How Pradeep landed an Executive Director, Applied AI and ML role at JPMorganChase in under 5 months

Pradeep came to us after 20 years in tech, most recently at Meta and then as co-founder of an AI startup. The company had pivoted away from the technical work he loved, and he had already stepped back from his CTO responsibilities. He wanted to get back to solving hard technical problems at an established company.

In under 5 months we landed him 34 interviews and two offers. He took the Executive Director, Applied AI and ML role at JPMorganChase at $325,000 base.

What was actually blocking him

It was never his experience. It was that he had no appetite for running a search.

“Last year I didn’t apply for any jobs. It just becomes harder for me to focus on saying I’m going to search through LinkedIn and apply for the jobs and fill up applications. It’s a very, very boring task, to be honest.”

Every move he had ever made came from a recruiter approaching him. Applying at volume was new territory, and he had already decided he simply was not going to do it. He is refreshingly blunt about how he handles work he does not enjoy:

“Even in our house, we have a cleaning lady, we have a cooking lady, we have everything taken care of, because those are the things I don’t enjoy. If the activity I don’t enjoy, I’m just going to pay for it. So job application was something I needed to externalise.”

The role he would never have applied for

The JPMorganChase job says the most about what a done-for-you search actually changes. He did not find it, and left to himself he would have walked straight past it:

“For example, JPMC, I wouldn’t even have applied. And even when they called me, I was like, well, why the hell am I even talking to them?”

Then the conversation got to compensation, and the number came in above his floor. In the end three separate teams were competing over which one he would join.

“That was thanks to you guys. I wouldn’t have applied. You guys applied.”

How he does the maths on the fee

He never weighed the fee against his salary. He weighed it against the months he would otherwise spend not earning at all:

“If with you guys I’m able to land something even a month earlier, it pays for it.”

Would he use us again

He was still fielding interest when we spoke, including Nvidia circling back and a CTO conversation at Zoom for a role he had not applied to either.

“I think I would do that again. If I have to find another job or something, I’ll use you guys again.”

His advice to a senior leader who has just been laid off

We asked him this because so many people arrive here in exactly that spot, and a good few of them are panicking. Pradeep had taken about 18 months out before he started this search, so he is speaking from having lived it, not from sympathy.

“Take some time off. This is the best opportunity to lay low and focus on yourself, sharpen your skills before getting to the market. Sometimes it’s a forced break, which can be good.”

“Somebody who was a senior director, I don’t think they should be panicking about the finances. They have probably made enough money to say, I have a cushion.”

“Don’t panic too much. Focus on building out your profile, and don’t rush into something prematurely. This is a good opportunity to evaluate yourself.”

If that describes where you are, 7 signs you are stuck in your career covers the assessment part.

The search in numbers

• 34 interviews landed in under 5 months
• 2 offers
• $325,000 base at JPMorganChase
• Level: Director. Function: AI and Machine Learning