Salaries,
2 min read.
How to ask for the salary you want, without guessing
Every listing on Carriera has a range. Here is how to read it and where to land inside it.
Pablo Ortega
Salary guide and data
Most people walk into a salary conversation with a number they found on a forum and a lot of hope. You do not need either. If the role is on Carriera, the team has already told you what they are willing to pay. The work is in reading that range well.
Read the range, not just the top
A range of €60k to €75k is not a promise of €75k. In the listings we checked this year, offers landed in the top third of the range about a third of the time. Most landed close to the middle. The top is for people who already do the job at the level the listing asks for, and can show it.
So before you say a number, place yourself honestly. Do you match the level on the listing, or are you stretching into it? That answer decides whether you aim for the middle or the top.
Bring one number, and a reason
When they ask what you expect, give one number inside their range, not a range of your own. A range tells them where you will settle, and they will settle at the bottom of it.
Then give one reason. Not a list. “I have led the design system at a team of forty for two years, which is the work this role describes” is enough. A reason they can repeat to whoever signs off is worth more than three they will forget.
Check the city before you check the title
Where the team sits moves pay more than the job title does. A senior product designer in Copenhagen is offered about a third more than the same role in Lisbon. If the role is remote, ask which country they pay from. The salary guide shows the difference for every city on the board.
If they say no
Ask what would get you there in a year, and get it in writing. A clear path to the top of the range is often worth more than a few thousand euros today, as long as it is written down and has a date on it.
