Salary conversations that stay specific
Edwuma Team
Ask for the range tied to the role and the city. Bring the listings you have already read, not a number you hope sounds confident.
Pay is local. A title that looks the same in Accra, Lagos, Nairobi, and Johannesburg can sit on different ranges, different currencies, and different mixes of cash and benefits. Treat a single number from a group chat as a rumour until you can tie it to a role and a city.
Build a range from the search, not from a headline
Read recent listings for your title in the country where the job sits. Note which ones publish a range and which ones only say "competitive". The published ranges are the only figures you can point to. The silent ones still tell you who is hiring.
- Ask the employer for the range for this role in this city, before you name a figure.
- Separate base pay, allowances, and benefits. A higher base with no pension is not automatically better.
- If you need relocation or equipment for remote work, say so as its own line, not as a vague bump to salary.
When they ask for your expectation
Give a range you would accept, and say what it assumes: on site or remote, and which city. Then stop talking. A long justification sounds like you are unsure.
If you cannot name the city the range applies to, you do not have a range yet.