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

Getting rejected from a job stings, but it doesn't have to be the end of the story. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a surprisingly effective strategy: turning a rejection into a relationship that can yield a future offer. They walk through a real case—a marketing manager who, after being passed over for a role at Spotify, sent a thoughtful follow-up that kept the door open. Two years later...

Episode 78 of The Job Search Podcast tackles the tricky moment when your current employer makes a counteroffer after you've already decided to leave. Lucas breaks down a recent study from the Society for Human Resource Management showing that over 35 percent of employees who accept a counteroffer leave within 12 months anyway. He and Luna discuss the signals a counteroffer sends about your long-te...

Lucas and Luna tackle one of the most overlooked safeguards in job hunting: the 30-day rule. Before signing any offer, waiting 30 days from the initial application to acceptance can prevent costly mistakes. They break down the psychology of scarcity tactics, how to negotiate when time is on your side, and why rushing into a role often backfires within the first six months. Lucas shares a concrete...

In episode 76, Lucas and Luna break down the exact cover letter structure that hiring managers actually read, using the surprising example of a candidate who got an interview at Stripe with a 147-word letter. They cover why the 'spray and pray' approach fails, the three-part framework that works, and the one paragraph that determines whether your letter lands in the trash or the 'call this person'...

In this episode of The Job Search Podcast, Lucas and Luna dig into a specific but common resume mistake that quietly sinks candidates: the 'responsibilities list' trap. Using the real example of a marketing manager who rewrote her resume away from bullet-point duties and toward impact metrics, they show exactly how one page change led to a callback rate shift from 1 in 20 to 1 in 4. They also cove...

Episode 74 of The Job Search Podcast turns the tables and teaches you how to vet your future boss and team during the interview itself—without coming across as hostile. Lucas and Luna break down the specific questions that reveal management style, turnover risk, and day-to-day reality, using a case study from a senior product manager who interviewed at a fintech company and saved herself from a to...

Most job seekers treat references as an afterthought — a box to check after the interview. But in a tight job market, a poorly chosen reference can tank an offer even if the interview went perfectly. In this episode, Lucas and Luna break down the 2025 CareerBuilder data showing that 85 percent of hiring managers have changed their mind about a candidate after a reference check. They explain why th...

Lucas and Luna break down the art of the cold email for job searching — with a specific template that landed one listener an interview at a FAANG-adjacent company. They cover subject lines, the 'two-sentence ask,' and what to do when you get ignored. Plus: why the Friday afternoon send window might be your secret weapon. Practical, numbers-driven, and built for real inboxes. #ColdEmail #JobSearch...

In episode 71 of The Job Search Podcast, Lucas and Luna reveal the red flags that signal a job posting is fake — from ghost listings to phishing scams. They break down why companies leave old postings up, how to spot a role that doesn't really exist, and the three specific clues hidden in job descriptions that 90 percent of applicants miss. Lucas shares a recent example from a major tech firm that...

In Episode 70 of The Job Search Podcast, Lucas and Luna dive into a rarely discussed career strategy: how to reopen a rejected application. Most candidates assume a 'no' is final, but a thoughtful follow-up can flip the script. Lucas explains why roughly 15 to 20 percent of hiring managers reconsider a candidate who responds well to rejection, citing research from a 2025 survey by the talent platf...

In this episode of The Job Search Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore the surprisingly effective practice of sending a post-interview 'skill gap note' — a short email that acknowledges what you didn't know and shows how you'd learn it. They break down a real example from a marketing candidate at HubSpot who sent one and got the offer over a more experienced competitor. Lucas shares the three-part stru...

Lucas and Luna break down why most job offers take four to eight weeks from final interview to start date, and what's actually happening behind the scenes. They walk through the internal approval chain at a typical company—recruiter, hiring manager, compensation committee, background check—and explain which steps create the real delays. Lucas shares a specific case: a mid-career marketing manager...

Episode 67 of The Job Search Podcast with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna dissect the single interview question that can tell you more about a company's culture than any glassdoor review. Using the example of a 2024 study from the Harvard Business Review analyzing 2,000 job interviews, they explain how asking 'What was the last mistake your team learned from?' filters for psychological safety and growth m...

Lucas and Luna break down the specific research you should do before a job interview—beyond just reading the 'About Us' page. They discuss how to use the company's investor relations page, understanding their recent earnings call transcript, and analyzing the CEO's letter to shareholders. Lucas explains why you should look at the company's LinkedIn headcount growth and job postings to gauge hiring...

Lucas and Luna break down the exact strategy for getting a job referral from someone you've never met — a skill that can dramatically increase your interview chances. Using concrete examples from real job searches, they explain the three-step outreach formula: the warm-up, the ask, and the follow-through. Lucas shares data showing referred candidates are 3 to 5 times more likely to get hired, and...

Episode 64 of The Job Search Podcast tackles one of the most common mistakes in modern job hunting: applying everywhere at once. Lucas and Luna break down the 'two-week rule'—a counterintuitive strategy where you apply to only one or two roles per day for the first two weeks of your search, then ramp up. They walk through the psychology behind it, how it prevents burnout, and why it forces better-...

Most job seekers expect to hear back within a week. But the hidden timeline of hiring — from recruiter screen to the final decision — is often 45 to 60 days for professional roles. In this episode, Lucas unpacks the actual stages, with data from 40,000 hiring processes at companies like Microsoft and JPMorgan. He explains why the silent gaps aren't rejections, why the third week is the danger zone...

Episode 62 of The Job Search Podcast: Career changers often dread the 'why the switch?' question in interviews. Lucas and Luna unpack how to reframe a pivot as a strategic asset, not a liability. They focus on the case of a marketing professional who moved into product management at age 38, using a concept called 'skill bridging' to win over skeptical hiring managers. The hosts break down the thre...

Most professionals still think career growth means climbing a ladder. But in 2026, the most successful job moves happen sideways — through a career lattice. Lucas and Luna unpack why the lattice model is replacing the ladder, how to identify lateral moves that build compound skills, and the one question you should ask before any job change to avoid career dead ends. They walk through real examples...

Episode 60 of The Job Search Podcast tackles one of the most anxiety-inducing moments in any interview: the salary expectation question. Lucas and Luna dissect why recruiters ask it, how early-stage startups use it as a filter, and the exact phrasing that preserves your negotiating power. They walk through a real-life case of a product manager who turned a lowball range into an offer 20 percent ab...

In this episode of The Job Search Podcast, Lucas and Luna discuss the growing trend of video resumes and how to actually pull one off without cringing. They break down a specific case: a mid-career product manager who landed a role at HubSpot after sending a 90-second Loom video instead of a cover letter. Lucas explains why video works for certain roles (sales, marketing, product) and why it backf...

Lucas and Luna break down the hidden language of stock-based compensation in job offers. Using a real-ish example of a senior engineer who got an offer from a late-stage startup — $175,000 base salary plus 15,000 incentive stock options with a strike price of $12.50 — they walk through what those numbers actually mean for your take-home pay. Lucas explains the difference between ISOs and NSOs, the...

Lucas and Luna examine a single job offer email that reveals more about company culture than any glassdoor review: the one with an exploding deadline. They break down why a 48-hour acceptance window is a red flag for burnout, turnover, and poor management — and how to respond if you receive one. Drawing on data from a 2025 study by the Institute for Corporate Productivity, they show that companies...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna dig into the single biggest reason qualified candidates get passed over: a weak or invisible professional network. They break down a 2025 LinkedIn study showing that applicants with fewer than 50 connections in their target industry see their application-to-interview rate drop by more than 60 percent compared to those with 200-plus connections. Lucas explains why mo...

Thinking about hiring a career coach? Before you spend $200 an hour, listen to this. Lucas and Luna break down the one specific scenario where a coach actually accelerates your job search — and the three red flags that signal you're better off with a book, a friend, or LinkedIn. They walk through the real math: a good coach should save you two weeks of search time per month, not just 'feel support...