I do not agree with the advice of not saying a number. I believe that it is a good advice for people that is new in the industry. However, after some years in the industry I have classified the types of companies and their salaries. There are places where saying X amount will make them laugh because not even the manager that could be your boss earns that amount.
My recommendation will be:
1)Calculate the salary you need or want to earn.
2)Investigate if there are people earning that range in your country.
3)Compare your skill set with that kind of people. Compare your years of experiences.
That is your reference from there you can know how much you can earn.
One of the most salient features of our Tech Hiring culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted.
I do not agree with the advice of not saying a number. I believe that it is a good advice for people that is new in the industry. However, after some years in the industry I have classified the types of companies and their salaries. There are places where saying X amount will make them laugh because not even the manager that could be your boss earns that amount.
My recommendation will be:
1)Calculate the salary you need or want to earn.
2)Investigate if there are people earning that range in your country.
3)Compare your skill set with that kind of people. Compare your years of experiences.
That is your reference from there you can know how much you can earn.
I plan a second blog post on the salary expectation question, which is a completly different beast.