How to Research Your Market Salary Before Negotiating

The most common salary negotiation mistake is not asking for too much or too little. It is not knowing what the role is actually worth in the current market, and therefore not being able to anchor a negotiation around anything concrete.

When a recruiter asks, "What are your salary expectations?" and you guess, you are handing control of the conversation to the person who has more data than you do. When you respond with a researched range tied to specific market factors, you are negotiating from a position that is much harder to dismiss.

Why Salary Data Is Harder Than It Looks

Salary research sounds simple. Search the job title, get a number. In practice, it is far more complex.

The same job title can span a wide compensation range depending on location, company size, industry, stage, seniority interpretation, and total compensation structure. A "Senior Software Engineer" at a 50-person startup in Berlin earns a different total compensation from one at a publicly traded company in Amsterdam, even if the job title, level, and responsibilities are nearly identical.

The data sources themselves have limitations. Glassdoor and Payscale rely on self-reported data, which tends to skew in unpredictable directions. Government labor statistics are rigorous but often lag by one to two years and use broad occupational categories that may not match your specific role. LinkedIn salary-related insights and member-reported compensation data can be useful where available, but coverage and usefulness vary significantly by market and industry.

No single source gives you the full picture. Effective salary research requires triangulating across multiple sources and adjusting for the specific variables that apply to your situation.

Glassdoor and Payscale. Useful for getting a rough baseline. Search your target title, filter by location and experience level, and note the range rather than the average. The average is heavily influenced by outliers and may not reflect your specific segment. The range gives you the floor and ceiling for initial framing.

LinkedIn salary-related insights. Where available, LinkedIn compensation data can complement other sources because it is tied to professional profiles and member-reported information. Treat it as one input, not the final answer.

Levels.fyi (for tech roles). Particularly useful for software engineering, product management, and data science roles at tech companies. It breaks compensation into base, stock, and bonus components, which is essential for roles where base salary is only part of the total package.

Government statistics. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (US), the ONS (UK), Eurostat, and national equivalents provide median earnings by occupation. These are reliable but broad. Use them to validate that your other sources are in the right range, not as your primary data point.

Recruiter conversations. The most underused source. Recruiters know what companies are currently paying because they place candidates in those roles. A 20-minute informational conversation with a recruiter in your target market can give you more specific, current data than any online database. Ask what range companies are approving for the title and level you are targeting.

Job postings with salary ranges. Increasingly common due to pay transparency laws in several US states and other markets. In the EU, pay transparency rules are also increasing candidate access to pay or pay-range information, even though implementation details vary by country. Search for similar roles with posted ranges to understand what companies are publicly committing to. Be aware that posted ranges are sometimes wider than actual offers, but they establish a documented floor.

The Variables That Shift Compensation

Once you have raw salary data, you need to adjust for the variables that make your situation different from the average.

Location. This remains the single largest variable in most markets. The same role in London versus Manchester, or San Francisco versus Austin, can differ substantially. If the role is remote, understand whether the company pays based on your location, their headquarters, or a fixed national band.

Company size and stage. Startups often pay lower base salaries but may offer equity. Large companies often pay higher base salaries with structured bonus programmes. Series A compensation is structurally different from Fortune 500 compensation, even for the same role.

Industry. Finance, tech, and consulting tend to pay above the median. Non-profit, education, and government tend to pay below. The same "Marketing Manager" title in fintech versus in a non-profit will have meaningfully different compensation.

Total compensation versus base salary. Base salary is one component. Stock options, RSUs, annual bonuses, signing bonuses, retirement contributions, and benefits all factor into total compensation. When researching, make sure you are comparing like with like. A role with a lower base but significant equity or bonus potential may have higher total compensation than one with a higher base alone.

Your specific leverage. Rare skills, competing offers, domain expertise, and the urgency of the hire all influence where within a range you can realistically land. A candidate with a competing offer and a specialised skill set has more leverage than one without, even for the same role.

How to Build Your Range

After gathering data from three to five sources and adjusting for variables, you should be able to define three numbers:

Your target. The number that represents fair market compensation for this role, in this location, at this company, given your experience. This is the number you aim for.

Your floor (walk-away point). The minimum you would accept. This should be based on your financial needs and the opportunity cost of accepting below market. If the offer is below this number, you are better off continuing your search.

Your anchor. The number you lead with if asked for your expectations. This is often above your target, giving you room to negotiate toward your actual goal. The anchor should be defensible, tied to the data you have gathered, and not so high that it seems disconnected from the market.

Having all three numbers defined before any conversation means you can respond strategically rather than reactively. You know what you want, what you will accept, and what you will walk away from.

How to Use Your Research in the Conversation

When a recruiter asks for your salary expectations, you do not need to cite your sources like an academic paper. But framing your number as research-based fundamentally changes the dynamic.

"Based on my research into similar roles at this level in this market, I am targeting a range of €75,000 to €85,000" is a stronger position than "I am looking for around €80,000." The first version signals preparation, context, and flexibility. The second signals a guess.

If asked to justify your range, you can reference the specific factors: market data, cost-of-living context, the scope of the role, and any specific skills or experience that place you higher within the range. You do not need to share your sources. You need to demonstrate that your number is grounded in something real.

The Research Is the Preparation

Salary negotiation advice often focuses on tactics: when to anchor, how to counter, what to say when they push back. Those tactics matter. But they are only effective if the number you are negotiating around is well-researched.

A negotiation built on a guess is a negotiation you are likely to lose. A negotiation built on data, with a clear target, a defensible anchor, and a known walk-away point, is one you can approach with confidence and strategic flexibility.

The time you spend on research before the conversation is worth more than any single tactic you deploy during it.

Lyrra's salary negotiation simulator lets you set your target salary, walk-away number, and BATNA before practicing the conversation with realistic pushback. When you walk into the real negotiation, you have already rehearsed with the numbers you researched.