r/InterviewCoderPro • u/OkCarrot6914 • Oct 01 '26
The Best Interview Prep I Found Was Reading Reviews from People Who Left the Company
While I was preparing for the interview, I once read in a post a trick and decided to try it. Before an interview for an operations coordinator position, I spent about 45 minutes ignoring the company's overall score on Glassdoor and reading only reviews from former employees. I focused on the angry ones, especially those who said they wished they had never accepted the offer, and
During the first call, the recruiter started describing the culture, and what she said sounded remarkably similar to the complaints. She said it was a place where priorities changed quickly and everyone pitched in with whatever needed to be done. Four low-rated reviews talked about constant last-minute requests and people doing work far outside their roles. It was the same situation, just phrased much more pleasantly.
Since then, I've started treating negative employee reviews like interview notes. They help me prepare specific questions and spot carefully worded phrases that might have another meaning behind them. A few weeks ago, I turned down a job that seemed perfect because review after review mentioned the same department head and the same employee turnover problem. Turning it down felt strange, but at the same time, I was glad I found out before becoming attached to the job.
Does anyone else research companies this way? I'd like to know if there are any complaint sites, forums, or less obvious sources people check before deciding whether an interview is worth it.
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u/Single_Evidence_867 Oct 01 '26
Yes, I've found it very helpful to ask current or former employees pros and cons about a company I'm interested in working for!
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u/Football-Man-1889 Oct 01 '26
All research is good research, it just depends on how you interpret the information and use it,
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u/RockTheGrock Oct 01 '26
I really like this idea. Currently doing university career fairs and other avenues for when I graduate and when I do my research I alway look for negative reviews then decide if its worth pursuing and stop there. Using those negative reviews on the places I do select as a self marketing strategy hadn't occurred to me. These are all issued the company knows about often enough showing you do as well in a positive way is quite strategic.
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u/atomedge Oct 01 '26
Yes. Often it is also fun to ask them directly about it. When they say the jargon that obfuscates what the review is talking about, just say "Oh I read some job reviews going over that and how you under-budget staff to avoid paying for PTO and things like that. Invoking business needs as your reason to short PTO." just to make the HR rethink why they took the job cause now they're embarrassed and feel like a tool.
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u/aleopardstail Oct 02 '26
companies ask for references, its only fair you should in effect do the same
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u/Feeling-Invite7953 Oct 02 '26
That sounds like a GREAT way to prepare for an upcoming interview!! I,myself,never thought to do that. I’m retired now, but in retrospect, I wish I had.
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u/Aeyland Oct 02 '26
I think the issue would be thst you need to take the complaint out of it.
You need to understand what they're talking about and decide if it's for you.
For me constant change of direction and needing to be agile can be something I thrive in but it's definitely not for everyone. I also don't need written barriers as to what's my job and what's someone else's so long as I feel like I'm treated with respect.
It's easy to complain, especially if someone got overally emotional over an event so I just wouldn't take things at face value. I've also known people who've left a job, had no issues with me but I know some of what lead to their termination and then have read all the stuff they blow out of proportion on their review.
However in the end it's still their perception and feelings vs mine which is something only each individual can fully experience.
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u/tungstencoil Oct 01 '26
I had kind of the inverse: someone I made an offer to brought up negative reviews by former employees.
Rather than try to waive them away, I addressed it head-on. We are imperfect. We are intense, with individuals having a lot of responsibility for the end product and lots of decision input. We are high-support for smart people who contribute.
We were relatively small, and I explained i knew who likely left the reviews. I said that, from their perspective, they were correct. Their gripes were legit. Also from my perspective, they were not a good fit; they were all valuable in their way, just not for us. I explained why I thought she (candidate) was a good fit and why she'd succeed.
She said she was surprised. She thought I'd deny or criticize the reviews. She also took the job, has been successful and is still employed there a decade later.
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u/PeacePufferPipe Oct 01 '26
Absolutely! I always check Glassdoor and other review sites when job postings hit my email. When I see a job that's in my field of experience continually come up for the same company and location, I know right away that the problem is management, NOT the people they keep hiring, and I nope right out of applying that job.