How heavily do you weigh company reviews when considering an offer?

9 Comments

1. Barb HansenApril 8,2022 at 5:19PM UTC

   It depends.

   I always check Glassdoor (and other company review sites, including FGB) when considering a new company.

   I look at the company's and the CEO's overall rating. If the CEO's rating is low, I generally stop there, and the company is a no for me. If the CEO's rating is average or high, I read a few positive reviews. I jump to the most negative reviews and read a few of the most recent negative reviews.

   Then I do a gut check to see how I feel about the company. If my gut says - I wouldn't want to work there, that's my answer.

2. Megan KaleitaApril 8,2022 at 5:22PM UTC

   It depends on the tone of the review. I've seen quite a few that were obviously written by delusional entitled people. Others that have certain key words like disorganzed, overloaded, bad communication, overloaded, stuff like that. I actually brought up some bad company reviews in interviews and if they blow it off as 'crazy ex' it's a bad sign.

3. AnonymousApril 8,2022 at 5:40PM UTC

   I solicit reviews myself. There are too many trolls posting b.s. online.

   I usually know to apply by my own judgement. A reveiw wouldn't never sway me.

4. Sabrina CortesApril 8,2022 at 5:53PM UTC

   I consider them but don't base my decision on them.

5. Danielle SimonApril 8,2022 at 6:20PM UTC

   Having worked at some bad places, I've learned to pay attention to the negative reviews and have used them to eliminate opportunities. There have been a couple of times when I’ve read reviews of the workplace after leaving it/when I went to leave a review and realized at least two of the negative reviews hit the truth on the head. Not only that—they’d usually only tell part of the story, so they didn’t even fully paint a picture of all the problems. One of those places was clearly having employees leave false positive reviews, as well—any time a negative review was posted, 2 positive but very short reviews that really didn’t say much of substance would follow, claiming “no cons,” as well (every workplace has something you don’t love or would change). The negative reviews were always more substantial.

   The keys are paying attention to any repeat words/phrases/sentiments that bother you, the departments/positions, how detailed the reviews are, and the dates—basically in this order. For example, with one job opportunity, all the negative reviews were from warehouse workers when I was considering a corporate role...so, I ignored the negative reviews. But negative reviews from more corporate roles if there are not any roles in my department reviewed? I will give them weight. If you see multiple negative reviews that essentially point out similar issues that would personally bother you, you might want to run—I have.

6. AnonymousApril 9,2022 at 9:53AM UTC

   Idon’t takethem seriously at any stage. Its like a tweet. I may see its an opinion.

7. Julie Chatman, MBA, CISMApril 9,2022 at 3:08PM UTC

   I do look at the reviews, but I find that it’s more helpful to talk to people who currently work at the company *and* recently departed the company.

   This is because online reviews tend to skew Towards negativity. When I speak to people live, I can ask probing questions, validate anything concerning that I may have seen in online reviews, gather the information that is most pertinent to what I care about when it comes to a workplace, and then construct a balanced view to help me make a decision.

8. AnonymousApril 10,2022 at 2:16AM UTC

   Remember that the issues that are complaint-worthy (or praise-worthy) to one employee may not affect you in the same way. Instead of grouping the reviews you read into “good” versus “bad,” evaluate the issues individually and decide what they mean to you.

   Also, while it’s easy to get caught up in online reviews, your overall opinion of the company should come from a much wider array of sources. For one, go offline, and see if you can get more personal information from a current or former employee. And beyond research, the things you observe within the company (are employees smiling? Is everyone hiding in their cubicle?), your interaction with the hiring manager, and your enthusiasm for the company’s core purpose should all influence your ultimate decision. Don’t be afraid to trust your (well-informed) gut. It’s usually right!

9. Anita GetzApril 11,2022 at 5:14PM UTC

   I look at the company reviews on Glassdoor, all the time, it does not hold me back from applying. You have to remember that you only get out of it what you put into it. Take the reviews with a grain of salt. Form your own opinion. Every job and company is not right for everyone. Good luck