Salary Negotiation with Fexingo: Compensation, Counter Offers, and Asking for More

Episode 104 of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo tackles a tricky scenario: what to do when your job offer includes a deferred compensation plan. Lucas and Luna break down how these plans work, why companies use them, and how to negotiate for more immediate cash instead of long-term promises. Using a real-world example from a Fortune 500 tech firm, they walk through a specific negotiation strategy t...

In this episode of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna break down a common but often mishandled part of executive and tech offers: the signing bonus with a clawback clause. Using a concrete example — a $50,000 signing bonus with a two-year cliff and pro-rata repayment if the employee leaves early — they walk through how to negotiate the terms, not just the dollar amount. They explain t...

In this episode of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna tackle the tricky intersection of non-compete clauses and remote work. As companies hire across state lines, non-competes become a jurisdictional puzzle. Lucas breaks down a real case: a marketing manager in Florida offered a remote role by a California tech company with a standard California non-compete. They walk through how to i...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna unpack the unique challenges of salary negotiation when your job offer requires visa sponsorship. They walk through the specific power dynamics at play — why employers often treat sponsorship as a leverage point — and offer concrete strategies for negotiating around it. Lucas cites a 2025 study from the National Foundation for American Policy showing that H-1B visa...

In episode 100 of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna tackle one of the trickiest contract clauses: the non-compete. They break down a real case from 2025 where a mid-level product manager at a Boston health-tech startup received an offer with a 12-month non-compete covering all digital health companies — effectively a career lockdown. The hosts walk through three concrete strategies:...

In episode 99 of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna tackle a tricky scenario: what to do when your job offer includes a non-compete clause. They walk through the specific language to watch for—like geographic scope, duration, and definition of 'competitive business'—and explain why many non-competes are actually unenforceable or negotiable. Using the example of a marketing manager in...

In episode 98 of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna dig into a tricky compensation structure: the commission cap. When your earnings as a salesperson or account executive are capped at a certain percentage of quota, the standard 'ask for more base salary' playbook can backfire. Using a real case from the software-as-a-service industry, the hosts walk through how to evaluate an uncappe...

Episode 97 of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo tackles a tricky clause that trips up many job changers: the signing bonus clawback. Lucas and Luna walk through a real case from a senior marketing manager at a mid-size SaaS company who received a $30,000 signing bonus with a two-year repayment schedule. They break down the typical repayment terms, how to negotiate a lower pro-rata structure, and wha...

Episode 96 of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo tackles a high-stakes scenario: you've got a job offer from a new company, and your current employer counters. When should you stay, and when should you go? Lucas and Luna break down the hidden risks of counteroffers, including data from a 2025 LinkedIn survey showing 42% of employees who accept a counteroffer leave within 12 months anyway. They walk t...

As of 2026, 22 states and dozens of cities have banned salary history questions in interviews. This changes the negotiation game entirely. Lucas and Luna break down how to anchor your number when the employer has zero data on what you made before. They walk through a real scenario: a marketing manager in Colorado who used a market-data anchor based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Ou...

In this episode of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna tackle a tricky scenario: negotiating a salary offer that includes a non-compete clause. They break down how non-competes affect leverage, using the example of a mid-career marketing manager offered $120,000 with a 12-month non-compete at a rival consumer goods firm. Lucas explains why non-competes are a bargaining chip for severan...

In this episode of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna tackle a tricky but common contract term: the mandatory arbitration clause. Lucas explains why employers include it—often to prevent class-action lawsuits—and how it shifts leverage away from employees. He shares a real example of an engineer who successfully negotiated to opt out of arbitration while keeping her base salary and bo...

What do you do when a job offer comes in 15 to 20 percent below what similar roles pay in your market? Lucas and Luna walk through a real case: a senior marketing manager in Denver who received a $95,000 base salary offer from a mid-size tech firm where the median for that title and location is $115,000. They break down how to diagnose whether the gap is structural — the company is small, equity-l...

Episode 91 of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo tackles a tricky clause: the no-poach agreement. Lucas and Luna break down a real case from 2024, when a marketing director at a mid-sized tech firm received an offer that barred her from hiring former colleagues for 18 months. They explain why companies include it, how it caps your future leverage, and the exact counteroffer language that got the clau...

Episode 90 of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo tackles a tricky scenario: what to do when your job offer includes a non-compete clause. Lucas and Luna break down a real case from the tech sector, where a product manager at a SaaS company received an offer with a 12-month non-compete that would have barred her from working at any competitor. The hosts walk through three concrete strategies: asking f...

In Episode 89 of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna tackle a tricky scenario: negotiating salary when your offer includes a non-compete clause. They walk through a real example—a marketing manager offered $95,000 at a health-tech startup in Austin, with a 12-month non-compete that would bar her from 80% of competitor jobs in the metro. Lucas breaks down the legal landscape, explaining...

Episode 88 of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo tackles a common but tricky situation: when a job offer includes a guaranteed first-year bonus but no clarity on future years. Lucas and Luna walk through a real case from a listener — a marketing manager offered $85,000 base plus a $10,000 guaranteed bonus for year one. They explain why accepting without negotiating can leave you behind in year two, h...

Episode 87 of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo tackles a sticky situation: the employer says your base salary is set, but they promise a big raise after your first performance review. Lucas and Luna break down why 'we'll revisit in six months' is often a trap, using the real example of a marketing manager at a SaaS company who turned a vague promise into a contractual guarantee. They walk through t...

In episode 86 of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna tackle a high-stakes scenario: negotiating salary when you have multiple offers on the table. Using a real-world example of a marketing manager with concurrent offers from two mid-size tech firms, they break down how to leverage competing proposals without burning bridges. Lucas explains the 'silent auction' approach—sharing offer de...

In this episode of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna tackle one of the trickiest clauses in an offer letter: the non-compete agreement. Drawing on the real case of Jimmy, a marketing manager at a CPG firm who received an offer from a direct competitor, they break down how to assess the scope, duration, and geographic limits of a non-compete. They discuss when to push back, how to req...

Moving cities for a job? Episode 84 of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo tackles how to negotiate when your offer ties compensation to relocation. Lucas and Luna break down a real 2025 case: a marketing manager offered $85,000 plus a $5,000 moving allowance in Austin, who negotiated a $10,000 base bump and a temporary housing stipend by using cost-of-living data and a competing offer. They walk thro...

In this episode of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna tackle a tricky scenario: negotiating a job offer where part of your compensation is in stock options, not cash. Using the real example of a mid-level product manager at a late-stage startup, they break down how to value options, what to ask for when the strike price is close to the current valuation, and why negotiating for more s...

In Episode 82 of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna tackle one of the trickiest scenarios: negotiating pay for a newly created role. There's no salary history, no predecessor's comp, and the hiring manager may not have a clear budget. The hosts walk through a real case from a fintech startup in Austin, where a product manager candidate used market data, a portfolio of comparable roles...

Episode 81 of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo tackles a growing but under-discussed wrinkle: the pay equity audit clause. Lucas and Luna break down what happens when an employer hands you an offer letter that includes a provision allowing them to adjust your starting salary based on an internal pay equity review — often after you've already accepted or started. Using the example of a Fortune 500 t...

Episode 80 of Salary Negotiation with Fexingo tackles a common but tricky scenario: when your job offer includes a cost of living adjustment (COLA) tied to a specific city. Lucas and Luna break down why COLAs are often oversimplified, using the real-world example of a senior marketing manager offered $120,000 in Austin versus $150,000 in San Francisco — a 25 percent differential that doesn't accou...