Welcome to Success by Design, the podcast crafted for high achievers ready to take charge of their careers, elevate their businesses, and create lasting fulfillment in life. Hosted by Tim Madden, CEO of Executive Career Upgrades, this podcast delivers actionable strategies, expert interviews, and industry insights for meaningful growth.

Whether you’re aiming for a breakthrough in your current role, transitioning to a new industry, or growing your business, Success by Design is here to guide you toward your full potential. With over 22 years of military experience and a track record of scaling multiple businesses, Tim Madden brings insights from a career spanning leadership, entrepreneurship, and executive coaching.

Join us weekly to learn how you can define success on your terms—and achieve it. Hit subscribe to start your success journey today! 🎧

In this episode of The Career Report, Tim and Kristina talk through a situation more professionals are facing than they expected: being employed, actively exploring new opportunities, and suddenly receiving an offer sooner than planned.

They break down what the professional move actually looks like in these moments—how to think about notice periods, how to manage conversations with both your current employer and a potential new one, and how to avoid burning bridges when timing feels uncomfortable.

The conversation also touches on the growing misconception that AI will solve timing, communication, or career decision challenges on its own. While tools can help, Tim and Kristina explain why judgment, preparation, and strategy still matter far more than automation.

If you’re navigating a job search while employed, or wondering how to handle an unexpected offer without creating long-term consequences, this episode offers practical perspective and grounded advice.

In this episode of The Career Report, Tim and Kristina Madden break down the idea of strategic volume and why it’s becoming one of the most important concepts in job searches heading into 2026.

As hiring processes evolve and competition increases, many professionals default to doing more—more applications, more outreach, more activity—assuming volume alone will create results. Tim and Kristina explain why that approach is increasingly ineffective, and how unintentional volume often creates noise instead of momentum.

They discuss how strategic volume differs from mass applying, how leaders and recruiters actually respond to outreach, and why fewer, better-targeted actions tend to outperform high-effort scattershot searches. The conversation focuses on clarity, positioning, and knowing where to apply pressure rather than exhausting yourself everywhere at once.

If you’re planning your job search for 2026 and want to avoid burnout while improving results, this episode offers a clear framework for doing less, smarter, and more intentionally.

Every January, professionals flood their calendars with new goals, ambitious targets, and aggressive timelines. And every year, most of them quietly abandon those plans weeks later.

In this episode of The Career Report, Tim and Kristina Madden challenge the idea that success comes from doing more, faster. Instead, they break down why overloading yourself with goals often backfires and how incremental progress creates momentum that actually sticks.

This conversation is about clarity over chaos. It’s about choosing fewer, smarter priorities. And it’s about building forward motion in a way that fits real careers, real workloads, and real life, not motivational posters or New Year hype.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by your own goals or frustrated that you can’t keep up with them, this episode will help you rethink how you set direction and make progress without burning out.

In this episode of The Career Report, Tim and Kristina talk about why this quiet week before the new year matters more than most people realize. While many professionals are waiting for January to take action, hiring leaders are already moving, conversations are already happening, and momentum is quietly building.

They break down what happens to careers that stay on pause, why waiting can create unnecessary pressure once the market picks up, and how small, intentional actions right now can make a meaningful difference in how you start the year. This isn’t about panic or rushing. It’s about awareness, positioning, and not getting caught off guard when things accelerate.

If you’re feeling like you’ll “get serious” once the new year starts, this episode offers a timely perspective on why now is often the better moment to prepare.

In this episode of The Career Report, Tim and Kristina talk about why reflection matters before you jump into setting new PPF goals. It’s easy to rush into planning the next year without taking a moment to look back, but skipping that step often means missing what actually worked.

They walk through how to review the past year honestly, how to recognize wins that are easy to overlook, and how to carry lessons forward without beating yourself up over what didn’t go as planned. This conversation is about clarity, momentum, and setting yourself up for a stronger year ahead, not just creating another list of goals.

If you’re wrapping up the year and thinking about what’s next, this episode will help you slow down just enough to move forward with intention.

In this episode of The Career Report, I break down why your job title matters far less than you think when it comes to getting hired. Too many professionals get stuck chasing the “right” title instead of focusing on what actually moves the needle in interviews and executive searches.

We talk about how hiring managers really evaluate candidates, what recruiters look for beyond titles, and how relying on a title alone can quietly hold your career back. If you’ve ever wondered why strong experience isn’t translating into interviews or offers, this episode will help you rethink how you position yourself and your value.

This is especially relevant for directors, VPs, and senior professionals navigating a competitive market where perception, clarity, and impact matter more than labels.

In this episode, hosts Tim and Kristina Madden debunk the common myth that current hiring delays are a byproduct of "the market," instead pointing the finger at the internal corporate paralysis and "hiring by committee" culture plaguing modern organizations. They pull back the curtain on why 90-day interview cycles and endless rounds of vetting have become the new norm, explaining that these bottlenecks are driven by leadership's fear of making the "wrong" hire rather than external economic shifts. By breaking down the mechanics of this bureaucratic inertia, Tim and Kristina empower job seekers to stop internalizing the wait and provide actionable strategies to navigate the "black hole" of the modern application process with their confidence and leverage intact.