> Instead of all the wordsmithing in your evasive answer, wouldn't the better suggestion be to just go in with a number you have to have, and if they meet that

> Instead of all the wordsmithing in your evasive answer, wouldn't the better suggestion be to just go in with a number you have to have, and if they meet that number, you're fine. That's not what they asked you though, they asked you what your current sallary is. They then seem to add a little on to that in the knowledge that you'll be better off working with them. Provided they offer you sufficiently more to overcome the bother of moving, they need not offer you what your work is worth. Whether you offer them a value that you'd be happy with or not, you still haven't answered the question. > Not telling them is evading, plain and simple. You can sugar coat and wordsmith it all you want, but you're not fooling anyone even with limited intelligence you are evading the question. Most people don't seem to be trying to evade it. At least not in a "I'll say this clever thing and then they won't even notice!" sense. They will notice. The answer is to provide somewhere more constructive for the conversation to go than: "None of your business...." "...." You're not obligated to satisfy someone's curriosity. Especially not when they have interests contrary to your own. You don't want someone to know something, don't tell them. Doesn't mean you have to be an ass about it though. Still. If you feel that they might be decieved, you could always state it before the constructive part of the discussion. Something like: "I'm not going to disclose my current sallary because it would constitute a fixpoint for the negotiation. I feel we'd have a better chance of finding an arrangement we can both be happy with if we talk about what we can both do for each other and establish a compensation package based on that."