Lunchclub for Professionals

Not now for a career move

If you want new contacts for a career move, do not start on Lunchclub now. It is free, but its last app update came on 3 March 2022, and the newest Trustpilot review is from 6 February 2024. The homepage at lunchclub.com showed no product text. ^{[1] [3] [4]}

The senior contacts were real, but there are only two accounts of them

A January 2022 App Store reviewer with over 50 meetings said they met a leadership coach and close friends. A February 2024 personal review says its author met many senior people in the first month. That review carries a referral link the author received, so weigh its praise accordingly. ^{[2] [6]}

The fit was narrower for others. A September 2020 Blind poster who wanted career direction and contacts at other companies called the experience “hit or miss,” after a match stopped responding and cancelled about 15 minutes before a call. ^[8]

Calls took 30 to 60 minutes, and no-shows were the real cost in time

Calls ran 30 to 60 minutes across the accounts, and one 2023 commenter took three random 45-minute calls a week. The bigger cost was the no-show: 5 of 25 user reports describe a match who did not show or cancelled late, from 2020 to 2023. ^{[9] [2] [3] [10]}

A January 2023 commenter who had strong early meetings said that many people then cancelled at the last minute, and stopped after a few weeks. ^[10]

Test an existing account once, then judge it on one meeting

If you already have an account, sign in, complete your profile and request one meeting. A working login that books a call is the only result that would change this answer. A failed login, or a request that gets no reply, matches the dated pattern above.

Know what it reads first. The privacy policy says Lunchclub reads calendar data from a connected Google account by default and accesses contacts only with permission. It may keep data for a “commercially reasonable time” after you close your account, and it gives no period. ^[5]

Where to look instead

Start with the alternatives and check each service's current terms.

Should you use it for your career? Not until a login works and a meeting is booked

Until then, spend your time on the alternatives and on your own contacts. If Lunchclub returns with a working login, judge it on one meeting, not on the reviews from 2020. ^[8]