Do you check out potential employers on the review sites - are they accurate? [closed]

Question

I've recently checked out some reviews of potential employers on sites like JobVent, Telonu, and Glassdoor. The reviews tend to skew negative as might be expected, so I'm wondering how useful they are for job expectations and a metric of morale in the company?

What I've seen in a couple different interviews seems to be very different than what I'm reading online.

If you checked out a company online before taking a job with a fair number of negative reviews, how did it work out for you?

(If it makes a difference, remember to log out to answer anonymously).

Answer 1

The problem with (publicly-)anonymous reviews on the internet is that they are particularly appealing to those with an ax to grind.

I think they are useful for learning about specific issues (e.g., lots of reviews mentioning long work hours or management pressure) but not for any actual numeric values.

In addition, smaller companies rarely have reviews, while larger corporations have so many subgroups, divisions, and sites that the likelihood of the review applying to your position is minimal.

If you want the inside scoop, you probably need to talk to somebody who worked there (not just interviewed). If it's a big enough company, Facebook or LinkedIn may be your best resource to find such a person as you can search for alumni of your alma mater, etc.