Using Glassdoor to Gain an Advantage

In today’s technology driven world, the majority of job seekers find out information about companies by using the following:

·         Internet job postings and advertising

·         Company research sites (Reuters, Vault etc)

·         Company career websites

·         Networking (i.e. word-of-mouth)

However, we all know that going to networking sessions and finding people that actually work at a specific company that you’re interested in can be very difficult and time consuming. As a result, have you ever wondered if there was a way to find out employer information about companies directly from current or past employees? Well, to help you in your job search and perhaps gain an advantage over your competition, I will inform you of a very powerful and helpful website called Glassdoor.com.

Glassdoor.com is similar to yelp.com (restaurant review site), but for employment/job seekers. The site enables job seekers to obtain inside information such as employee satisfaction and salary information that allows them to gain an advantage over their competition. All information comes from current and former employees, interview candidates, and even the companies themselves. The way the site works is that users anonymously share real-time reviews, ratings and salary details about specific jobs from current/past employers. It is free to all users, but in order for users to obtain full access to all information they must complete a free account and post one rating or review on a company. Below is a picture of what the site looks like:

The site contains company reviews and ratings of over 108,000 companies, company information (i.e. recent awards, industry info, competitors, company size, and revenue), job postings, CEO approval rating, salary information, and interview questions/formats. However, you may be asking yourself, is this information credible (i.e. is this a site where disgruntled employees can bad mouth past employers)?

Well, one of my past projects was to present and inform the recruitment team on Glassdoor.com and how it affects the recruitment process and company image both in a positive and negative way. Based on my research, I found that the ratings on Glassdoor.com were pretty accurate, credible, and reliable based on two factors. First, most of the companies on Glassdoor’s “50 Best Places to Work” list were also on Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Places to Work list. Second, the reviews and themes that I pulled out from Glassdoor.com were very similar to the employee engagement survey (a survey to gauge employee satisfaction) that was taken by employees.

 Overall, Glassdoor.com is a phenomenal way to:

·         Obtain inside information on companies you are interested in working for

·         Gauge the satisfaction of past and current employees

·         Find out the pros and cons of the company (i.e. career opportunities, communication, benefits, compensation, morale, recognition, feedback, senior leadership, and work/life balance, fairness, and respect)

·         Gain an edge during the interview and the salary negotiation stage

In conclusion, remember that learning about companies that you are interested in working for is not going to be an easy process. However, by utilizing Glassdoor.com you will be able to save time, obtain inside information about companies and gain an advantage over other job seekers, applicants, and candidates.