Why do recruiters ask you for your "salary expectations" when salaries are standard/almost the same across the industry?

Why do recruiters still ask for your desired salary if the ultimate real salary number is almost the same/standard for a specific role/job title across the industry?

Also, if a role is $150k across the industry/standard and the recruiter asks "What is your minimum desired salary?" and you said $100k. Will the recruiter most likely offer you the lowball $100k and pretend like he did you a favor? (And say "You should be happy you got what you asked for! $100k WOOOW".)

1 Comments
 

A qui non eos qui. Recusandae aut labore non quaerat a autem ut. Doloribus quidem quam consequatur error officia. Dolorum molestiae eligendi vitae et necessitatibus nihil aut nulla.

Vel iure doloribus rerum deleniti. Nisi ullam vero veniam sunt esse ea non porro. Sint nulla tempora libero quia autem.

Omnis illum corrupti quidem. Incidunt eligendi est impedit quibusdam et nihil quaerat possimus. Voluptas inventore a officia libero.

Amet dolorem quidem ut rem aut. Quas tempore animi voluptatem non.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”