Good & Bad: Employers don’t remain stagnant
As you pursue your job search, no doubt you’ll hear stories, rumors, etc. about various companies and organizations, and what kinds of places they are to work. It may be driven by a particular boss, company president or just the company culture.
First thing to consider is that these are just stories. Glassdoor.com is well known for posting information about companies relying only upon a few submissions. The bad news is that many times those submissions are only the opinions of what may be disgruntled former employees who perceptions may be wholly inaccurate at best, and tainted at worst.
To put any faith in these accounts, be certain to get as close to the original source as possible. Just like the telephone tag game you played in school, renditions have a way or morphing the more that they are passed around.
Another salient point to consider is that things may have changed since whatever experiences are being shared actually happened. And, these changes are a two-way street. Whatever was bad, may now be good (or much improved) and vice versa.
Changes in company culture, how employees are treated, how successful a company is – all these things can change in any number of ways. An acquisition or a divestiture, changes in ownership, changes in management; even supervisory changes within specific divisions or departments – any of these can mean your experience with that employer may be vastly different from anyone with whom you’ve spoken.
What this means to the job seeker is that it’s one more reason to be as thorough as possible when doing your research on a company. There is much to learn that has nothing to do with numbers or what you might read in an annual report.
Seeker, beware.