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Perhaps if more people utilized glassdoor and talent steered clear, then we might see a positive change here. Until then, there is no incentive for employers t

Perhaps if more people utilized glassdoor and talent steered clear, then we might see a positive change here. Until then, there is no incentive for employers to spend time formalizing and providing that feedback.

heavyset_go 7y ago
Glassdoor is absolutely filled to the brim with reviews clearly written by HR, marketing firms or by current employees who were told to write reviews. If a review's only advice to management are: "Continue doing what you're doing!", "keep up the good work!" or "make sure our awesome culture isn't diluted as we grow!", then they're fake. If a review's only cons are reframing the cons left my legitimate reviewers as sour grapes by someone who can't handle fast-paced environments, startups, or responsibilities that aren't clearly defined, they're fake. But the biggest red flag is positive reviews left in succession over the period of a few days to a month. Much like Amazon reviews, it seems that the only reviews you can glean worthwhile information from are the bad reviews.
- nobleach 7y ago
  In 2014, Glassdoor was a goldmine and it saved me from several very toxic companies. Once companies began to catch on, it became a cesspool of corporate cheerleaders softballing points to make their reviews sound convincing. Things like, "Sure, work/life balance could use some tweaking but, overall, it's not too bad". It's pretty easy to scope out the fake reviews.
- AmericanChopper 7y ago
  It’s also filled with reviews from disgruntled former employees who write massively exaggerated reviews, or complete works of fiction. I also have no reason to believe that people don’t write poor reviews for their competitors. It’s an anonymous review system that has many incentives in place that competing with “write thoughtful, honest reviews for you employers” along with all the typical review system biases (like a strong selection bias).
  - vkou 7y ago
    Just because an employee is disgruntled, doesn't mean that their unhappiness isn't justified.
    - AmericanChopper 7y ago
      It also doesn’t mean that it is. How many times have you read a review on Glassdoor that said “great company, but I was fired for being a completely toxic bully”? The lack of credibility in the reviews cuts both ways.
      - vkou 7y ago
        When one person says that their work environment is shit, that's one thing. When five people say that their work environment is shit, there may be something to it.
        AmericanChopper 7y ago
        Maybe. I suspect there might be some value hidden in the aggregate data on Glassdoor (but that really is just as susceptible to the same type of manipulation). The number 5 may also be significant or insignificant depending entirely upon the size of the organisation. But really, if your reasoning was robust, it would work in both directions. I don’t think you’d agree with the statement “if five people say that their work environment is great, there may be something to it”. The system can be (and is) gamed in both directions, and there are people who have incentives to do so in either direction, for both “justified” and “unjustified” reasons. Any reason you come up with to be skeptical of a good review also applies to a bad one.
- Nuzzerino 7y ago
  I left a poor review for an employer only one time in the 10 years or so I've been on Glassdoor (there were only a couple other reviews). And almost immediately after, there were about 20 or 30 5 star reviews posted in a short amount of time. The company only had about that many employees, which proves that the CEO (or someone at the top) either told everyone to write a good review, or some of them were fake, both clearly 'incentivized' by any sane definition of the term. I reported this to Glassdoor and they refused to do anything about it, and I even had the report escalated and re-reviewed, without any effect.
pmiller2 7y ago
Steer clear of what? Almost all companies have this “no feedback” policy in some form. I’ve gotten rejection calls (a sadistic practice, if you’re not going to offer feedback IMO), where I’ve explicitly asked for feedback and literally been told “no.” If I limited myself to companies that provide feedback, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have a career right now.
- basseq 7y ago
  > rejection calls (a sadistic practice, if you’re not going to offer feedback IMO) Perhaps you're referring to other channels of communication, but I'd much rather have a rejection call than no contact at all. Corporate ghosting is much more sadistic.
  - pmiller2 7y ago
    If I'm not getting the job, just send me an email. JMHO.
    - SpicyLemonZest 7y ago
      In college, one company woke me up with a phone call at 7 AM to reject me. They were even in the same time zone!
      - pmiller2 7y ago
        Ouch. Talk about adding insult to injury (or, at least, mild inconvenience). At least in my case, they scheduled the call, which avoids being woken up or otherwise interrupted, but prolongs the agony a little.
    - basseq 7y ago
      At least do SOMETHING. Perfectly fine with an email.

heavyset_go 7y ago

Glassdoor is absolutely filled to the brim with reviews clearly written by HR, marketing firms or by current employees who were told to write reviews. If a review's only advice to management are: "Continue doing what you're doing!", "keep up the good work!" or "make sure our awesome culture isn't diluted as we grow!", then they're fake. If a review's only cons are reframing the cons left my legitimate reviewers as sour grapes by someone who can't handle fast-paced environments, startups, or responsibilities that aren't clearly defined, they're fake. But the biggest red flag is positive reviews left in succession over the period of a few days to a month. Much like Amazon reviews, it seems that the only reviews you can glean worthwhile information from are the bad reviews.

nobleach 7y ago
In 2014, Glassdoor was a goldmine and it saved me from several very toxic companies. Once companies began to catch on, it became a cesspool of corporate cheerleaders softballing points to make their reviews sound convincing. Things like, "Sure, work/life balance could use some tweaking but, overall, it's not too bad". It's pretty easy to scope out the fake reviews.
AmericanChopper 7y ago
It’s also filled with reviews from disgruntled former employees who write massively exaggerated reviews, or complete works of fiction. I also have no reason to believe that people don’t write poor reviews for their competitors. It’s an anonymous review system that has many incentives in place that competing with “write thoughtful, honest reviews for you employers” along with all the typical review system biases (like a strong selection bias).
- vkou 7y ago
  Just because an employee is disgruntled, doesn't mean that their unhappiness isn't justified.
  - AmericanChopper 7y ago
    It also doesn’t mean that it is. How many times have you read a review on Glassdoor that said “great company, but I was fired for being a completely toxic bully”? The lack of credibility in the reviews cuts both ways.
    - vkou 7y ago
      When one person says that their work environment is shit, that's one thing. When five people say that their work environment is shit, there may be something to it.
      - AmericanChopper 7y ago
        Maybe. I suspect there might be some value hidden in the aggregate data on Glassdoor (but that really is just as susceptible to the same type of manipulation). The number 5 may also be significant or insignificant depending entirely upon the size of the organisation. But really, if your reasoning was robust, it would work in both directions. I don’t think you’d agree with the statement “if five people say that their work environment is great, there may be something to it”. The system can be (and is) gamed in both directions, and there are people who have incentives to do so in either direction, for both “justified” and “unjustified” reasons. Any reason you come up with to be skeptical of a good review also applies to a bad one.
Nuzzerino 7y ago
I left a poor review for an employer only one time in the 10 years or so I've been on Glassdoor (there were only a couple other reviews). And almost immediately after, there were about 20 or 30 5 star reviews posted in a short amount of time. The company only had about that many employees, which proves that the CEO (or someone at the top) either told everyone to write a good review, or some of them were fake, both clearly 'incentivized' by any sane definition of the term. I reported this to Glassdoor and they refused to do anything about it, and I even had the report escalated and re-reviewed, without any effect.

pmiller2 7y ago

Steer clear of what? Almost all companies have this “no feedback” policy in some form. I’ve gotten rejection calls (a sadistic practice, if you’re not going to offer feedback IMO), where I’ve explicitly asked for feedback and literally been told “no.” If I limited myself to companies that provide feedback, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have a career right now.

basseq 7y ago
> rejection calls (a sadistic practice, if you’re not going to offer feedback IMO) Perhaps you're referring to other channels of communication, but I'd much rather have a rejection call than no contact at all. Corporate ghosting is much more sadistic.
- pmiller2 7y ago
  If I'm not getting the job, just send me an email. JMHO.
  - SpicyLemonZest 7y ago
    In college, one company woke me up with a phone call at 7 AM to reject me. They were even in the same time zone!
    - pmiller2 7y ago
      Ouch. Talk about adding insult to injury (or, at least, mild inconvenience). At least in my case, they scheduled the call, which avoids being woken up or otherwise interrupted, but prolongs the agony a little.
  - basseq 7y ago
    At least do SOMETHING. Perfectly fine with an email.