The good news is that this question can be prepared for in advance. With a clear method for assessing the market, formulating a realistic salary range, and answering with confidence, you can turn this dreaded moment into an opportunity to demonstrate your professionalism, no matter what field you're in.
Key Takeaways
- Prepare your salary expectations by cross-referencing market realities, your experience, and the benefits on offer, not just a bare number.
- Give a salary range wide enough to leave room for negotiation, but precise enough to show you've done your research.
- In Quebec, there is currently no law requiring employers to post salaries (unlike Ontario), but more and more companies are doing so voluntarily.
- If the recruiter doesn't bring up the topic, it's up to you to raise it, at the right moment and with an open-ended question.
Preparing for the salary question before your interview
A convincing answer about salary is built before you even walk into the interview room, much like you need to anticipate the most commonly asked interview questions so you're not caught off guard. Three angles are worth working on here: the realities of the market for this specific position, the objective value of your profile, and what the company offers beyond the base number.
Assess the position and the job market
Before setting your salary expectations, take a look at the market: how in-demand is the profession, how large is the company, is it a private or public organization? These factors directly influence the salary scales in practice.
Also research the current ranges for the type of position you're targeting by checking current job postings. Comparing several similar postings gives you a realistic sense of what you can expect, rather than relying on a general impression.
Assess your skills and experience
To justify a salary expectation, start by honestly assessing your level of education, experience, and distinctive skills. This is an essential step in knowing how to present your value in an interview, even before broaching the topic of salary.
Know the strengths of your background inside and out. If the company clearly sees the added value you can bring, it will be more inclined to align with your expectations.
Factor in your financial needs and career goals
Your salary expectations should also reflect your personal circumstances: financial responsibilities, short- and long-term career goals. It's about finding a balance between competitive compensation and a salary that genuinely lets you maintain your standard of living, otherwise you risk regretting your answer a few months down the road.
Consider benefits and total compensation
A position isn't just a number on a paycheck. Vacation time, insurance, retirement plans, remote work, ongoing training: these elements make up total compensation and can largely offset a base salary that's slightly below your initial expectations. In fact, if the salary offered doesn't meet your expectations, there are other benefits worth negotiating when you're hired, from remote work to job title to professional development. A company that invests in its employees' well-being deserves to be evaluated as a whole, not just on the size of the paycheck.
What Quebec regulations say
In Quebec, there is currently no law requiring employers to post salaries or salary ranges in their job postings. This is a notable difference from Ontario, where companies with 25 or more employees have been required to post a salary range in job postings since January 2026.
This absence of a law shouldn't be confused with the Pay Equity Act, overseen by the CNESST, which aims to correct pay gaps between predominantly female and predominantly male jobs of equal value in companies with 10 or more employees. This law has existed in Quebec for a long time, but it doesn't address pay transparency in the sense of being able to look up a salary scale before your interview.
That said, the trend is shifting even without a legal mandate. According to the Ordre des CRHA, the proportion of non-unionized Quebec organizations that have implemented at least one pay transparency measure rose from 27.3% in 2023 to 30.7% in 2025. In other words, it's becoming more and more common to find a salary range in a job posting, even though it's not yet a requirement.
How to frame your salary range depending on the interview stage
The right answer about salary expectations depends on when the question is asked. A first HR screening call doesn't call for the same level of precision as a final interview with the decision-maker.
| Interview Stage | What to Provide | Why |
| First HR/phone contact | A wide range | You don't yet have all the details of the position, so a range keeps you from committing too early |
| Interview with the hiring manager | A narrower range, anchored to the market | You know more about the actual responsibilities, so your answer can become more precise |
| Final offer | A precise, negotiable number | This is the moment to defend your value with concrete arguments, not generalities |
Make sure your range is wide enough to allow for negotiation, but precise enough to show you've done a serious assessment. A number that's too low risks being taken at face value; a number that's too high without solid justification can scare off the recruiter.
In practice, having a benchmark figure by sector changes everything. Here are examples drawn from Fed Group's 2026 salary guides for Greater Montreal, from entry-level to experienced:
| Sector | Benchmark Position | Entry-Level | Senior |
| IT | Systems Administrator | $85K | $110K |
| Finance & Accounting | Corporate Financial Analyst (CPA) | $80–90K | $105–125K |
| Supply Chain | Buyer | $75K | $110K |
| Manufacturing Engineering | Production Engineer | $80K | >$100K |
This kind of sector-specific, localized benchmark is far more useful for building your range than a generic estimate found online.
Negotiation techniques that really make a difference
Beyond the number itself, the way you present your salary range directly influences the outcome of the negotiation. Three well-established negotiation principles can help you defend your position without coming across as aggressive.
The anchoring bias: Give the first range
In negotiation, the first person to state a number often sets the frame for the discussion: this is the principle of anchoring. If you're comfortable doing so, stating your range first, with a figure slightly above your actual expectation but justifiable by your skills, steers the conversation in your favor, rather than starting from the recruiter's initial offer.
Strategic silence after stating your number
Once you've stated your range, resist the urge to justify it immediately or lower it out of discomfort. Strategic silence, popularized by practitioners of principled negotiation (a method rooted in the Harvard Negotiation Project), creates a space where it's often your counterpart who speaks first, sometimes revealing their own room to maneuver.
The principle of reciprocity in negotiation
Psychologist Robert Cialdini documented the principle of reciprocity: when one party makes a gesture or a concession, the other feels a natural pressure to respond in kind. In an interview, this can translate into flexibility on a secondary aspect (start date, schedule) in exchange for movement from the recruiter on salary.
How to bring up salary if the recruiter doesn't
If the topic isn't raised, it's entirely legitimate to bring it up yourself. You're not working for free, and a recruiter who reacts poorly to this question during the interview is a signal worth taking seriously.
Ideally, wait until questions about your skills and fit for the role are wrapped up before bringing up compensation. This shows that your primary interest is the opportunity itself, not just the number. Once that dynamic is established, an open-ended question works well: "Could you give me some information about the salary range for this position?"
Fed Group supports you in your preparation
The topic of compensation remains difficult to approach with confidence, no matter the industry. Aim too high, and you risk being knocked out of the running; aim too low, and you risk an unattractive salary for years to come. Good preparation changes everything.
Whether you're targeting a position in IT, finance, supply chain, or manufacturing engineering, our specialized teams support you in this preparation, with advice grounded in the realities of the Greater Montreal job market. Don't hesitate to contact us to benefit from our consultants' expertise.
Looking for a new challenge? Browse our job postings or submit a spontaneous application directly. 😊
Your questions about salary expectations in an interview
Should I give a gross or net figure for my salary expectation?
Always give a figure in gross salary, this is the standard in exchanges with recruiters and on published salary guides. Make it explicit if you sense any ambiguity, to avoid any misunderstanding at the offer stage.
What should I say if the recruiter asks about my current salary?
You can politely redirect the conversation toward your expectations for the new role rather than your salary history: "I'd prefer to first discuss the responsibilities of this role and the value I can bring to it, what's the range planned for this position?" Your current salary shouldn't be the only reference point for a role with different responsibilities.
Can I revise my salary range after stating it in an interview?
Yes, especially if new information about the position changes things (expanded responsibilities, team management). Present this adjustment as a logical consequence of what you've just learned, not as improvisation.
Is it risky to refuse to answer the salary question?
Flatly refusing can be perceived as evasive and can hurt the trust you've built. It's better to give a wide range than an outright refusal, even early in the process.
How should I answer if the question is asked by email before the interview?
Keep it concise and give a realistic range rather than a single figure, noting that you remain open to discussing it further once you know the full details of the position. This avoids locking yourself in before you've even met the team.
What should I do if I don't have a salary benchmark for this position?
Rely on sector-specific salary guides rather than a rough estimate. Fed Group's sector salary guides provide precise ranges by experience level and industry, far more reliable than a generic search.
