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There are some companies that I see job postings for online, but when I check their Glassdoor ratings and reviews, I am turned off. Some of them get bad ratings like 2.5 with a recommendation to friends rating of like 40%. And the comments say things like "poor work/life balance" or "high employee turnover" or "below market pay." I mean, these things scare me.
Likewise, I have seen some companies get pretty decent reviews with ratings of like 3.5, but when I ask my friends who work at the company they tell me to stay away and look elsewhere, because of reasons such as stressful work environment, long hours, high turnover, etc.
I'm confused and wish there was an accurate way to evaluate whether working at a company would be good or not.
I can't speak for the ratings, but I can speak for the salary reviews - most of them are nowhere near actual numbers at my company (Glass Door reviews show much lower than hiring salaries at my current company). Either the people reporting live in BFE, or the data is outdated by 10 years.
I wouldn't "rely on" the information you find there, but it can be a useful data point. If you read that training is poor, for example, make sure you ask questions during the interview that deal with how new hires are trained. If turnover is an issue, ask how long the team has been together. Etc, etc, etc. Employer ratings can give you an idea of what to be on the lookout for, but they rarely paint a complete picture of the workplace.
With any sort of review, the people who are most dissatisfied are the loudest. It's worth looking into, but be aware that the comments are most likely to be dissatisfied anyway.
Take it with a grain of salt like someone else mentioned, but personally I think it's helpful for getting a general idea of what it's like to work somewhere. Some reviews could be angry ex-employees who got fired, some positive reviews could be the company itself! A lot of the reviews tend to be vague and not as detailed as I'd like. I think the truth is usually somewhere in the middle. Most recently, I read some pretty poor Glassdoor reviews on an organization that was trying to recruit me. I agreed to the interview but they had some shady reports online through the BBB and other websites where customers were complaining about their practices. This might not be an issue for some, but I don't want to work for or be associated with a company that reflects badly on me. The recruiter claimed they'd re-vamped their management and the company had turned around. Fair enough. Came across the Glassdoor reviews, which offered details about the job that had been denied by the recruiter. Asked about these details at the interview with the hiring manager, turned out the Glassdoor poster had been correct. Dodged a bullet, didn't take the job. I look at it as supplemental research.
With any sort of review, the people who are most dissatisfied are the loudest. It's worth looking into, but be aware that the comments are most likely to be dissatisfied anyway.
And there are many many other reasons.
For example, one reviewer is rating an entire company? Come on. If the place has more than one department or more than one supervisor you don't know who or what the rating is based on. The reviewer could be drunk, you don't know these people. Heck, I can review an organization just for fun.
Take it with a grain of salt like someone else mentioned, but personally I think it's helpful for getting a general idea of what it's like to work somewhere. Some reviews could be angry ex-employees who got fired, some positive reviews could be the company itself! A lot of the reviews tend to be vague and not as detailed as I'd like. I think the truth is usually somewhere in the middle. Most recently, I read some pretty poor Glassdoor reviews on an organization that was trying to recruit me. I agreed to the interview but they had some shady reports online through the BBB and other websites where customers were complaining about their practices. This might not be an issue for some, but I don't want to work for or be associated with a company that reflects badly on me. The recruiter claimed they'd re-vamped their management and the company had turned around. Fair enough. Came across the Glassdoor reviews, which offered details about the job that had been denied by the recruiter. Asked about these details at the interview with the hiring manager, turned out the Glassdoor poster had been correct. Dodged a bullet, didn't take the job. I look at it as supplemental research.
I agree. I mean, if a company has an overwhelming amount of negative reviews.....that just can't be a good thing. It very well could be a bad place to work.
For example, one reviewer is rating an entire company? Come on. If the place has more than one department or more than one supervisor you don't know who or what the rating is based on. The reviewer could be drunk, you don't know these people. Heck, I can review an organization just for fun.
Come on OP.
True. My team runs smoothly, but some other teams in the division of the company I'm in - not so much. I honestly have no clue what goes on in other divisions and couldn't properly evaluate them.
True. My team runs smoothly, but some other teams in the division of the company I'm in - not so much. I honestly have no clue what goes on in other divisions and couldn't properly evaluate them.
Thanks Emigrations.
Hear that OP? If this guy's organization gets some bad reviews because a different dept is a bad place or had some wacky employees, then this guy may get the brunt of that. But his area is OK. And it can be the reverse.
Go ahead and look at the reviews but don't let it affect you much. Stay old school and go with your gut and with what trusted people that you know advise.
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