Would you go to a job interview for a company that has terrible employee reviews?

Yes, I would, and done before. The worse the company is the more opportunity to help straighten the company out. Sounds like a golden opportunity to be irreplaceable.

^The position is entry level so I wouldn’t be the one to change the company around.

@jonsblond ok keep us updated. They might be desperate for quality workers/ top talent?

^Very true!

Glassdoor generally attracts the unhappy ex employees with a grudge. I would take reviews with a HUGE grain of salt.

At my old company, one guy was fired and he wrote a scathing Glassdoor review (it was easy to identify him even though it was supposed to be anonymous). The rest of us who worked there know the ‘real’ truth and only partly agreed with the guy who was fired.

Bottom line, Glassdoor doesn’t attract happy employees, only peoiple with a grudge.

At the interview, when they mention OT, ask about the parameters. If they don’t mention OT, ask if there’s any opportunity for OT and what the parameters might be.

I just saw a documentary about a woman who had a job where they could call her any time, day or night, to come in.

At the job I worked in before retirement (local government, union job), they had to give 30 days notice before they could change your schedule and if you were called in (referred to as “callback”) they had to pay you a 4 hour minimum. If you worked OT, since it was a 35 hour work week, anything up to 40 hours was straight time, and anything where the total put you over 40 hours, the hours after 40 were time and a half. Also, holiday hours were more, weekend hours were more, night shift was an extra differential. These are all things to ask about and think about.

OT is great if you need it, and the amount you do and like to do depends on your situation (financial, family). Also, you want to make sure you’re not at their beck and call, unless you don’t mind and you need the money.

As for company reviews, it would help if you could find a friend or a friend of a friend who worked there, so they could give you their personal opinion that would probably (hopefully) be more reliable than the internet reviews.

It depends on a number of things. How desperate am I for a paycheck? How old are the reviews? Are the reviews all about the same issue? Has the company reorganized recently to address the issues?

I find crap rolls down hill and entry level usually gets the worst end of it. I’d address the reviews at the interview if you have other options.

Read the reviews and keep them in the back of your mind. Go to the interview if you get one and try to surmise how healthy the place is. A high turnover rate is a major red flag. Review sites do attract people with negative comments but… Compare them to a similar company and see what their numbers are like. If this company had dramatically more negative reviews, it’s probably a place with issues.

To maliciously waste their time? Yes.

^I needed that laugh. Thank you!

I saw.6 or 7 reviews. How many were there in total?

^Indeed gave them a 2.3 rating over 106 reviews. I only shared six reviews on my fb page. I then went to Glassdoor after looking at Indeed and it wasn’t any better. All the complaints are recent and are about poor management, being overworked, not knowing when your day will end, and a high turnover rate.

THis is good research because you can ask about your work day, how it’s structured, is OT mandatory or voluntary, during the interview.

^I know this job isn’t an easy job physically, but I was hoping for something a little less physically demanding than my previous job where I was injured. That’s why I’m hesitant after reading the reviews. It sounds just as bad.

As I said on FB, I would def not take it but I would go to the interview for practice.

I would go if the position fit. I would then ask many questions of the culture and turnover.

Forget the reviews and go to the interview. Why let strangers make such a decision for you…..this is not the same as do I or do I not buy this coffee pot.

^I do believe there is some validity to these reviews if there are enough of them. I looked at the reviews of my previous employer that I enjoyed working for and they did pretty well with employee satisfaction. I regret my decision to leave them, especially after the experience I had this past year at the hospital. I felt appreciated when I worked for them. I only left for better pay.

The interview confirmed my disappointment. There are many opportunities for overtime and it is required. I don’t need or want overtime. Holidays are also required. They provide an hour lunch, which is too much for my comfort. I’d rather have thirty minutes and leave thirty minutes earlier. The only positives were they cover 100% of your premium for healthcare and they are located less than two miles from my home.

Ugh, that’s a major red flag! I’d definitely take those reviews into consideration. While it’s possible that some reviews might be exaggerated or biased, the fact that there are multiple reviews mentioning the same issues (long hours, bad management, no work/life balance) suggests that there might be some truth to it.

The advantage of the one hour lunch is if someone has a car and has errands to run, it’s do-able in an hour, or if they want to go out to a restaurant, an hour is necessary. If someone doesn’t have a car and is stuck at the job, then a half hour is better because they can bring lunch, eat it and go back to work.

@jonsblond Did they say if the OT is at time and a half, or what? Also did they talk about holiday pay, since employees are required to work on holidays?

Trust the reviews. But that’s also how life is for some people. It’s documentation, but people also need jobs.

The same happened to my wife. She gets paid well, but has to deal with the stereotypical angry racist and sexist businessman, screaming in the office at times on the phone or something.

But he buys the office lunch every few days so it’s OK.

@Blackberry So sorry that she has to put up with this behavior. Not all can, nor should have to.
I ignored the Glassdoor notes because I needed a change once. It was terrible and toxic. I survived a year. Left and found the job of my career both culturally and challenging. I read them and take them into consideration but situation does sometimes warrant getting the job.