The best way to avoid saying the salary number is to simply ask the question of them first. In other words: "What salary range does this role warrant in your co

The best way to avoid saying the salary number is to simply ask the question of them first. In other words: "What salary range does this role warrant in your company?" That frames the conversation really, really well. For one, if the two ideas are severely mismatched, you don't waste your time. If the number is low, you can make note of it then and explain why you are so much better than that. If the answer is non-committal, you've got a wonderful spot to review the role in detail and "come up with the number together". If the number is high, you can reset your mid-point and focus more on their "horrible" vacation allowance that they'd need to correct to bring you on. :)