
Salary that needs to be negotiated
I have about 5 YOE and looking for a job change. While I received so many calls from startups for SSE backend roles. During initial discussions I often let the HR know that I am earning 28 lakhs as CTC and I ask for 40 lakhs CTC, they say that they will get back to me but they never do so. Am I doing something wrong? Am I asking for too much. Should I wait for the market to get back to normal? PS: I definitely have the major set of skills they are expecting for the job role.
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Why not ask 100L?

This is a genuine question from my side and not at all intended otherwise. Please avoid sarcasm and let us respect each other and discuss it openly. Let me know if you have a different opinion on the topic openly

You can and it will work in only in one situation - The company and the said role/team needs a person who acts like pathfinder and you were the best they could get to fit that bill in the time period they have at hand.
Pathfinder is simply the person who will decide what needs to be done.
So this is a rare case situation where all stars align.
An approach to find such events where stars align - follow fundraise cycles of company, follow the employee migration patterns, back channel talk to employees to gauge their level of talent and skills, befriend them so they recall you when there is a discussion of hiring a senior in their company.
Not a lot of people can do what it takes. Not because it's difficult but coz it's rare.
Faking that you are matured enough irrespective of your yoe is simple part. Talk like a VP or architect would.


40 lpa is not too high dude, I think for 5 yoe it's pretty common. But I suggest that in this economic environment avoid disclosing your expected salary for as long as possible or even shifting companies if you don't have a strong motivation to do so. There's more carnage awaiting us IT folks in this industry in the next 3-4 months atleast

I earn less than half of that with 3.5Y. Can you tell me your skillset if that’s okay?

I predominantly worked on backend development using C#, .NET, Java, Spring boot, SQL, Python & Azure Cloud. Also I spent good amount of time on frond end development using HTML, CSS, Javascript, jQuery, Bootstrap. It might not be your skill set that is blocking you to get that higher package. It might just be the case where your current company is underpaying you. Hope you get that right opportunity with the right pay soon.

Yes, wait for market to get back to normal. Too many people are looking for work right now and most of them can immediately join unlike you. Ghosting sucks but that tells u more abt the company or the HR than it does about u. You can keep trying but even if u get offer in current situation with ur expected ctc, will u be 100% confident that things don’t go worse in ur notice period for your next company and they just rescind the offer ? Better stay where u are right now, just my advice.

Not sure if it's wrong to ask for an expected salary. You would have easily got the same previous year. You may eventually need to calibrate the expected salary I suppose

You can simply ask what is the budget they have for this role. If they say there is no limit for right candidate, then say that there is no issue.