the government's Equality Act guidance and growing social pressure have pushed many employers — particularly in tech and finance — to include ranges voluntarily.

Even where ranges are included, they are typically broad. A listing might say £45,000–£65,000 or $70,000–$100,000. Your research determines where in that band you realistically and legitimately sit.

Step 1: Gather Data From Multiple Salary Sources

No single salary data source tells the whole story — each has strengths and blind spots. Cross-checking at least three gives you a credible range to anchor your expectations.

Key UK salary sources

Hays UK Salary Guide — Published annually, covering over 1,000 job titles across 15 sectors. It is free to download and is widely respected by UK hiring managers. When you cite "Hays' latest salary guide" in a negotiation, it carries weight.

Robert Half Salary Guide — Similar breadth to Hays, with particularly strong data for finance, technology, and legal sectors. Updated yearly, it breaks salaries down by region (London, South East, North West, Scotland, etc.) which matters significantly given the gap between London and regional salaries.

Glassdoor — Self-reported salary data from current and former employees. Most useful for tech and large-company roles where sample sizes are large enough to be statistically meaningful. Less useful for niche roles or smaller employers.

LinkedIn Salary — Available with a Premium subscription, it allows you to filter by job title, location, years of experience, and industry. Particularly useful for comparing your current salary against peers with similar career trajectories.

ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) — The UK's official labour market salary data, published by the Office for National Statistics. Less granular than commercial sources but authoritative and often cited by employers during disputes.

Key US salary sources

Glassdoor and LinkedIn Salary — Both more widely used and more data-rich in the US than in the UK, given the scale of the US labour market and greater willingness to share salary information.

Levels.fyi — Essential for anyone in tech. Provides highly detailed total compensation data (base, bonus, equity) broken down by company, level, and location. If you are moving into or within the US tech sector, this is the single most important source.

Payscale — Strong for detailed role-by-role comparisons across a broad range of sectors and US geographies.

Indeed Salary — Straightforward, free, and useful as a quick sense-check alongside the more detailed sources.

Step 2: Understand the Full Compensation Picture

Total compensation, not base salary, is the right basis for comparing offers — gross salary is only one piece of the package. In the UK especially, two offers with identical headline salaries can differ dramatically in real value once you count pension, leave, and bonus.

UK-specific considerations

Pension contributions: UK employers are legally required to contribute a minimum of 3% to your pension, but many — particularly in banking, law, and the public sector — contribute 8–15%. A 10% employer pension contribution on a £50,000 salary is worth £5,000 per year, often untaxed.

Annual leave: The UK statutory minimum is 28 days (including bank holidays). Many professional roles offer 30–35 days. US-style "unlimited PTO" policies are still rare in the UK and where they exist, research suggests employees actually take fewer days.

Notice periods: UK professionals typically work one to three months' notice, which affects how quickly you can move between roles. This is worth factoring into any comparison with a role that has a longer notice period tied to a higher salary.

Bonus structures: City finance and consulting roles commonly offer bonuses of 20–100%+ of base salary. Understanding whether a bonus is discretionary or contractual, and what the typical payout history has been, is essential.

US-specific considerations

Health insurance: Employer-sponsored health insurance in the US can be worth $8,000–$20,000 per year. Compare not just the coverage on offer but the employee's share of premiums and deductibles.

Equity and stock options: In US tech, equity can dwarf base salary over a four-year vesting period. Understand the vesting schedule, the cliff, and — for early-stage companies — the preferred vs. common share dynamics before treating equity as part of your compensation.

401(k) matching: Employer match up to 3–6% of salary is standard at larger US employers. This is effectively a pay increase that compounds over time.

Step 3: Set Your Target Range and Know Your Floor

Set three figures before any salary conversation: a target, an opening ask, and a floor. Once you have your market data from Step 1, calculate each one:

1. Your target number — what you genuinely believe reflects your market value given your skills, experience, and the research you have done. This is not your ceiling; it is where you want to land.

2. Your opening ask — typically 10–15% above your target in the UK, and 15–20% above in the US, where salary negotiation norms are more aggressive. This gives room to negotiate without ending up below your target.

3. Your floor — the minimum you will accept, accounting for total compensation including pension, bonus, and benefits. Below this number, you will decline.

How to handle the "What are your salary expectations?" question

This question often lands before you have full information about the role — a deliberate move by recruiters to anchor you low. You have several legitimate ways to respond:

• Deflect politely: "I would prefer to understand the full scope of the role before discussing compensation. Can you share the budgeted range?"
• Respond with a range: Give a range where your floor is the bottom of the range you state — that way even the low end is acceptable to you.
• Cite your research: "Based on Hays' most recent salary guide and comparable roles on LinkedIn, I am targeting £X–£Y for a role at this level in [location]. Does that align with your budget?"

Step 4: Know the UK vs US Negotiation Norms

Salary negotiation works differently on either side of the Atlantic, and understanding that difference stops you from misreading the room.

In the UK, open salary negotiation is common but expected to be measured and evidenced. Candidates typically present one counter-offer, backed by market data. Pushing more than once after a final offer is rare and can backfire. Notice periods of one to three months are standard, and trying to compress them dramatically is often seen as a red flag.

In the US, salary negotiation is far more expected and iterative. A recruiter who makes an offer anticipates that you will counter. Multiple rounds of back-and-forth are normal, particularly in tech. US candidates who do not negotiate at all are sometimes viewed as less confident.

For US tech specifically: total compensation — base, bonus, and equity — is the standard unit of comparison. A base-only counter without addressing equity is often incomplete. Levels.fyi data makes it relatively straightforward to benchmark total comp packages by company and level.

Step 5: Make Your Case in the Negotiation Conversation

Lead with gratitude, cite your research, reference specific experience, then make a clear ask. Salary negotiation is a conversation grounded in data, not a confrontation, and the candidates who do it well share three traits: they have researched the market, they lead with confidence rather than apology, and they are specific.

A strong negotiation opening sounds like: "Thank you for the offer. Based on my research using Hays' current salary guide and comparable roles I have seen posted on LinkedIn, alongside the three years I spent leading projects of this scale at [previous employer], I was expecting something closer to £X. Is there flexibility to get there?"

Note the structure: gratitude, research citation, specific experience reference, clear ask, open question. This is very different from: "I was hoping for a bit more."

If the employer cannot move on salary, ask specifically about what can move: start date, remote working flexibility, sign-on bonus, additional leave, accelerated performance review, or professional development budget. Each of these has real value, and most can be agreed without reopening a closed salary discussion.

Putting It All Together

Researching your salary expectations is a five-step process: gather pay data from multiple sources, understand total compensation beyond base salary, set a target, an opening ask, and a floor, learn the UK and US negotiation norms, then make your case with market-grounded confidence.

Candidates who skip this process tend either to undersell themselves — leaving significant lifetime earnings on the table — or to walk into negotiations unprepared and end up on the back foot.

For more on the wider job offer evaluation process, see our guides on how to spot traps in job postings and how to find a role aligned with your values.

FAQ

How do I research my salary expectations?

Gather pay data from at least three sources. UK job seekers can use the Hays and Robert Half salary guides, Glassdoor, LinkedIn Salary, and ONS ASHE data. US job seekers can use Levels.fyi, Payscale, Glassdoor, and Indeed Salary. Cross-reference these against recent job postings that list a range, then set your target.

What salary range should I give a recruiter?

State a range where the bottom number is still acceptable to you, so even the low end works. In the UK, candidates typically give a range such as "£55,000–£62,000". In the US, opening with a single specific number anchors the negotiation more decisively.

Should I include benefits when comparing two salary offers?

Yes. Compare total compensation, not base salary alone. In the UK, factor in employer pension contributions, annual leave, and bonus structure. In the US, factor in health insurance, equity, and 401(k) matching. Two offers with identical base salaries can differ by thousands per year in real value.

How is salary negotiation different in the UK versus the US?

UK negotiation is measured and evidence-led, usually with one data-backed counter-offer. US negotiation is more iterative, and recruiters expect candidates to counter, often across several rounds. In US tech, total compensation including equity is the standard unit of comparison.

Analyse my CV free →