Fairygodboss season of sharing: How important are company reviews to you?

Anonymous

November 4,2021 at 2:29PM UTC

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Fairygodboss season of sharing: How important are company reviews to you?

I am applying for jobs and I always make sure to look at company reviews before I move further with my application. A friend of mine recently told me to stop taking them so seriously, but I think these reviews are the best way to actually see what a company's like.

What do you think of company reviews? Do they affect where you apply/take a job?

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MonicaNovember 4,2021 at 4:58PM UTC
Reading company reviews is one of the first things that I do when considering a company for employment. Depending on what I see in those reviews, it will dictate whether I apply for a job with them.
AnonymousNovember 4,2021 at 5:23PM UTC
I read them but always take them with a grain of salt....like most reviews the employees who are really happy or really unhappy tend to take up most reviews.
Look for common trends....do people keep saying the same great thing or the same bad thing? those can be green or red flags to notice.
Do reviews say the exact same thing? And I mean the exact same thing because some companies incentivize employees to post certain reviews.
If reviews don't really tell me much I will probably take the interview anyway and ask questions geared toward day to day work, how co-workers work together etc.
Annie LimNovember 4,2021 at 5:26PM UTC
I do read them but I take them with a huge grain of salt. Most people who leave reviews (anywhere, even Amazon) are likely people who love the company a lot or hate the company a lot. There are two extremes. I generally look for the middle ground with reviews that include constructive criticism. I generally disregard very negative reviews unless I see a theme. We don't get the entire back story with negative reviews, either, so I gauge from how they wrote the review whether that person might have legitimate criticisms against the company. I also recognize that no company is perfect and each person has their own preferences regarding workplace culture. In conclusion, I definitely consider reviews, but don't rely heavily on them for a final decision.
AnonymousNovember 4,2021 at 6:47PM UTC
I take them with a grain of salt. It's seems to that reviews are usually posted by disgruntled employees. Which is something to consider but in measure.
I look for published articles. Business journals that mention the company, personal contacts, financial info when available, leadership stability and talent (who works there) and are they superstars.
All of these things factor in.
AnonymousNovember 5,2021 at 1:59PM UTC
I definitely consider the reviews, knowing they won't tell the entire picture.
AnonymousNovember 5,2021 at 4:28PM UTC
Personally, I don't feel I have the luxury of using that for my decision. I may be alone here but it's true for me. And remember, too, that some of the jobs, mangers, etc that people have the most issues with are sometimes the things you'll click with most!