How much stock should one put into online company reviews? I'm looking into another company and read the comments about shop culture. I understand that disgruntled employees or bad eggs now have a forum to air their grievances and usually take reviews with a grain of salt on things I buy, but wondering how owners/employees take these reviews. Thanks.
Most folks are more prone to leaving a review due to a bad experience than a good one. Even more so for employers and workplaces.
"If one person says
you're an asshole,
they're probably the asshole. If several people say
you're an asshole,
you're probably the asshole."
If said employer has one bad review every 3-4 years and the reasons seem different. Probably just fine.
If said employer has a bad review every 3-4 months and they seem to sing the same song... Red Flag IMO.
I worked at a newer rocket company 4 years ago(not spaceX) and the machinists and others were plastering Glass Door with negative reviews of the shop. There was one or two that was a bit far out there, but for the most part, the culture was shit like they said. Hell, I was even accused of writing one of these reviews and never have still to this day. I'm the type that calls people out on the spot and try to address things internally. A manager didn't like that and so they showed me the door. A couple years go by, lots of turnover, and finally the 3 problem managers were finally gone. 1 by their own accord, 2 were fired.
NINE machinists quit in just a
couple months prior to them getting fired.
Very few and mixed reviews == probably fine. Lots of the same == probably is how they say.
Another thing you can do is try and find folks who work at said employer on LinkedIn. Send them a message. I have plenty of folks ask me about prior jobs and I try to be as forthright as I can. Not everyone will bite, but I don't see harm in cold-messaging someone on LinkedIn. I mean is that not a benefit of a professional network?