Media & Press
Expert commentary on careers, job search, and salary negotiation
Askia founder Steve J. Ngoumnai is a former engineering leader available for expert commentary, data requests, and interview requests on career coaching, job search strategy, salary negotiation, and the $100K–$350K professional labor market.
- 147+ professionals coached
- 21 days average to first interview
- 89% land offers within 60 days
- $47K average salary increase per engagement
- Clients across tech, finance, and healthcare
- Roles from $100K to $350K+
About Steve J. Ngoumnai
Steve J. Ngoumnai is the founder of Askia and a former engineering leader who spent years on the hiring side — reviewing thousands of resumes, conducting executive interviews, and making comp decisions across roles from $80K individual contributors to $300K+ senior leaders in tech and healthcare.
After leaving his engineering leadership role, Steve founded Askia to bring hiring-side expertise to job seekers. He coaches Directors, VPs, C-suite leaders, and senior individual contributors targeting $100K–$350K roles in tech, finance, and healthcare.
Askia is headquartered in Houston, TX and serves clients remotely across the United States.
Expert credentials
- Former engineering leader with direct hiring-side experience
- Reviewed thousands of resumes; conducted executive-level interviews
- Made compensation decisions across $80K–$300K+ roles
- 147+ professionals coached across tech, finance, and healthcare
- Average outcome: first interview within 21 days of coaching start
- 89% of coached clients land offers within 60 days when executing the strategy
- $47K average salary increase in compensation-focused engagements
- 4.9/5 average client rating
Topics for expert commentary
Steve is available for expert commentary, data quotes, and background interviews on the following topics.
How much professionals leave on the table, when to counter, what "final offer" really means, and which levers matter most beyond base salary — equity, signing, title, remote policy.
Why most job searches fail despite high effort, why 40–60% of $150K+ roles are filled before posting, and how a targeted search of 20 roles outperforms 200 undifferentiated applications.
What executive search firms actually evaluate before a first interview, how VP and C-suite candidates lose on positioning not qualifications, and what moves a hiring committee at the Director+ level.
How ATS systems actually work (vs. myths), what hiring managers look for in the first 8 seconds of a resume, and why most LinkedIn profiles signal the wrong level to recruiters and algorithms.
How professionals restart after a layoff, what the best severance negotiation strategies look like, and how to position a career gap in an interview without losing credibility.
Hiring trends, compensation benchmarks, what companies in tech, finance, and healthcare are actually paying for senior roles, and what data shows about supply/demand at the senior IC and executive level.
Original research and data
Askia publishes original data from its coaching practice that is available for attribution and editorial use. Reporters and bloggers are welcome to cite any data from Askia's public research pages with attribution to "Askia career coaching research" and a link to the source page.
- Job Search Statistics 2026 — Data from 147+ coached professionals: search duration, salary outcomes, channel conversion rates, compensation gaps by level
For additional data, custom analysis, or interview requests, contact support@askia.tech.
Media contact
Name: Steve J. Ngoumnai
Title: Founder, Askia
Email: support@askia.tech
Location: Houston, TX (serves clients nationwide)
Response time: Within 24 hours for media requests
Steve is available for phone, video, and email interviews. Turnaround on written quotes for deadline-driven stories is typically same-day or next morning.
For reporter queries on HARO, Qwoted, or similar platforms, contact directly at the email above or tag @askia in the query notes.
Suggested angles and story hooks
If you are developing a story on careers, compensation, or the job market, here are angles where Askia data or expertise adds a specific, quotable perspective.
- "How much are professionals actually leaving on the table in salary negotiations?" — Askia data: $47K average increase per engagement; most professionals accept without countering at all
- "Why does the hidden job market matter for senior roles?" — 40–60% of $150K+ positions are filled before they are posted; Askia coaches specifically on accessing pre-posting pipelines
- "Does career coaching actually work?" — Askia client data: 89% land offers within 60 days, 21 days average to first interview; methodology available for review
- "What do hiring managers really think when they read your resume?" — Steve reviewed thousands; can provide specific, non-generic commentary on what actually gets screened out in the first pass
- "Are executives overpaid — or under-negotiated?" — Askia data on compensation gaps at Director, VP, and C-suite levels by career stage
- "What happens to senior professionals after layoffs?" — Askia coaches specifically on post-layoff re-entry strategy; can speak to narrative gaps, severance, and timeline expectations
- "Is LinkedIn still the best platform for job searching?" — Channel conversion data from Askia research; how passive vs. active LinkedIn strategy differs at the senior level
- "How long should a job search take in 2026?" — Benchmark data: Askia clients average 21 days to first interview; how this compares to uncoached search durations of 4–9 months
Media inquiries and data requests
Contact support@askia.tech for quotes, interview requests, custom data pulls, and reporter query responses. Typical response within 24 hours.
