Glassdoor Review | Job Search Sites
Glassdoor is a job search site that allows potential job seekers to view relevant data about employers, such as comprehensive salary information and company reviews, before deciding to apply for a job.
Read on to learn about Glassdoor, the services it offers, and its usefulness as a job search site for workers seeking new employment opportunities.
Table of Contents
- Glassdoor’s Services
- Glassdoor’s Credentials
- Glassdoor’s Accessibility
- Glassdoor’s Customer Satisfaction
Glassdoor Job Search Site Overview
- Salary and benefits information unlike any other job search site
- Company ratings and reviews are anonymous to avoid possible retaliation against employees
- Comprehensive educational materials to make you a well-informed job seeker
- Requires sign up to be able to use services
- Lack of employee identification can lead to untrustworthy reviews
- No advanced filtering options to refine job searches
Launched in 2008 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Glassdoor.com provides job seekers with advanced insights into companies and greater transparency when conducting a job search. These insights are supported by millions of company ratings and reviews generated anonymously by current and former employees.
Having access to detailed information about salaries, benefits, senior management and CEO performance, the interview process (including interview questions), company culture, and other company specifics allows users to be well informed when it comes to available employment opportunities. The website claims to have over 110 million reviews, salaries, and insights, making it a useful research tool for users who want to apply for and receive a job offer.
Glassdoor is part of Recruit Holdings, an HR technology company based in Japan.
Glassdoor’s Services
Glassdoor serves as a multifunctional center for people looking for jobs online. It provides job postings that can be searched by keywords, thorough company profiles that include reviews, overall ratings, and salary information provided by employees, as well as a comprehensive educational section to provide guidance during the job search process.
What they offer
- Job Postings - Like the best job search sites, Glassdoor lists employment opportunities and allows users to search by job title or view all available positions under a company.
- Salary Transparency - However, unlike most job search sites, Glassdoor provides considerably more information about company specifics such as salary ranges for certain positions, benefits (such as healthcare), details about company culture (such as work/life balance), and even office photos. Having access to this type of information, which companies do not generally publish, makes for a well-informed applicant.
- Educational Resources - Glassdoor Economic Research is an additional tool that provides insights and analysis into deeper topics such as job market trends, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and company culture. Featured articles are prominently displayed on the website and users have the option of subscribing to a newsletter and receiving new articles directly.
- Job Alerts - Job seekers can request to have personalized job recommendations sent via email (daily or weekly).
- Employer Services - Although Glassdoor is mainly known as a job search site, it also serves as one of the best job posting sites for employers that want to promote their available positions. Basic features are free for employers to use, but more advanced options are available for purchase.
What they don’t offer
- Advanced Search Options - Glassdoor’s search tool is limited in that it only allows for title, company, or keyword search. Other job search sites offer advanced filtering options that can make it easier to view and compare postings.
Glassdoor’s Credentials
As a job search site, Glassdoor does not have to be licensed or regulated as other industries that provide financial or insurance services. Due to its focus on providing information seldomly published by the companies themselves, Glassdoor has come under fire by employers who wish to maintain the information secret.
Licenses and Registrations
The site is not licensed or regulated by any specific organization or association.
Awards and Certifications
Glassdoor does not boast any major industry awards or certifications for its site. On the flip side, the site itself serves as a legitimate provider of industry awards, such as its Best Places to Work list.
Third-Party Ratings
The site has no third-party ratings from industry publications.
Regulatory or Legal Actions
There are no regulatory or government actions pending against the company.
However, since Glassdoor publishes anonymous company reviews and unpublished salary information, it opens itself up to possible litigation by employers who do not wish to have confidential information shared on the internet or who want to protect the employer brand.
Nonetheless, Glassdoor is transparent in its mission to provide a protected space for free information to be shared. It establishes guidelines for what can and can’t be published and is active in removing reviews that contain proprietary or confidential information.
It also affirms that all user-provided ratings and reviews are completely anonymous and cannot be viewed by the employer.
Glassdoor’s Accessibility
Available in 18 countries via browser or mobile apps, Glassdoor suffers no accessibility issues except for general customer support, which does not have live agent availability.
Availability
Glassdoor is available in the following countries:
| United States | Ireland | Austria |
| Canada | Spain | Switzerland |
| Mexico | France | Italy |
| Argentina | Belgium | India |
| Brazil | Netherlands | Australia |
| United Kingdom | Germany | New Zealand |
The service can be accessed via web browser or through Glassdoor’s mobile apps for iOS and Android devices.
Contact Information
Job seekers who require customer support can fill out a form with their full name, email, and a brief message that explains their situation to receive assistance from Glassdoor’s Content Team. The company is also active on most social media platforms.
Employers that use the site to post jobs can contact a live agent via chat session. Chat support for employers is available Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. CT.
User Experience
A common complaint among potential Glassdoor users is that to be able to use the service, you will need to provide some personal and professional information. Searching for jobs and viewing company information is only available to those who sign up. While the service is free and all information provided is kept anonymous, some users are not comfortable providing it.
Additionally, as mentioned above, the amount of information available can be overwhelming to some users. Navigating the site requires a small learning curve to be able to use it to its maximum potential.
Limitations
The lack of live chat support or a toll-free phone number is the main limitation with contacting Glassdoor’s customer support. The only option available for assistance is completing the “Contact Us” form on the website and waiting for a Glassdoor representative to answer back.
Glassdoor’s Customer Satisfaction
Even though it provides valuable information that potential job applicants can use for their benefit, customer satisfaction is divided towards Glassdoor.
Customer Complaints
The company is not rated by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) but does have 22 complaints registered and closed during the last year. Its Trustpilot score is a poor 1.2 out of 5.
Negative reviews for Glassdoor typically fall under two categories: users who do not wish to provide personal information to be able to use the site and employees who have posted company reviews that have been rejected or removed.
Positive reviews tend to focus on Glassdoor’s considerable amount of data and company information available to view, particularly salary information.
Third-Party Ratings
There are no third-party ratings for Glassdoor except the aforementioned BBB and Trustpilot scores. Additionally, mobile app scores and reviews are exceedingly positive on both the App Store (4.8 out of 5 with more than 535,000 reviews) and the Google Play store (4.3 out of 5 with over 203,000 reviews).
Glassdoor FAQ
Is Glassdoor a reputable site?
Is Glassdoor completely anonymous?
Yes. Glassdoor does not allow employers to access personal information in regards to employee reviews, salary information, or ratings.
Glassdoor may be compelled by a court of law to provide information about reviewers but only in cases when the government is investigating criminal activity or occupational abuse.
How do I read reviews on Glassdoor?
How should I write a company review on Glassdoor?
How We Evaluated Glassdoor Job Search Site
To determine the value of GlassDoor as a job search site, we looked at the services it offered and compared it to other leading companies. We evaluated the search tool and its user-friendliness but gave much more emphasis to the site’s detailed and wide-ranging company information profiles. We also noted Glassdoor’s extensive learning tools that provide much-needed education to prospective job applicants.
Summary of Money’s Glassdoor Review
As a tool for prospective applicants who want to learn as much as possible about the job position and the company, Glassdoor offers an exceptional amount of data and information that is not usually found anywhere else.
When it comes to the actual job search, Glassdoor offers a practical and useful service that may lack what other job boards or search sites offer.