The Job Search Podcast with Fexingo: Resumes, Interviews, and Landing the Right Role

Rejection letters stink, but Lucas and Luna explain why a thoughtful response can open doors later. In this episode of The Job Search Podcast, Lucas breaks down the strategy behind the 'rejection response email'—a short, gracious note that keeps you on the hiring manager's radar for future roles. He cites a 2023 survey from CareerBuilder showing 58% of employers have re-contacted candidates who pr...

Most job seekers interview with five to seven companies at once, then pick the one with the highest salary or the best brand name. Lucas and Luna dig into why that approach leaves candidates unhappy within six months. They walk through a simple but structured job search scorecard — a weighted decision matrix that forces you to rank what actually matters: commute time, growth trajectory, manager st...

Episode 102 of The Job Search Podcast with Fexingo tackles one of the most common resume mistakes: listing job duties instead of impact. Lucas and Luna break down the difference with a concrete example from a marketing manager who transformed her resume by replacing vague responsibilities with specific, measurable outcomes. They discuss the 'so what?' test, how to quantify achievements even in non...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna tackle one of the trickiest moments in a job search: what to do when your current employer makes a counteroffer after you resign. They break down the statistics — nearly 50% of people who accept a counteroffer leave within a year anyway — and walk through a real-world example of a marketing manager who navigated the situation without damaging relationships. Lucas ex...

You've interviewed well. You've sent follow-ups. Then the rejection email lands. Most people close the tab and move on. But there's a strategic response — written in the first 24 hours — that can flip the script. Lucas and Luna walk through the exact template a marketing director used to turn a 'we went with another candidate' into a second interview and an eventual job offer. They break down the...

For episode 99 of The Job Search Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore why the referral pipeline has become the single most effective channel for landing a role in mid-2026. They break down fresh data from a LinkedIn candidate survey showing that referred applicants are four times more likely to receive an offer than online applicants, and that the average referral-to-offer conversion rate now sits at 1...

Lucas and Luna dig into a specific resume mistake that costs candidates interviews: the 'responsibilities list' vs. the 'impact narrative.' They break down why hiring managers spend only seven seconds on a resume before deciding, and how rewriting bullet points to start with a strong verb and end with a measurable result can triple callback rates. Using real before-and-after examples from a market...

In this episode of The Job Search Podcast, Lucas and Luna break down a specific salary negotiation script that landed a senior marketer an extra $18,000 in base pay. They walk through the exact language to use when you've received a written offer, how to handle the 'what's your current salary' question without lying or losing leverage, and why anchoring high with a non-apologetic number changes th...

Ep 96 of The Job Search Podcast: Lucas and Luna walk through a pre-offer research checklist that goes beyond salary and benefits. They break down how to vet company culture by looking at Glassdoor trends, LinkedIn alumni patterns, and SEC filings for revenue concentration. Luna shares a story about a friend who dodged a toxic startup by noticing three consecutive CFO departures in an 8-K filing. T...

In this episode of The Job Search Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore the power of a skills audit before you start your next job search. They discuss how mapping your current abilities against market demand can reveal hidden strengths and gaps, using the example of a marketing manager who discovered she had transferable data analysis skills that doubled her interview rate. The hosts walk through a pra...

Lucas and Luna tackle the resume gap— a common career break that can cause anxiety for job seekers. They discuss a specific case: a marketing manager who took 18 months off to care for a parent, then faced rejection after rejection. Lucas explains how to reframe the gap as a strength, using a simple three-step strategy: own the story upfront, highlight transferable skills gained during the break,...

Lucas and Luna tackle a tricky resume challenge: how to present career breaks without sabotaging your application. Drawing on data from a 2025 LinkedIn survey showing that 62 percent of hiring managers now view gaps neutrally or positively when framed correctly, they walk through three specific strategies: the bridging explanation, the skills narrative, and the project portfolio. They dissect a re...

Lucas and Luna break down a specific salary negotiation script that one listener used to turn a 'final offer' into a $15,000 increase plus a signing bonus. They walk through the exact phrasing, the timing of the ask, and the psychology behind why it works — including the critical moment when the recruiter said 'that's our final number' and the candidate didn't walk away. Lucas shares data from a 2...

Episode 91 of The Job Search Podcast dives into the surprisingly high-stakes decision of resigning. Lucas and Luna examine a real case where a senior marketing manager gave standard two-week notice — and was walked out of the building within an hour, losing a $25,000 bonus that hadn't vested yet. They break down the three fatal assumptions she made: that the company would want a smooth transition,...

Lucas and Luna tackle one of the hardest career moves: switching industries without starting from scratch. They break down the 'transferable skills audit' method, using the example of a retail manager pivoting into supply chain logistics. Lucas explains how to reframe job titles and bullet points to speak the new industry's language, and why a 'hybrid resume' format beats a chronological one for c...

In this episode of The Job Search Podcast, Lucas and Luna dive into one of the most awkward moments in any job interview: when the recruiter asks for your salary expectations before you've even had a chance to shine. Instead of dodging the question or lowballing yourself, we break down a specific, research-backed strategy called 'range anchoring' that flips the script. Using a real case study from...

Lucas and Luna break down a specific, data-backed window for following up after a job application: the five-day rule. Drawing on a 2025 study of 10,000 applications, they explain why applicants who send a follow-up email between day three and day five see a 34 percent higher response rate than those who wait longer or never follow up. They walk through exactly what that email should say, what to a...

In this episode of The Job Search Podcast, Lucas and Luna tackle a common but painful scenario: you get a job offer, but the salary is lower than expected—sometimes significantly. Drawing on data from a 2025 survey by the recruiting firm Robert Half, they reveal that nearly 40% of candidates who negotiate a higher salary succeed. But how do you negotiate without jeopardizing the offer? Lucas walks...

Episode 86 of The Job Search Podcast with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna dive into the critical step of vetting a job offer before you sign—focusing on a specific recent case: a marketing manager who received a $95,000 base salary offer from a mid-size tech company in Austin but discovered red flags in the equity structure and benefits fine print. Lucas explains the three-layer vetting framework (compens...

In this episode of The Job Search Podcast, Lucas and Luna reveal how to read between the lines of a job description to spot culture and management red flags before you apply. Using real examples like a posting that listed 'must be comfortable with ambiguity' and another that demanded '2-5 years of experience in a role that's only existed for 18 months', they walk through five specific phrases that...

Episode 84 of The Job Search Podcast with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna break down the strategy behind salary range transparency — why more states now require it, how candidates can use those ranges to anchor negotiations, and the one research trick that reveals a company's real pay band before you even apply. They walk through a real example: a marketing manager in Colorado who used public salary data...

Episode 83 of The Job Search Podcast tackles one of the hardest resume challenges: changing industries. Lucas opens with the story of a marketing manager who successfully pivoted into product management by reframing her experience around outcomes, not job titles. Lucas and Luna break down the 'functional resume' strategy—why you should lead with a summary of transferable skills, use a project-base...

Lucas and Luna tackle one of the trickiest negotiation landmines: the salary history question. Using the real example of a senior marketing manager who lost $45,000 over three years because she disclosed her previous pay in the first interview, they break down why recruiters ask, what behavioral science says about anchoring, and the three specific scripts you can use to deflect without lying. Luna...

Job offer deadlines are one of the most underutilized negotiation tools in a job search. Lucas and Luna break down how candidates can use offer expiration dates strategically—not just to buy time, but to signal value, prompt a decision from a dream employer, and avoid panic acceptance. They walk through a real scenario: a software engineer with a two-week deadline from Company A who wants to hear...

Lucas and Luna explore a critical resume gap that most job seekers overlook: the absence of measurable impact. Using the example of a marketing candidate who transformed a $50,000 campaign into a 40% lead generation increase, they explain why hiring managers scan for numbers, not duties. The episode covers how to reframe bullet points from task lists to outcome statements, the difference between m...