The reason for this advice is that the employer and the employee often have a number in mind when they enter the room. If the employee starts with a number belo

The reason for this advice is that the employer and the employee often have a number in mind when they enter the room. If the employee starts with a number below what the employer had in mind, the employer accepts it. If it is too high, the employer will suggest something lower, and the employee at least can’t go higher, and will likely end up lower than the number he gave. So you could say a better advice is to say your number first, but make it 150% of your actual number. On a related topic, a lot of tech guys I know undersell themselves. I have two employees and I asked both of them to go first, for the first one, I gave him more than he asked for :)