Welcome back to Designing the Best YOU! a podcast hosted by career strategist and board-certified holistic health practitioner Vennessa McConkey. This podcast is dedicated to helping you uncover hidden obstacles that are holding you back in your career.
Whether those be physical conditions and symptoms, emotional blocks such as unresolved trauma, or mental blocks such as confidence and limiting beliefs. With each episode we will be sharing practical strategies, tips, and insights to help you gain clarity, build confidence and advance your career. From job searching and networking to resolving fatigue and burnout, we will help you tackle the toughest challenges in your journey that help you Design the Best YOU!
If you're a mid- to senior-level leader watching rejection stack up (not ghosting because of your experience, not because you're not good enough), but because your strategy isn't aligned with how strategic roles actually get filled...then you need to hear this!!
In today's market, companies are not hiring the most qualified person; they're hiring the obvious person. And that means shifting from a volume-based approach to a positioning approach - one that makes you an UNDEDNIABLE match before you even get to the interview.
I read the first half of my latest Substack post on this. In the rest of the article, I break down how rejection is actually strategic feedback, and I share the exact shifts senior professionals need to stop being overlooked and start being pursued.
Head over to my Substack to read the rest and if you're ready to end the rejection cycle, book a one-hour clarity call with me where we map your strategic positioning in real time.
Find me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vennessa-mcconkey/
8 Jan 2026
Why 'Not the Right Fit' Is Killing Senior-Level Job Searches
"You're a strong candidate, BUT you're just not the right fit."
For senior executives, this phrase is one of the most common reasons job offers fall apart—and one of the least understood.
In this episode, we break down what "not the right fit" actually means at leadership levels and why it has very little to do with your resume or qualifications. Senior hiring decisions are driven by trust and resonance, not credentials.
You'll learn why highly polished, impressive candidates often lose to less-experienced ones, the difference between performance and recognition in interviews, and the three dimensions of resonance that determine who gets hired.
If you keep making final rounds but not closing (or feel misaligned in roles that look perfect on paper) this episode will change how you approach your job search.
What You'll Learn
What "fit" really means in executive hiring
Why being qualified isn't enough anymore
How resonance influences hiring decisions
Why trying to appeal to everyone backfires
Resources
Book a Private Strategy Call
Work directly with me to diagnose what's blocking your job search:
Book Here
Read more on Substack
Takeaway
Executives don't get hired by performing.
They get hired when the right people can see themselves trusting them.
31 Dec 2025
The 3Rs of Job Searching: Why Senior Executives Aren't Getting Hired (Results, Relevance & Resonance)
If you're a senior professional or executive stuck in a long, frustrating job search, this episode explains exactly why and what to do instead.
In today's market, experience alone isn't enough. Even highly qualified leaders are getting ghosted by recruiters, losing final-round interviews, or passed over for candidates with "less impressive" resumes. The problem isn't the economy. It's that most executives are missing one (or more) of the three hiring filters that actually determine who gets hired at senior levels.
In this episode, we break down the 3Rs of Job Searching:
Results: Why listing responsibilities kills your resume and how to position transformation instead
Relevance: How industry, stage, scale, and culture mismatches quietly eliminate candidates
Resonance: The hidden decision-maker behind who gets the offer (and why "fit" really matters)
You'll learn how hiring managers actually evaluate executive candidates, why being "qualified" is no longer enough, and how to position yourself so decision-makers can clearly see you solving their problems.
If your job search has stalled for months (or you keep making final rounds without offers) this episode will change how you approach everything.
Episode Highlights
Why "great resumes" still get rejected
The difference between responsibilities and results
How relevance beats experience at senior levels
Why culture and leadership style matter more than you think
The real meaning of "not the right fit"
How resonance determines who gets the offer
Ready to get unstuck?
If your job search has stalled (or you keep making final rounds without offers), book a paid 1:1 strategy session with me.
In this 60-minute private session, we will:
Diagnose exactly which of the 3Rs is breaking your search
Identify where you're losing relevance or resonance
Reposition your experience so decision-makers can clearly see your value
Leave you with specific actions to implement immediately
Book your 1-hour session here: sign-up
Who has been a guest on Designing The Best YOU!
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Venessa McConkey
career transition expert
Jason Alexander
Joe Sebok
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
3,024
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.7 / 5
15 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 72 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
87
Social presence
0
YouTube
68
Engagement
77
Contact Designing The Best YOU!
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Questions about Designing The Best YOU!
Who hosts Designing The Best YOU!?
Vennessa McConkey host the show. Published by Vennessa McConkey, FDNP, FNC.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes weekly, based on its RSS feed.
Does Designing The Best YOU! take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
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