Learn Hardcore German: An deiner Stelle würde ich die Gehaltsvorstellung erst am Ende des Gesprächs erwähnen. - In your place I would mention the salary expectation only at the end of the interview.

an here is a preposition that, among other things, is used for metaphorical “positions” or “roles” in German.
Stelle = place, position, role.
So an jemandes Stelle = in someone’s position/role → if I were you / in your shoes.

You can’t say „in deiner Stelle“ in this sense. That sounds wrong in German, because the idiom uses an, not in. This is just something you have to memorize as a fixed phrase:

An deiner Stelle würde ich … = If I were you, I would …

Why is it “deiner” in “an deiner Stelle”? Which case is this?

„deiner“ is the dative form of the possessive pronoun dein- (your).

Preposition: an

With the meaning “at someone’s place/position”, an takes the dative case.

Noun: Stelle is feminine (die Stelle).
Dative singular feminine with dein- is:

Nominative: deine Stelle (your position)
Dative: deiner Stelle (to/at your position)

So:

an deiner Stelle = at your position (dative, because of an).

What exactly does “Stelle” mean here? Is it a “job” or a “position”?

Stelle can mean several things:

Place / spot
- an dieser Stelle – at this place/point (in a text or location)
Job / position
- eine Stelle als Lehrer – a position as a teacher
Metaphorical place / situation (the meaning here)
- an deiner Stelle – in your position / if I were you.

In „An deiner Stelle würde ich …“, it doesn’t mean a job. It’s metaphorical: in your position/situation → if I were you.

Why is the verb order “würde ich … erwähnen” and not “ich würde … erwähnen”?

German main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule: the finite verb (conjugated verb) must be in second position in the clause.

The sentence starts with a fronted phrase:

An deiner Stelle – this whole phrase counts as position 1.
The finite verb comes next: würde – position 2.
Then the subject: ich.
Other parts (object, adverbials).
Non-finite verb (infinitive) at the end: erwähnen.

So:

An deiner Stelle würde ich die Gehaltsvorstellung erst am Ende des Gesprächs erwähnen.

If you start with the subject instead, you get:

Ich würde an deiner Stelle die Gehaltsvorstellung erst am Ende des Gesprächs erwähnen.

Both are correct. The original version puts more emphasis on „An deiner Stelle“ (the hypothetical viewpoint).

Why do we use “würde … erwähnen” (would mention) and not just a simple past like “ich erwähnte”?

German has two common ways to form Konjunktiv II (the “would”-form):

Synthetic form: ich erwähnte
Periphrastic form: ich würde … erwähnen

In modern spoken German, for most verbs (especially regular ones like erwähnen), people strongly prefer the würde + infinitive construction:

Ich erwähnte die Gehaltsvorstellung is usually understood as simple past indicative: I mentioned the salary expectation (in the past), not conditional.
Ich würde die Gehaltsvorstellung erwähnen clearly signals a hypothetical or advice: I would mention…

So:

An deiner Stelle würde ich … erwähnen.
= hypothetical advice: If I were you, I would mention…

Could I say “Wenn ich du wäre, würde ich …” instead of “An deiner Stelle würde ich …”? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say:

Wenn ich du wäre, würde ich die Gehaltsvorstellung erst am Ende des Gesprächs erwähnen.

Both forms are very common and mean essentially the same:

An deiner Stelle … = From your position / if I were you
Wenn ich du wäre, … = If I were you

Nuance:

An deiner Stelle is slightly more idiomatic and compact.
Wenn ich du wäre is a more explicit conditional structure.

In everyday speech, both are natural. Use whichever feels easier; you should definitely understand both.

What does “Gehaltsvorstellung” mean exactly, and why is it feminine (die Gehaltsvorstellung)?

Gehaltsvorstellung is a compound noun:

das Gehalt – salary
die Vorstellung – idea, notion, imagination; also “presentation”

So die Gehaltsvorstellung literally is “salary idea / salary notion”, and idiomatically it means:

salary expectation
(what salary you expect or would like to receive)

Gender:

In German, the rightmost part of a compound determines the gender.
Rightmost part here is Vorstellung, which is feminine (die Vorstellung).
Therefore the whole compound is also feminine: die Gehaltsvorstellung.

That’s why the article is die.

Why is it singular “die Gehaltsvorstellung” and not plural, even though in English we say “salary expectations”?

German can use both singular and plural here, depending on the focus:

Singular:
- die Gehaltsvorstellung – your overall salary expectation (one concept)
Plural:
- die Gehaltsvorstellungen – can refer to different expectations of different people or multiple specific ideas.

In the sentence:

die Gehaltsvorstellung = your salary expectation (the general topic of what you want to earn).

Even if English often uses the plural “salary expectations”, German is very comfortable using a singular abstract noun here. Both languages don’t always match in number.

What’s the difference between “Gehalt” and “Lohn”?

Both relate to pay, but they’re used slightly differently:

das Gehalt
- Usually for monthly pay, especially for employees with more stable contracts or “white-collar” jobs.
- Mein Gehalt ist 3.000 Euro brutto im Monat.
der Lohn
- Often for hourly or daily pay, sometimes “blue-collar” work.
- Der Stundenlohn beträgt 15 Euro.

Gehaltsvorstellung is the standard term in job-application contexts when you talk about how much you want to earn.

What exactly does “erst” mean in “erst am Ende des Gesprächs”? How is it different from “nur” or “zuerst”?

erst here means “not until” / “only (later, at that point)” and indicates a delay:

erst am Ende des Gesprächs
= not until the end of the conversation / only at the end (not earlier).

Differences:

erst – emphasizes time and that something happens later than expected or only from that point on.
- Sag das erst morgen. – Don’t say it before tomorrow.
nur – emphasizes quantity or limitation, not timing.
- Sag das nur einmal. – Say it only once.
zuerst – means “first (before other things)”.
- Zuerst stellst du dich vor, dann sprichst du über deine Erfahrung. – First you introduce yourself, then you talk about your experience.

In this sentence, erst is appropriate because the advice is about timing: mention it only at the end, not earlier.

Could I say “am Ende des Gesprächs erst” instead of “erst am Ende des Gesprächs”? Does the position of “erst” matter?

Yes, you can say both:

… die Gehaltsvorstellung erst am Ende des Gesprächs erwähnen.
… die Gehaltsvorstellung am Ende des Gesprächs erst erwähnen.

Both are grammatically correct and mean the same thing: only (not until) at the end of the conversation.

Nuance:

erst am Ende des Gesprächs – slightly stronger emphasis on the time phrase as a unit.
am Ende des Gesprächs erst – can put a tiny bit more stress on erst at the very end.

In normal speech, the difference is minimal. Use whichever feels more natural; the original version is very common.

What does “am Ende des Gesprächs” literally mean, and why is it “am” and not “im”?

am is a contraction of an dem:

an (at, on) + dem (dative article for neuter singular) → am

So:

am Ende = an dem Ende = at the end.

You wouldn’t say „im Ende“ here; that would sound wrong. German idiomatically uses:

am Anfang – at the beginning
am Ende – at the end

So:

am Ende des Gesprächs = at the end of the conversation.

Why is it “des Gesprächs”? What case is that, and why?

„des Gesprächs“ is genitive singular:

Noun: das Gespräch (neuter)
Genitive singular: des Gesprächs

Structure:

am Ende – “at the end” (dative: Ende)
wessen Ende? – the end of what? → des Gesprächs (genitive)

So „am Ende des Gesprächs“ literally is:

at the end of the conversation
(genitive used to show possession/relationship: the end belongs to the conversation).

This is a standard pattern in German:

am Ende des Tages – at the end of the day
am Anfang des Monats – at the beginning of the month

What’s the difference between “Gespräch”, “Unterhaltung”, and “Interview”?

All are types of talking, but with different nuances:

das Gespräch
- Neutral: a conversation, talk, discussion.
- Often slightly formal or structured.
- ein Bewerbungsgespräch – a job interview
  In your sentence, it probably refers to a job interview or a formal conversation.
die Unterhaltung
- More like chat, informal conversation, entertainment.
- Wir hatten eine nette Unterhaltung. – We had a nice chat.
das Interview
- An interview in the journalistic or formal sense.
- Used more when a journalist interviews someone, or in some HR contexts.

For a job context, Gespräch (especially Bewerbungsgespräch) is the most typical choice.

Why is the article “die” necessary in “die Gehaltsvorstellung”? Could I say just “Gehaltsvorstellung” without “die”?

In this sentence, you need the definite article die:

Ich würde die Gehaltsvorstellung … erwähnen.

Omitting die (Ich würde Gehaltsvorstellung erwähnen) sounds ungrammatical and incomplete to a native speaker.

In German, singular countable nouns almost always need some kind of determiner:

an article (der/die/das, ein/eine)
or a possessive, demonstrative, etc.

So you typically say:

die Gehaltsvorstellung – the salary expectation
eine Gehaltsvorstellung – a salary expectation
meine Gehaltsvorstellung – my salary expectation

You can omit the article mainly in headlines, labels, or lists, e.g.:

Gehaltsvorstellung erst am Ende des Gesprächs erwähnen
(as a bullet point or title)

But in a full normal sentence, you use the article.