So, you need help with your job search, and you’re considering hiring an agency to help bridge the gap.
You’ve possibly heard about The Ambitious Exec’s reverse recruiting service and are wondering if they’re worth the investment.
You’ve come to the right place! Today, we will review The Ambitious Exec and their career consulting/coaching reviews.
We have taken a deep dive into the customer reviews, cost, services offered, and staff at The Ambitious Exec. Our overall rating for The Ambitious Exec is 75/100.
The Ambitious Exec Score
Our goal is to help you find the best service that will advance your career. Take a look at some of our top-rated reverse recruiting services and find the perfect fit for you!
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About The Ambitious Exec
The Ambitious Exec was created to help Directors, VPs, C-Suite executives, and career professionals in the $150k+ salary range advance to the next stage of their careers. It’s the brainchild of James and Amanda Whittaker.
In business since 2018, the Boulder, Colorado-based career consulting and training firm equips its clients with the tools and guidance they need to land their next role or navigate the steep executive career ladder.
To be precise, to assist executive-level professionals, The Ambitious Exec revamps their resumes and LinkedIn profiles, provides extensive coaching and advice, and helps them network with key leaders in their industries.
So far, these efforts have helped over 3,000 executives make better and informed career choices. They’ve also helped some of these folks secure choice positions at top companies, including Nike, J.P. Morgan, Fidelity Investments, and 2K.
Perhaps that’s why the company was able to attain a 90% client satisfaction rate. Or maybe it has more to do with the CEO’s years of experience on Deloitte’s global hiring team.
Let’s dive right into some of the pros and cons when it comes to working with The Ambitious Exec.
The Ambitious Exec Pros vs. Cons
As with any company, there are pros and cons. It’s up to you to determine what is a “must-have” and what things you can live without.
PROS
- Founder has 10+ years of experience as a recruiter
- Secured jobs for clients at Nike, J.P. Morgan, Fidelity Investments, and 2K
- Tailored towards helping executives and C-level professionals
- Automates your networking with decision makers and executive recruiters
CONS
- Website provides no information about their pricing
- Hidden fees and charges according to feedback from their clients
- Little to no information about the job search process on the website
- Won’t find and apply to jobs on your behalf
If you are looking for a career service provider, The Ambitious Exec is a great option, but it is worth considering other alternatives to find the best fit for your needs.
One such alternative is Find My Profession. Find My Profession, like The Ambitious Exec, caters to executive-level professionals.
Unlike The Ambitious Exec, Find My Profession has an average rating of 4.9/5 from over 1,000 previous clients, offers a hands-free job search process, and has much more affordable options.
The Ambitious Exec Customer Reviews
Our career experts have rated The Ambitious Exec a 75/100. Additionally, The Ambitious Exec has received customer reviews of 4.9/5 on Google, 4.71/5 on BBB, and 4.1/5 on Trustpilot.
Google shows 66 reviews with an average rating of 4.9/5. Most of the reviewers had glowing remarks about the resume services they received from The Ambitious Exec team. We, however, found a comment from a user who complained that the service they received was pretty run-of-the-mill.
BBB shows 14 reviews with an average rating of 4.71/5. Apart from one review complaining about their experience with the team’s interviewer, all the reviewers had good things to say about The Ambitious Exec team.
Trustpilot shows 33 reviews with an average rating of 4.1/5. While most clients had positive comments about how the company had advanced their executive careers, others had not-so-positive things to say. The complaints ranged from a lack of support to the hidden fees that pop up after you’ve paid and registered, to the fact that their training was done via pre-recorded, outdated videos.
Additionally, CEO James Whittaker has received 10 recommendations from satisfied clients on LinkedIn.
As with anything, it’s important to take each review with a grain of salt. Additional research should be done beyond reading the reviews that are found online.
How Much Does The Ambitious Exec Cost?
The Ambitious Exec’s career coaching packages cost around $10,000+. Even for executives, this is quite a steep price. It’s even more pricey when you consider that you’d be doing most of the work yourself.
Sadly, The Ambitious Exec’s website does not provide the pricing details of their career development services. However, we found a review from a disgruntled client who claimed that they paid $10,000+, and other reviewers mention monthly fees for the platforms they need to use.
This is on the higher end of the spectrum, especially considering that they do not apply to jobs on your behalf like reverse recruiting agencies do. Unlike reverse recruiting services, where your dedicated recruiter looks for and applies to jobs on your behalf, The Ambitious Exec merely tutors you, helps with networking, and then leaves the ball in your court.
Even if they did offer a managed job search service, $10k+ is still a bit much. We’ve seen tons of reverse recruiting agencies that charge way less, while giving you a lot more value for your money in return.
For the most accurate and up-to-date details on pricing at The Ambitious Exec, we recommend that you reach out to them directly.
The Ambitious Exec Process
To help leadership-level professionals land jobs or secure promotions, The Ambitious Exec follows a clear and strategic process they call “the reverse job search method.”
Determine What Your Next Role Should Be:
The first step of The Ambitious Exec team is to help you decide what your next executive job role should be.
During this step, they’ll help you create your personalized ‘Executive Story’, which serves to convince the recruiters why you’re the best person for the role.
Know and Connect With the Right People:
To connect you with decision makers and executive recruiters in your field, The Ambitious Exec team utilizes a tool they dub the ‘Referral Engine’. This combines the power of technology and a personalized strategy suited for your industry.
This way, they’re able to network and start impactful conversations that will help you secure multiple interviews in choice positions.
Create Leverage:
After connecting with decision makers, you’ll begin to work towards securing interviews and selecting the best roles that align with your career goals.
The Ambitious Exec team claims that this reverse job search method helps their clients land choice roles and see up to 40% increases in their salaries.
The Ambitious Exec Team
The Ambitious Exec team consists of approximately 31 individuals (although their LinkedIn mentions 26). These members are further divided into 7 teams: Leadership (6), Client Services (3), Operations (3), Executive Career Coaching (5), Referral Engine Coaching (2), Resume & LinkedIn Optimization (6), and the Career Advisory team (6).
The company is led by James Whittaker and Amanda Whittaker.
CEO James is a former Deloitte director and a senior member of the firm’s global hiring team. He leverages this recruiting experience to help executives reach the next rung of the career ladder.
To further assist leadership-level professionals in their career journey, James authored a book titled “The Reverse Job Search Method”. This bestseller is designed to help career professionals navigate the job search process.
Co-founder Amanda Whittaker is well-versed in management and strategy. Her expertise made her instrumental to the growth of the TED Conferences, where she leveraged her skills to connect over 50,000 individuals worldwide.
The rest of The Ambitious Exec team possesses a combined experience of more than 3 centuries in different industries. Although it’s unclear which specific team members possess them, we found certifications including ‘Certified Executive Coach’, ‘Certified Co-active Professional Coach’, ‘Professional Certified Coach’, and ‘Associate Certified Coach’.
We also found expert resume and LinkedIn profile writers, career coaches, and professionals with prior recruiting experience. That said, the efforts of The Ambitious Exec team have helped 3,000+ executives move to better stages of their careers.
Is The Ambitious Exec Worth It?
It depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re specifically on the hunt for a career service to coach you, The Ambitious Exec might be right for you. You just have to be willing to part with $10k and shell out some more for any hidden fees.
However, if what you need is an agency to take the job search off your hands so you can focus on other things, The Ambitious Exec is not where you want to be. In this case, you’ll want to opt for more comprehensive reverse recruiting, where dedicated professionals handle the entire job search process on your behalf.
But in the end, whether or not The Ambitious Exec is worth it is entirely up to you.
Our goal is to provide you with the most transparent and helpful information possible. But, only you know what is best for you and your career.
Here is a summary of our findings on The Ambitious Exec:
- Customer Reviews: 20/25
- Cost to Value: 15/25
- Time Savings: 15/25
- Team Knowledge: 25/25
- Total Score: 75/100
We highly recommend reviewing 2-3 services before making a final decision.
If you’re in need of a fully managed job search service, we suggest checking out Find My Profession. With a team of experienced reverse recruiters and a commitment to customer satisfaction, Find My Profession can help you find your dream job with a more hands-on approach. And with a perfect score of 100/100, you can trust that you’ll be in good hands!
