Interviews · 6 min read
What is your expected salary? How to answer in a Kenyan interview
Find the real pay band before the interview, answer with a range, ask for the budget and say whether you mean gross or net.
The expected salary question decides more than your first payslip. The figure you name often becomes the base for every raise that follows. Most Kenyan adverts do not show the pay, so many candidates guess low to look reasonable. This guide shows how to find the band, how to answer with a range, and three short scripts you can adapt.
Why employers ask, and what they do with your answer
Employers ask for three reasons: to check that you fit the budget for the post, to see whether you know the market, and sometimes to pay less than the budget allows. An answer far above the band can screen you out. An answer far below it costs you money every month.
The first figure also tends to stick. Raises are usually calculated from the salary you already earn, so a low start follows you.
And you usually answer without seeing the pay. When we checked all 1,702 open adverts on work.ke on 11 October 2026, fewer than 300 stated any pay figure.
Find the band before the interview
Start with adverts for the same role that do show pay. Our salary pages group them by role and link every figure to its original advert. In a sample of 82 entry level adverts on work.ke that stated a monthly figure on 11 October 2026, 60 started between KSh 25,000 and KSh 35,000.
Public employers print the scale. Elgeyo Marakwet County adverts on work.ke show KSh 28,620 to KSh 37,100 a month for posts such as Human Resource Assistant III. New entrants are usually placed at or near the bottom of a scale like that.
Then check the legal floor. If your job is listed in the Regulation of Wages (General) Order, the employer cannot pay less than its minimum, and the minimum replaces any lower figure in your contract (Labour Institutions Act, section 48). From 1 May 2026, as corrected by Legal Notice 108 of 2026, a general clerk, receptionist or storekeeper in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru or Eldoret must get at least KSh 27,796.51 a month, and a cashier at least KSh 40,724.23. The rates are lower outside these cities.
Finally, ask two or three people who do the same job what a starting offer looks like.
Answer with a range, then ask for their budget
Give a range rather than a single number. The bottom of the range must be a figure you would genuinely accept, and the range should come from your research, not from your rent or your last job.
Then hand the question back and ask what budget they have set for the role. If their figure falls inside your range, you can agree. If it falls below, ask what comes with it: allowances, medical cover, transport, commission terms and when pay is first reviewed.
Avoid two answers that cost money: anything is fine, and whatever you think is fair. Both tell the employer it can offer the bottom of its band, or less.
If you are asked what you earn now, you can answer with your expected range and explain that you are looking at the market rate for this role.
When the advert asks for your expected salary in writing
Some adverts ask you to state your salary expectations in the cover letter or on the application form. On 11 October 2026, 7 open adverts on work.ke asked for this in writing. Follow the instruction: an application that leaves out a required item can be set aside without being read.
Write one sentence with a range, the period and whether it is gross, and add that you are open to discussion. Put it near the end of the letter. If a form field accepts only one number, enter a figure inside your range that you would be glad to accept.
My expected salary for this role is KSh 35,000 to KSh 40,000 gross per month, depending on the full package, and I am open to discussing it.
Gross or net: say which one you mean
Gross pay is the figure before deductions. Net pay is what reaches your account after deductions such as PAYE, NSSF, SHIF and the housing levy. The gap is big enough to matter, and most adverts on work.ke that show pay do not say which of the two they mean.
So say it every time: KSh 40,000 gross per month, not just 40,000. If you need a certain amount in your account, work back to the gross figure with the net salary calculator before the interview, and ask for the gross structure in the offer letter.
Three scripts to adapt
Change the numbers to the band you found. Say it calmly, then stop and let them answer.
- Graduate or first job: Based on similar entry level roles advertised in Nairobi, I am looking at KSh 30,000 to KSh 35,000 gross per month. What budget have you set for this position?
- Changing careers: I am moving from retail into administration, so I have checked what admin assistant adverts pay. A range of KSh 32,000 to KSh 38,000 gross per month fits the market, and I am open to discussing it once I understand the full package.
- Experienced: For the scope you have described, leading a team of five and with my CPA, I am targeting KSh 120,000 to KSh 140,000 gross per month. Is that within the band for the role?
Whatever you agree, get it in the offer letter: the basic salary, the allowances, whether the figure is gross, and the start date. And one rule never changes: a real employer pays you. No real job charges you to apply, to be interviewed or to start.
Sources and further reading
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Frequently asked questions
Should I name my expected salary first or wait for the employer?
If you are asked directly, give a researched range and then ask for their budget. A range keeps the conversation open without leaving the number entirely to them.
Is it fine to just say the salary is negotiable?
Say it after a range, not instead of one. Negotiable on its own gives the employer nothing to work with and invites its lowest offer.
Should I quote my expected salary as gross or net?
Say which one you mean. Offers and payslips start from gross pay, so quote gross per month unless the employer asks for net.
What if the offer is below the minimum wage?
If your job is covered by a wages order, its minimum is part of your contract and cannot be varied by agreement (Labour Institutions Act, section 48). Check your occupation and town with the minimum wage checker before you reply. This is general information, not legal advice.
Can I ask for more after I accept?
You can raise it at the next pay review, but it is much harder than agreeing the right figure before you sign.