Your current salary has almost nothing to do with what you should earn in your next role. Yet every negotiation starts with the same tired question: what are you on now?

The assumption baked into that question is that your compensation history is somehow predictive of your market value. It isn’t. What you earned previously reflects a deal struck in a different context, probably years ago, with a different employer who had different constraints and different information.

Market value is forward-looking. It’s about what someone will pay to solve a problem they have today, not what someone else paid to solve a different problem three years ago.

The historical salary trap

Most senior technology executives undervalue themselves by anchoring to their previous compensation. You took a role at a scale-up for equity upside and a lower base. You stayed at a company longer than you should have, watching the market move past you. You joined during a downturn when budgets were frozen.

None of these circumstances have any bearing on what you’re worth to a new employer. But if you walk into a negotiation with your previous salary as the starting point, you’ve already lost.

The uncomfortable truth is that your previous salary often says more about your negotiating position at the time than your actual value. Were you desperate to leave a toxic environment? Did you prioritise remote work over compensation? Were you simply naive about market rates?

Employers know this. The good ones don’t care about your salary history because it tells them nothing useful. The less good ones ask because they’re hoping to get a bargain.

What actually determines market value

Market value is the intersection of supply, demand, and the specific value you can create for a specific organisation. For a CTO or senior technology leader, that means understanding three things.

First, what comparable roles are paying right now. Not last year. Not what your mate heard third-hand. Actual current market data for your level, your specialism, your location. The market for technology leadership in the UK has shifted dramatically in the past 18 months. Remote-first roles have different benchmarks than office-based ones. A CTO at a Series A fintech has different market value than a CTO at a 500-person B2B SaaS company.

Second, what value you’re going to create. This isn’t about your CV or your years of experience. It’s about the specific problems this employer needs solved and your demonstrable ability to solve them. If you’re walking into a technical debt nightmare and you’ve done that turnaround twice before, that’s worth a premium. If you’re inheriting a high-performing team in good shape, less so.

Third, what alternatives both parties have. If you’re one of three credible candidates for a role that’s been open for six months, you have leverage. If they’re your only serious option and you need to move quickly, they have it. Market value isn’t abstract; it’s determined in the negotiation itself.

How to shift the conversation

When someone asks about your current salary, the correct answer is some variation of: “I’m looking for a package that reflects the market rate for this role and the value I’ll create. What’s the budget for the position?”

This isn’t evasion. It’s redirecting the conversation to what actually matters. Your previous salary is a data point about a different transaction. The relevant data point is what they’re prepared to pay for this role.

If they push, you can offer a range based on your research. But make it clear the range is market-driven, not history-driven. You’re not asking for a 20% bump on your previous role. You’re asking for the market rate for the role they’re hiring for.

This requires you to actually know the market rate, which means doing the work. Speak to recruiters who specialise in senior technology roles. Compare similar roles on job boards. Talk to peers who’ve moved recently. Use salary data tools that reflect current UK market conditions.

The more specific your data, the stronger your position. “CTOs at Series B companies in London with 50-150 engineering headcount are seeing packages in the £180k to £240k range” is a lot more compelling than “I think I should be on about £200k.”

When your previous salary is actually relevant

There’s one scenario where your previous salary matters: when it’s significantly above market rate and you’re trying to make a lateral move.

If you were earning £250k at a well-funded scale-up that’s just imploded, and the market rate for equivalent roles is £180k, you need to be realistic. But even then, you’re not negotiating down from your previous salary. You’re negotiating based on current market conditions and what you need to make the move work.

Your previous salary is historical data. Treat it as such. Market value is determined by what’s happening now, what you can do for this specific employer, and what alternatives both parties have. Walk into your next negotiation armed with current market data, a clear understanding of the value you’ll create, and the confidence to discuss compensation on those terms.

If you want to test where you actually sit in the market before your next conversation, the Salary Benchmark tool gives you current UK market data for senior technology leadership roles. It’s based on real recent placements, not historical survey data.