I'm interested in working for a company... that has horrible Glassdoor reviews.

Question

I've come across this company (I won't mention name) that has great products that I'm interested in and a great mission that I believe in. I also think this company will be widely successful and I want to get in while I can. HOWEVER, while I was researching the company, I found very troubling Glassdoor reviews. Not just one or two but tens of them out of like a hundred. And many people said that there is not much room for growth and it doesn't have good work/life balance: two things that I REALLY care about. Should I still apply for this job? And if I get an interview, do you think I should ask about these reviews or no?

Anonymous · Answer

That's frustrating. Do the bad reviews generally have a recent time stamp? Also, how big is the company vs. amount of reviews being made? Maybe that'll help scale your judgement.

Either way, I don't think it'd hurt to apply and possibly hear more about the company. You can always decline an offer but potentially having the opportunity to go in for an interview, meet the type of team you'd potentially be on and ask about the room for growth and work/life balance questions you have in person or over the phone might help clarify if the company feels right for you!

Courtney Klein · Answer

I'm personally quite wary of Glassdoor reviews, both those that are overly positive and those that are overly negative. I found myself in a similar situation with a company that I wanted to work for - several poor reviews related to quality of life issues, but I really respected the mission of the company and wanted to support it. When I was there, I personally experienced the negative things mentioned in the posts, however, the issues were due entirely to the VP of my division (who was hired many months after I started) and the type of work I was doing (domestic terrorism counterintelligence, which never f'n stops). I enjoyed my time there, nonetheless, and the vast majority of employees were NOT subject to the same kinds of issues. The people who had posted reviews, I eventually surmised, were bitter following a layoff (which the company was REALLY bad at coordinating) or had a bone to pick for other reasons.

One reason I find myself wary is that people are (generally) measurably more likely to post a review of their workplace when they have a negative experience. They want to vent and feel like they got some measure of 'revenge' for the unpleasantness they endured. Conversely, I've seen companies on there with overwhelmingly good reviews, but they often seem paid for - hundreds of statements that are almost copy/paste the same statement.

Were these negative reviews from people who do the same kind of work? I know that's not always easy to tell, but sometimes a job title is posted. For example, my current company is a security consulting firm. It's pretty common to see negative reviews for such companies on Glassdoor, but they're often posted by the per-diem security guards who, admittedly, generally have pretty crappy experiences anywhere they go. People in my position (or similar), however, enjoy their experiences.

In your position, I would still apply and, as people above me have mentioned, ask questions regarding quality of life during this process. Maybe try to find employees on LinkedIn and see if they'd be willing to give you honest feedback on how they feel.

Toni B. · Answer

You should apply! If it's tens out of hundreds of reviews that's not a lot. Also you need to factor in the company size and what team/area those people worked.  The time the reviews were made is also important.

For example room for growth and lack of work/life balance can all be related to a certain team. Also, if this is a startup in its early phase then that would make sense as to why they may have a lack of those two things you mention.

I would apply as it's not 100% guaranteed that you receive an interview and if you do receive an interview ask them questions that pertain to the things that you really want to know.

I'm interested in working for a company... that has horrible Glassdoor reviews.

You're invited.

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