Do you always look at company reviews on Glassdoor before applying?

34 Comments

1. Jocelyn LyonsDecember 22,2022 at 5:01PM UTC

   I always check, or ask someone in my network who has a connection/knows the company. I think a rating of 4 stars or above is fair; it’s very likely that at least one disgruntled employee or former employee will bring a rating down a bit. It’s impossible to please everyone, and everyone’s experience and expectations are different.

2. Crystal HowellDecember 22,2022 at 5:03PM UTC

   Yes, I do the same, I would be a customer first and see how the system works, it will tell you volumes!

3. AnonymousDecember 22,2022 at 5:19PM UTC

   I do not review companies with just 4 stars. Some of the low star readings may be from years ago. I first narrow down the companies I want to target based on what company / industry seems to be a fit. I then look at the low and some of the high readings from websites to get a feel of the company. It is more of a review of how the company and culture is doing as a whole. The interviews will hopefully tell how the individual team interactions are.

4. Peggie Arvidson * Career Consultant | Adoptee Advocate | RecruiterDecember 22,2022 at 5:24PM UTC

   honestly, I never look at glassdoor - unless I have a hinky feeling after an interview or two. But I also do more due diligence - people are FAMOUS for leaving bad reviews (restaurants, jobs, oil change places, etc) and not really ever leaving GOOD reviews - so I take that into consideration.

   Still, before any interviews, I

   • review the company linkedin page, searching for people w/the title I'm applying for - and in some cases reaching out to intro myself. I also look for people that HAD the title, and reach out and ask why they left
   • do a google search and newspaper searches for the local area where they are HQ
   • search industry papers/journals for the names of their leadership (usually you can find the Csuite listed on a website)
   • I also look to see where their funding comes from (investment, PE, Angels, are they public or private, etc)
   • check my network to see if anyone has connections there...

   All before an interview - that way I can compile the good and the bad and make a decision - as well as ask pointed questions - if they are brining me in to help right the ship, I want to know what they're willing to own and how they'll support me.

5. AnonymousDecember 22,2022 at 5:49PM UTC

   Yes. The minimum rating I look for depends on the type of company - for example, I’m an executive assistant. If the company I’m working for has a corporate vs retail/warehouse side, I’ll often accept say, a 3 star rating if I see that a lot of bad reviews are coming from the retail side - because, having been a retail worker, I know that people’s disgruntlement often comes down to individual managers vs the actual company, so I’m more willing to let them slide. However, if I’m researching for an interview on a company that doesn’t have that, and I see a lot of bad reviews that are being left within the last year, I might take the interview, but I won’t feel bad about not getting the position. This actually just happened to me - I was wary of the company based on over a years worth of terrible reviews, and I didn’t advance, so I’m relieved ?

6. AnonymousDecember 22,2022 at 6:00PM UTC

   I always check Glassdoor before applying to a role, mainly for the reviews & rating. The amount of reviews can sway what a company's rating should but I try to only look at those with 4 stars and up (maybe 3.9 depending on how many reviews there are). But! One thing I'd advise looking for are patterns of positive review posts and the dates on which they're posted. I had this god awful manager once who literally made us post positive reviews on Glassdoor (I refused). Several of my colleagues did, however, and when you look at them, you can see they're all posted on the same day (or maybe 1 day apart), they all say they same things and, if whoever posted it never hid their location, you can see they're all coming from the same office (we were global). Glassdoor is helpful for sure, but I hope what I've learned is helpful.

7. Thalia MoshosDecember 22,2022 at 9:09PM UTC

   Good point, I should look out for that.

8. Susan RoblesDecember 22,2022 at 6:06PM UTC

   I look. Why not get all the info you can! But it can't be your only source of data.

9. AnonymousDecember 22,2022 at 6:08PM UTC

   Glassdoor reviews seem to be typically given by disgruntled employees. Happy people don't spend the time. I find the text of the reviews for more interesting than the rating. Then you can tell if a company has systemic issues.

10. AnonymousDecember 24,2022 at 1:25PM UTC

    Remember that to use Glassdoor, you need to provide reviews or interview information or salary. So if someone has just left a job or is unhappy in their current one, and is using Glassdoor to find a new one, it’s not surprising that reviews would skew negative.

11. AnonymousDecember 22,2022 at 7:37PM UTC

    I agree. Glassdoor is populated with bad reviews by former toxic employees. Then HR goes in and posts glowing reviews to try and balance things. I stick to my network and my gut feeling after interviewing.

12. AnonymousDecember 24,2022 at 7:43AM UTC

    This is not necessarily true. Some associates who give bad reviews are genuinely telling the truth about their organization.

13. AnonymousDecember 22,2022 at 8:24PM UTC

    I read the reviews closely. If their complaints would impact me, then I take that into consideration, but that's about it.

14. AnonymousDecember 22,2022 at 9:14PM UTC

    Yes! I take the Glassdoor Reviews into consideration but also cross-reference reviews with other boards like Indeed Reviews and there's another platform I use but the name escapes me.

    Of course, if I have people in or around my network that are connected to that said company, I'd reach out to get insight as well. Even if all I get out of is a information interview. At the end of the day, I agree with another community member when they said "gut, instinct or vibes" is what I go off of at the end of the day. It's HR job to ensure there are only glowing reviews/comments on digital boards like Glassdoor but I also monitor their response activity as well.

    Oh the last place I check is the BBB and Trustpilot too! While it's not a direct reflection of how employees feel about the company, it's always interesting to see how customers feel /view the company. I also work in the customer experience industry so it's important I have a general idea of what type of customers I'm up against if I do decide to work there.

15. AnonymousDecember 22,2022 at 10:56PM UTC

    I may look if I don't have a good "gut" feeling about the place, but I also check out the company's "about" page, pay attention to who and how many executives are listed on their staff pages and scrutinize their mission, vision, and values. If these things are missing, I find it a huge red flag. If the mission, vision, and value statements contradict my own, I pass them by. I always try to work them into any conversations I have in interviews. The way I see reviews is there is always another side to the story.

16. Stella FeinbergDecember 23,2022 at 2:24PM UTC

    I agree

17. AnonymousDecember 22,2022 at 11:59PM UTC

    I wish I did before my current job. The ones on Indeed weren’t as telling.

18. Nicolle Joy WilfengerDecember 23,2022 at 12:16PM UTC

    I know for a fact some companies pay employees to leave positive reviews if the company is getting too many negative reviews. Someone very close to me kept being pressured to leave a positive review on his horrible workplace and they were paying I think $200 for each positive review. Just be aware of this.

19. AnonymousDecember 24,2022 at 7:41AM UTC

    Oh my. Had no idea companies were doing this. How unethical

20. AnonymousDecember 23,2022 at 1:40PM UTC

    Just make sure you're reading applicable reviews. I work for a large retailer in our corporate office but the majority of our reviews come from our field associates. Good, bad, or indifferent, the two experiences aren't exactly comparable in all aspects.

21. Rachael de VriesDecember 23,2022 at 3:12PM UTC

    I applied fora position and looked at Glassdoor to find some pretty negative reviews. There were only a handful, but I used it as a question in my interview to gauge whether they were actually aware and reflective about the reviews. The interviewer was very transparent and discussed some of the issues with me being delicate to each of the ppl involved by not divulging too much information. It started a great conversation about how the company was reflective, how they have grown and changed.

22. RichDecember 23,2022 at 11:33PM UTC

    Fantastic! That's really a strong way to handle this sort of thing.

23. RichDecember 23,2022 at 3:19PM UTC

    There are many excellent points below. (I hadn't considered looking at the posting dates and that seems to me to be a great idea to spot efforts to game the system, whether positive or negative.)

    But keep in mind that in the US, there is the 7-11 Rule. There will be 11 negative comments for every 7 positive ones. I have always found the "Middle of the Road" comments to be far more indicative of reality.

24. AnonymousDecember 24,2022 at 1:21PM UTC

    I see how consistent the reviews are. Especially if you are looking at reviews for a big company with multiple locations, reviews are going to be dependent on the kind of role and the office the reviewer work in. But if everyone says there is no work-life balance, or the bonus structure is unfair, then those are probably real issues.i have never not considered interviewing at a company with less-than-stellar Glassdoor reviews, but they tell me what to ask in the part of the interview where I ask questions.

25. AnonymousDecember 24,2022 at 1:40PM UTC

    The company I work for had many negative and accurate reviews from employees. They hired a firm to post positive reviews so the rating went up significantly. Be sure to look through the dates of the reviews and see if they suddenly changed from negative to positive.

26. AnonymousDecember 24,2022 at 1:53PM UTC

    I think it’s good to look at Glassdoor but as others stated, be careful fully trusting it. As someone who does monitor my company’s page, we’ve received negative reviews where it’s obvious the person doesn’t work for our company (Glassdoor won’t take it down) and negative reviews from people who are disgruntled they were let go for legitimate reasons and so they posted a toxic review. We also have 5 star reviews from very happy employees who weren’t encouraged in any way to leave a review. I think more important than the stars is the content. I would look for patterns and themes between the positive and negative and if there’s something really concerning ask about it in the interviewing stage just to see how they respond.

27. Hope WyssDecember 24,2022 at 2:24PM UTC

    The last two companies I worked at continually ask employees to go on Glassdoor to write reviews. We received regular emails from HR pushing employees to do so. Both of these companies had issues with work/life balance and trouble with employee retention.

    I’ve been job hunting for 2 months now. I always read the Glassdoor reviews. It’s amazing to me how reviews list no work/life balance and/or toxic management as a con while giving a 4 star rating. For me, if there’s a pattern of this, I don’t apply to that company. My last two companies worked us into the ground. And at one of them I had a very toxic manager. I ask during my interviews how they implement work/life balance.

28. Marla FieldsDecember 24,2022 at 3:21PM UTC

    I don't look at Glassdoor before I apply. If it looks like a job that I am a fit for I apply (especially if I do not have a connection to give my resume). I check Glassdoor before I interview so I have some questions for them. If they have old bad reviews make sure that has changed, if they are recent make sure they are changing. Sometimes it doesn't truly matter because u need a job to put food on the table and a roof over ur family's head. But u can go onto a situation aware and set ur boundaries early.

29. Megan LeasherDecember 24,2022 at 4:01PM UTC

    I do. I treat what I read with a grain of salt but I do like to see what people have to say.

30. T MNDecember 25,2022 at 11:48AM UTC

    I worked 20 years at a company, liked my job, thought I would retire there but the last 3 years they changed management, and everything went downhill. Few great colleagues quit, they refused to rehire replacements and just doubled if not tripled work for others. Numerous times I spoke with my managers and mgmt that I was overwhelmed and required assistance ASAP. Fell on deaf ears. I wasnt the only one drowning in work, as other staff was reaching out to me crying that "im so busy, i cant take it, mentally draining". After 6 months, I gave 4 weeks notice n resigned. The Glassdoor reviews for this company are few but all praise the enviroment. I believe they are bogus and written by mgmt staff.

31. Deidra MatthewsDecember 25,2022 at 5:31PM UTC

    I always do. While I understand some former employees may leave poor reviews, if I see that the majority of reviews are negative…I think they are probably accurate.

    I also look for the 4’s.

32. Tanika (Nika) Vasquez - (she/her)December 26,2022 at 12:30AM UTC

    Yes, I look at job review sites and I see if anyone in my connections on this site or on Linkedin works there and can give me some insight into the company and its culture.

33. AnonymousDecember 26,2022 at 2:42AM UTC

    I don't pay attention to the actual rating, just to complaints or praises that come up frequently.

34. AnonymousDecember 27,2022 at 4:43PM UTC

    This is great advice, because it's based on actual experience, and the key word is "frequently". I tend to ignore outlier comments, because this could just be one disgruntled individual.