Job Seeker Blog - Spark Hire

Should You Trust Employer Reviews?

We like online reviews. Right before we test any new product, whether it’s a book, shoes or kitchen appliance, we look to online customer reviews before we buy. In the job search, job seekers may turn to online employer review websites to find information on the company culture, salary, and employee reviews of the company.

There’s a sense of mistrust when it comes to employer reviews because of the potential
negative bias some disgruntled former and current employee of the company may have. There’s the chance of employer reviews being misrepresentations of what it’s really like to work at the company. This results in job seekers considering just how credible employer reviews are.

Employer review websites can offer objective information that can be useful for job seekers during the job search. They can view salaries, interview questions, company awards, and recent news on the company. This information, along with information picked up from other resources on the company like LinkedIn and the company website, can help job seekers prepare for a job interview or prepare a cover letter that’s targeted towards what the employer is looking for.

When it comes to the reviews on the employer review websites, job seekers should read with caution. It’s more likely for an unhappy employee to seek out employer review websites to vent out their frustrations with the company than having a happy employee post a glowing review. Don’t read too much into the negative reviews and positive reviews. There are reasons behind each review for which we cannot determine based on what is being said.

The best way can learn about what it’s like to work at a potential employer’s office is to ask the employers at the job interview themselves. Job seekers shouldn’t back away way from applying to a job based solely on the employer review’s read online. If they are seriously interested in the job position they should apply for the job and ask about key issues that were often mentioned throughout the employer reviews to uncover the real truth. By just visiting the workplace, job seekers can have a first-hand experience of what the job environment is like there.

Overall, employer reviews should simply be supplemental to the job search. It’s all about getting a well-rounded picture of what the employer is like, the more resources gathered, the more information job seekers will have in order to prepare themselves for the job interview.

Do you trust employer reviews? Weigh in below!

IMAGE: Courtesy of Flickr by fengergold

Hanna Guerrero

Hannah is an intern writer here at Spark Hire. She is from the northern suburbs in Chicago and is currently studying journalism at DePaul University. She has always had a passion for writing which is why Journalism has proven to be the perfect career for her. She has written for the DePaulia Online on various topics such as fashion, music, movies and television. She loves living in Chicago because it offers exciting events to write stories on. In her free time she enjoys going to music concerts, watching movies with friends, cooking vegetarian food and walking her adorable Cocker Spaniel Coco.

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