I received an unofficial job offer and have been asked what is my salary expectation - is this normal?By unofficial I mean the company said they are interested in making me an offer, but would like to first understand my salary expectations. To me this sounds rather like very unfair...Any views would be appreciated.

In what way is this unfair!Duh! how much do you want from them to do the job!Amazing that you've managed to get this far!

Isn't there some old adage about negotiation: whoever mentions a number first has already lost. Or something like that...The way the OP has phrased this admitedly does sound quite dumb. But it does raise a serious point: by asking about the applicant's current salary does this not immediately place the employer at an advantage in negotiations. To the recruiters out there, is it appropriate to respond with: "My current salary is not really relevant. I would prefer to discuss (and then one of) - what salary you think this role is worth - what salary you think my experience is worth - what others in the same role are being paid"

Hi, I’ve been trying to persuade a rather attractive girl at work to sleep with me. It’s progressing quite well, but now she has asked me how much I fancy her. I feel this is very unfair – how can I know how much I fancy her until I know whether she is willing to sleep with me?

I bet you know within 5k what your target salary is? Are you afraid that you may tell them your top price and you won't know if you missed out on 2 or 3k?Or do you think you'll scare them off?I like the unofficial approach, I do it quite often. I have my salary tables and they are what they are and i quite like being open about that.I would always hire someone with a view; I always have room at the top end of the grade so if they step right up, i'm not holding them back on their true value later on.IF they are good enough to be at the top of the grade, I'll bump the grade to the next level and give it a 'stretch' or at-risk element.Be honest, realistic and tell them what you really think you're worth. Then be happy with the respsonse.

Much better to put your number first in the negotiation as this sets the anchor.1) Research the market salary as much as you can - probably will be a range.2) Decide on the absolute minimum you would accept.3) Ask for a figure in the top quartile of the market rate. Not so high as to be instantly rejected i.e. be reasonable.4) Be prepared to accept less