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Social Job Hunting Trifecta: Opportunity, Insider Info and Connections

John Sumser — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:00:37 +0000

There is a lot of fuss going around about using your social network(s) in job hunting. The theory is that your friends can help you find a job. Somehow, some way, you should be able to bet your future on the folks you know.

On LinkedIn, it’s possible to store your resume (or its equivalent) online so that recruiters can find you. There isn’t a very good way to actually engage in a job search. If you are disciplined enough to search for all of your friends and acquaintances, you can build a network that may expose you to some opportunities.

Glassdoor is the TripAdvisor or Yelp for companies. A trip through the pages of Glassdoor will tell you about working conditions, the job interview process, salaries and what employees think of the CEO. It’s a sort of a Michelin guide to employers. Over many years, the company has curated an enormous bounty of reviews, reports, salary data and help for navigating the internal HR process.

By itself, it’s a diamond in the rough waiting for people to come and get smart about the companies they want to work for. Increasingly, Glassdoor is recommended as the first stop in any job search. The primary question you can answer on the site is “What’s it like to work for Company x?”

This week, Glassdoor is merging two other streams of data to create a single environment for job hunters.

Glassdoor has always had a flow of millions of job listings. When people come to research jobs and companies, they get the web’s most comprehensive picture of the inside of the company, the jobs available, what it’s like to work there and the details of the hiring process.

With Inside Connections, Glassdoor allows job hunters to harness their Facebook network to round out the rest of the services. Using Facebook to log in to the site makes it possible for Glassdoor to evaluate your Facebook network to see who can help you with the job hunt.

It’s a Social Job Hunting Trifecta: Opportunity, insider info and connections.

Glassdoor is built on anonymity and the company goes to extreme lengths to keep members’ information private. Posting a review or salary on Glassdoor is still anonymous. You still get to choose the information you share, such as your job title and location.

There are a host of services in the marketplace that try to serve job hunters by using social information. Glassdoor is the first to provide a comprehensive research environment where results are driven by the user’s social network.

Social Job Hunting Trifecta: Opportunity, Insider Info and Connections is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Glassdoor Adds Facebook Tool; Helps Job Seekers Find Inside Connections™ At Companies

Glassdoor Team — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:54:56 +0000

Looking for a job is a long and grueling process. When you’re in job search mode, you not only want to know who is hiring, but you’re also thinking about what the commute may be like, and how much the company does to ensure a good work-life balance for its employees. And perhaps more importantly, you’re thinking about what the salary and compensation package is like for that job and how you can get your resume into the hands of the hiring manager.

Glassdoor, a jobs and career community, has just launched a new tool to help job seekers get the answers to all those questions and more. The new tool, Inside Connections™, leverages your Facebook network to help you find an ‘in’ at specific companies where you’d like to work. You may be surprised on who has that ‘in’ you’re looking for – it could be a friend you grew up with, a fraternity brother or sorority sister, a co-worker, someone from your basketball fantasy league or perhaps even your own mom.

Check out your Inside Connections: Sign In To Glassdoor via Facebook

For example, if you’re interested in marketing manager jobs in San Jose, CA, you can now discover who your inside connections on one site and in just one click. Simply enter ‘marketing manager’ and ‘San Jose, CA’ in the search bar and click on the “Connections” button that appears with the job listings on Glassdoor:

With Inside Connections, not only will you unlock where your friends work or recently worked, but when you invite your friends to sign in to Glassdoor via Facebook, you’ll also be able to see where their friends currently or recently worked as well – giving you even more inside connections than you thought you had.

Glassdoor is the only online resource that goes beyond professional networking to help you find not only the jobs you’re interested in from among more than 6 million job listings but also access to millions of company ratings and reviews, salary reports and interview questions and reviews – all shared anonymously by current and former employees, as well as recent job candidates.

Test out the new Inside Connections tool, and let us know what you think and any suggestions you have on what could make Glassdoor even better.

Want to learn more about Glassdoor’s Inside Connections? Watch our brief video.

Glassdoor Adds Facebook Tool; Helps Job Seekers Find Inside Connections™ At Companies is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Live Chat: Getting Your Resume Past The Black Hole

Glassdoor Team — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:29:18 +0000

Getting your resume in to the right hands can feel like one of the toughest steps during the job search process. Rusty Rueff, Glassdoor’s career and workplace expert and former head of human resources at Electronic Arts and PepsiCo, will take your questions about resumes, job applications, interviews and landing the job in a live chat on Tuesday, January 24 at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT. The chat will be moderated by Wall Street Journal careers reporter Lauren Weber.

Got Job Search Questions? Send Them In Now.

Live Chat: Getting Your Resume Past The Black Hole is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Employee Confidence In Job Market & Pay Raises Increases; Unemployed Job Seekers More Optimistic

Glassdoor Team — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:25:22 +0000

The New Year is off to a good start with both the employed and unemployed showing increased confidence in the job market.

In the latest Glassdoor Employment Confidence Survey, employee optimism related to the job market, company outlook and pay raises increased in the fourth quarter of 2011. In addition, pessimism among the unemployed fell to a new low in the fourth quarter, with just 21 percent of unemployed job seekers reporting they think it is “unlikely” they will find a job in six months, down 11 points from the third quarter of 2011 to the lowest level since Glassdoor initiated this survey in 2008.

The quarterly survey, conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Glassdoor, reveals encouraging news when it comes to the job market. During the fourth quarter, 41 percent of employees (including self-employed) believe it is “likely” they would be able to find a job matched to their experience and compensation levels in the next six months if they lost their job, an increase of three points from the third quarter. Among unemployed job seekers, 30 percent believe they can land a job that meets their compensation and skill levels in the next six months, up three points from the third quarter.

After an increase in the second quarter of 2011, layoff concerns have remained relatively flat for the past two quarters (16 percent in quarter three and 17 percent in quarter four). In addition, concern for co-workers being laid off dropped four percentage points from the third quarter to 28 percent, the lowest level since the survey began.

As for salaries and pay raises, things seem to be slowly improving. During the fourth quarter, 38 percent of employees said they expect a pay raise in the next 12 months, up two points from the third quarter. However, more employees do not expect a pay raise in the next 12 months than those who do. 41 percent of employees report that they do not expect a pay raise in the next 12 months, down 5 points from the third quarter.

It’s also interesting to note that men (42 percent) remain more optimistic than women (33 percent) when it comes to the possibility for a pay raise in the next 12 months. In terms of company outlook in the next six months, more men indicated optimism than women (41 percent of men compared to 38 percent of women), which is consistent with previous surveys.

Are you looking for jobs? How do you feel about today’s job market? Do you feel like it’s getting better or worse?

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Interested in more insights into current employee and job seeker sentiment by age, location and gender? View the complete results for the Glassdoor Employment Confidence Survey.

Employee Confidence In Job Market & Pay Raises Increases; Unemployed Job Seekers More Optimistic is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

VIDEO: Facebook And Bain & Company Employees Explain Why Their Companies Are Best Places To Work

Glassdoor Team — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:44:04 +0000

Glassdoor’s fourth annual Employees’ Choice Awards reveal the top 50 Best Places to Work in 2012, an award solely based on reviews by employees. Employees at the #1 company overall, Bain & Company, and the #1 tech company, Facebook went beyond the reviews and give an inside look through video, really showing what it’s like to work at these companies. You’ll see everything from unique workplace resources like vending machines with IT supplies to what the everyday work environment looks like. Take a look…

Curious what other companies are among the 50 Best Places to Work, according to employees? Click here. >>>

VIDEO: Facebook And Bain & Company Employees Explain Why Their Companies Are Best Places To Work is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Facebook Continues To Hold Lead As Top Tech Company; Tech Industry Report Card 2012

Glassdoor Team — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:00:49 +0000

In Glassdoor’s fourth annual Employees’ Choice Awards, a list of the 50 Best Places to Work for 2012, Facebook holds on as the top rated tech company, according to employees. In the annual report, Facebook slipped to the #3 slot from its #1 position last year as its overall rating dropped to 4.3 (based on a 5-point scale) from 4.6 a year ago.

More than 65,000 companies were considered for the 2012 awards, with a dozen other tech companies making this year’s list as well, including MITRE, Google, Apple and Rackspace. In addition to companies that made the Best Places to Work list, we also looked at how other tech employers rate this year compared to last year. Our 2012 Tech Industry Report Card looks at more than 55 tech-driven companies of all shapes, sizes and ages that return widely different ratings from their respective employees.

Tech Report Card Highlights

Tech Companies to see Big Improvements: Rackspace’s rating increased to 3.9 from 3.1 last year. NVIDIA receives a 3.5 this year, up from 3.0 last year, while Hewlett-Packard climbed to 2.7 this year from 2.2 under Leo Apotheker’s reign last year. Samsung Austin Semiconductor comes in at 2.5, up from a 1.9.
Top 5 Tech CEOs: National Instruments CEO James Truchard and NetApp’s Tom Georgens received 100% approval ratings this year, followed by Apple’s Tim Cook (96%) and Synopsys’ Aart de Geus (96%). Rounding out the top 5 is Intel’s Paul Otellini with a 93% approval rating.
Most Improved Tech CEOs: eBay’s John Donahoe saw the biggest boost in approval ratings this year; as his rating climbed to 65% approval from 30% last year. Sapient CEO Alan Herrick climbed to 85% from 58%. Analog Devices’ CEO Jerry Fishman climbed to 80% from 55%, and Intuit’s Brad Smith climbed to 84% from 60%.

Work in tech? We invite you to weigh in and post a review on Glassdoor or share your comments below.

Facebook Continues To Hold Lead As Top Tech Company; Tech Industry Report Card 2012 is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Top 50 Best Places To Work – 2012 Employees’ Choice Award Winners Revealed

Glassdoor Team — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:00:05 +0000

In Glassdoor’s fourth annual Employees’ Choice Awards, which recognize the 50 Best Places to Work for 2012, Bain & Company, McKinsey & Company, Facebook, MITRE and Google take the top five spots. More than 250,000 employees sounded off on what it’s like to work at more than 65,000 companies during the past year and shared the good, the bad and everything in between.

Unlike other workplace awards, there is no self-nomination process. Instead, it’s all about what the employees have to say when it comes to their satisfaction with workplace factors like compensation & benefits, work-life balance and career advancement opportunities. Not to mention, the awards also take into account how well employees feel their CEO is leading the company.

Here’s what some employees are saying at some of the top companies:

“More variety in staffing than at peers, always being pushed to the next level, strong friendships and mentorships across all levels of the organization, management works very hard to address issues.” – Bain & Company Senior Associate Consultant (Chicago, IL)

“Great visibility to clients and senior leadership. Strong brand name & great compensation/benefits.” – McKinsey & Company Engagement Manager (Jersey City, NJ)

“Smartest and most passionate people I have ever worked with. Company means so much to so many – humbled to be an employee here.” – Facebook Staffing (New York, NY)

TOP 50 BEST PLACES TO WORK: Find out what other companies made the list. Click here. >>>

VIDEO: See what Bain & Facebook employees had to say about what makes their companies ‘Best Places to Work.’ Click here. >>>

To learn more about the top 50 workplaces, please visit our Best Places to Work: About page where you’ll find answers to many of the top questions we receive.

Previous winners:

New to Glassdoor? We hope you’ll stick around and see what else we have to offer:

Find jobs: Glassdoor provides access to millions of job listings. To search, simply visit www.glassdoor.com and enter a company name or job title in the search field to see results of listings. Plus only Glassdoor offers its JobScope, which provides an instant inside look into a job and company directly from the job listing.
Research salary: Check out salary and compensation reports for specific job positions at specific companies by years of experience and by location. (don’t forget to anonymously leave your own report to help the next visitor)
Prepare for an interview: With Glassdoor’s interview questions and reviews, get a leg up on the competition by finding out what the interview experience and process has been like for others and what you may be asked in an interview.

Congratulations to all the 2012 Best Places to Work award winners!

Is your company a Best Place to Work? We invite you and your colleagues to each post a review and put your company in the running for the 2013 awards.

Top 50 Best Places To Work – 2012 Employees’ Choice Award Winners Revealed is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Employees Bonus Expectations High In 2011, Cash Is King

Glassdoor Team — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:00:25 +0000

Employees are sending a clear message this holiday season: they expect a bonus and they want it to be cold, hard cash. And forget the holiday party, even with an open bar.

A new survey by Harris Interactive®[i] finds that the majority of employees say they would prefer a cash bonus this year (72 percent), followed by a salary raise (62 percent) and additional paid time off (32 percent).

Expectations for receiving a bonus are high this year: of those employed and eligible for a bonus, a full 58% say they expect an end of year windfall, and 20 percent expect it to be more than their last bonus, while 13 percent expect it to be less, and 22 percent are unsure. However, the check amount may not be quite as much as employees hope – Johnson Associates is reporting Wall Street bonuses may be down 20 – 30 percent over last year.

What Other Perks Make Employees Happy?

Employers who can’t afford a big handout need not worry – employees note that perks such as an extra day off or even a grocery gift card would be preferred. Save the chardonnay and shrimp cocktail, though — traditional holiday parties rate low this year, as a mere 4 percent of employees prefer this “perk.”

Male and Female Expectations

There are some stark differences in how male and female employees want to be recognized and rewarded at the end of the year – employers, take note!

Holiday Perks: More men (16%) said they would be interested in receiving company stock or shares as a holiday perk than women (6%), whereas more women (18%) said they would prefer the option to work from home for a year than men (11%). More women (29%) also prefer grocery gift cards over their male counterparts (18%).
Bonus Expectations: More men (74%) report being eligible for bonuses than women (69%). Among employees who are eligible to receive a bonus this year, nearly twice as many women (17%) report they are unsure of the bonus amount than men (7%) whereas more men (30%) than women (22%) expect their bonus to be the same as last year.

What’s going on at your company? Do you expect a bonus this year? Would you prefer other perks, like paid time off or a holiday party? Tell us what your job is like by sharing a company review and see what your peers are saying, too.

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[i] Survey Methodology

1) For the purposes of this study “employees” were defined as U.S. adults 18+ employed full time and/or part time unless otherwise indicated.

2) This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Glassdoor from November 3-7, 2011 among 2,574 adults ages 18 and older of whom 1,495 are employed full time, part time and/or are self employed. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact pr[at]glassdoor.com.

Employees Bonus Expectations High In 2011, Cash Is King is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Jobs In Retail: Cashiers – Who’s Hiring, What They Pay & More

Glassdoor Team — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:56:31 +0000

Looking for jobs in retail? Want to try your hand as a cashier? We looked into some well-known retailers to find cashier jobs open right now and share with you what it’s like to work there from current cashiers at these companies along with what you can expect to earn.

Check out these five companies hiring cashiers now…

WalMart Cashier

“Excellent job for a college student like myself. If I ever needed more or less hours, certain days off or a schedule change, management was always very supportive of me and worked with me.” – WalMart Cashier (Lewisville, TX)

“you will have to work with a number of people all types so you will have to be good at good customer service a be able to work at a fast pace.” – WalMart Cashier Associate (Chicago, IL)

Hourly Pay: $8.52

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Home Depot Cashier

“Flexible schedule, great for those working at HD for a second job” – Home Depot Cashier (location n/a)

“They make you work on weekends mandatory.” – Home Depot Cashier (Fairfax, VA)

Hourly Pay: $9.37

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Lowes Cashier

“The company cares about its people and has almost monthly cookouts. They are usually fair in their dealings with employees and customers alike.” – Lowes Head Cashier (Springfield, MO)

“Constant rotating shifts. Can be early 1 day and close next day. Raise are not based on merit. Small pay raise at same time for each anniversary.” – Lowes Cashier II (Chandler, AZ)

Hourly Pay: $9.42

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Wegmans Cashier

“Wegmans is a great company in itself to work for. They care about their employees- always giving coupons for things to keep you living a healthy lifestyle. Things like running shoes, healthy foods, etc.” – Wegmans Cashier (State College, PA)

“Benefits don’t kick in until a year after employment. Have to be able to work during most holidays as Wegmans is open 364 days of the year. Stand all day and only get a 10 min break every 4 hours.” – Wegmans Cashier (Princeton, NJ)

Hourly Pay: $8.73

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Fresh Market Cashier

“People look after everyone, nice people good pay, OK hours” – Fresh Market Cashier (Huntsville, AL)

“No communication. I subscribed to customers email just to get information.” – Fresh Market Cashier (Greensboro, NC)

Hourly Pay: $8.13

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Do you work in retail? Share a company review or salary report on Glassdoor and help others get the job they want.

Jobs In Retail: Cashiers – Who’s Hiring, What They Pay & More is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Top 10 Highest Rated Companies Hiring For ‘Big Data’ – Report Card

Glassdoor Team — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 21:14:45 +0000

For the past year or more the term ‘Big Data’ has been spreading like wildfire, and as a result, companies are investing in Big Data and hiring all sorts of specialists to support it.

What exactly is ‘Big Data’?

Simply put, the phrase refers to the tools, processes and procedures allowing an organization to create, manipulate and manage very large data sets and store facilities.

Why has ‘Big Data’ become such a phenonomenon?

Consider the fact that 90% of the world’s total data has been created just within the past two years, says IBM, and platforms are needed to keep up with the daily explosion of data created from mobile devices, online transactions, sensors and social networks.

As the data pours in, many companies are investing in ‘Big Data’ big time from HP to EMC to IBM, while companies like Xignite, Platfora and Opera Solutions have recently raised millions to support innovations around Big Data applications. Not to mention that companies like Twitter are hiring a multitude of specialists from engineers to sales executives to business associates.

According to a recent McKinsey report the demand for ‘Big Data’ talent could soon outstrip supply by 50 to 60 percent, and companies in the U.S. will be looking to hire an additional 1.5 million managers and analysts with a sharp understanding of how big data can be applied.

So as the demand for employees who can support, manage and analyze ‘Big Data’ is on the rise and companies are looking to hire, which companies hiring for ‘Big Data’ today rate highest among employees?

Top 10 Highest Rated Companies Hiring For ‘Big Data’:

Glassdoor, a jobs and career community, turned to its vast database of active job listings and employee company reviews to find out which companies currently hiring for ‘Big Data’ are rated highest by their own employees.

Report based on companies with at least one active job listing featuring “Big Data” in its job title, and/or any keyword including “Big Data,” “Machine Learning,” “Data Scientist,” or “Hadoop” in its job description, as well as at least 100 approved company reviews. Report as of 10/26/11. The report does not include universities or recruitment agencies.

Wondering how other companies hiring for ‘Big Data’ stack up according to their employees? Below is the full ‘Big Data’ report card that looks at more than 50 companies, including the ten featured above, hiring to support their ‘Big Data’ needs and how they rate as an employer.

Interested in knowing what employees at the top 10 companes have to say about working there? Provided below is a sample of employees sounding off as of late on what’s working well and what needs to be improved:

“MITRE has a great work/life balance with respectable co-workers, high standard of education and great pay. If you work in the headquarters locations, there is ample opportunity to find something you’re interested in.” – MITRE Information Security Engineer (location n/a)

“MITRE tends to exhibit many older company ideals such as secretive promotions and compensation decisions, cliquish upper management tendencies and a ‘wait your turn’ mentality.” – MITRE Principal Information Systems Engineer (Colorado Springs, CO)

“Between on-site gyms, massage, a wide selection of health benefits, 401k and stock grants, competitive salary, and of course the free, gourmet meals, it’s one of the cushiest jobs in Silicon Valley.” – Google Software Engineer II (Mountain View, CA)

“Management can be clueless or absent at times. It can take a lot longer to get things done than you expect.” – Google Software Engineer III (New York, NY)

“The company is innovative, the corporate culture is amazing. You are truly setup for success when you start working there. I have found that management is open and ready to help.” – Apple Data Analyst (Elk Grove, CA)

“It is a very demanding environment at Apple. Folks work a lot of hours. Management expects a lot from employees. If you do not like, it is not a right environment for you.” – Apple Program Manager (location n/a)

“Excellent products, excellent sales force, consistent corporate earnings performance, outstanding benefits, excellent work-life balance, plenty of opportunity to move into other positions or for career advancement, all in all a great place to work.” – NetApp Product Operations Employee (Research Triangle Park, NC)

“Many long time NetApp people, therefore company suffers from lack of mid-level managerial talent and competence. Certain groups (Marketing, Professional Services, Management Software Product Group) are disorganized and dysfunctional.” – NetApp Marketing Employee (Sunnyvale, CA)

“Opportunities to work and innovate in a wide-range of technical disciplines. Internal mobility is higher than at most companies, which helps to prevent burnout. Solid benefits and employee profit sharing.” – Qualcomm Employee (location n/a)

“Salary tends to be only average for the field positions but the health benefits are good. May have to put in weekends during hard times.” – Qualcomm Hardware Engineer (San Diego, CA)

“Management seeks feedback to determine direction. Frequent all hands meetings to keep us informed and motivated.” – Intuit Staff Security Analyst (Westlake Village, CA)

“They have their ways of doing things which can take years to get things done. They think nothing is wrong with their company culture they don’t take changes well.” – Intuit Implementation Specialist (Cary, NC)

“Collaborative, supportive co-workers, the opportunity to work on market-leading products, flexibility on time/working from home.” – Adobe Senior Product Marketing Manager (San Francisco, CA)

“Prohibitive procedures slow down ability to get things done. Little communication across different business unites. To many decision makers (mid – level management).” – Adobe Employee (San Francisco, CA)

“Strongest vision of any enterprise software company out there. Team is it in to win and continue fast growth path. Willing to take risks. Very talented teams.” – Salesforce Product Management Senior Director (San Mateo, CA)

“No work life balance even though they talk about it a lot. You’ll be attending meeting at least 80% of your day. Actual work is usually done after the normal work day.” – Salesforce Employee (San Francisco, CA)

“Benefits, work/life balance, work from home privileges (note: not all teams have this), very strong engineering culture, smart engineers and capable managers, relatively fair review system, tries to be client driven, strong onboarding plan (new hire training, mentors), innovation encouraged.” – FactSet Senior Software Engineer (New York City, NY)

“Employee morale is falling, attrition is rising, bureaucracy prevents rapid innovation from happening, key talent is getting ready to leave while the company worries more about recruiting than employee development and retention.” – FactSet Employee (location n/a)

“In general management is very good. There are a lot of training opportunities within the company for individual contributors. Pay seems ok.” – GE Employee (Niskayuna, NY)

“Leadership still focused mostly on short term goals, no matter the industry dynamics. Big promotions are often reserved for employees hired into one of the management training programs out of college.” – GE Service Director (location n/a)

Interested in a job or career with Big Data?

Big Data Jobs

Top 10 Highest Rated Companies Hiring For ‘Big Data’ – Report Card is a post from: Glassdoor Blog