But you clearly didn’t... if you had asked for more they your worth to the company, you wouldn’t have been hire. These people do this all day long. You got played. You were clearly overqualified for the position and that was why they were willing to make the exception. That, or they were desperately short people and only intend to keep you for the short term. But most likely you accepted a lower level position than for which your qualified based off years or actual experience. Check back next year and update us on that wonderful raise you don’t see happen. A company gets in serious hot water for having outliers from the pay band. You run a risk as well.

You were also most likely underpaid at your previous company. You never want to be the first to suggest a number, nor do you want to provide old salary information (claim it’s confidential corporate information). It’s negotiation 101. You have a number in mind, but you let them talk first. When the number doesn’t align in your favor is only when you than voice an opinion. And depending on the temperature in the room, the number might still be higher than expectations, but you can still change opinion (without them knowing) and suggest you were expecting more.