Based on the company and interview reviews on Glassdoor, we did some digging around to give you a better picture of what it’s really like to be a recruiter today.

What recruiters don’t like about their jobs: In a nutshell, being a recruiter requires long hours, sometimes a low commission based salary, and a continual uphill climb given a tough job market.

Long hours, commission brackets are impossible to reach, once you reach then you still aren’t making that much money. – Aerotek Recruiter

Overall, the staffing industry isn’t a prime place to be. Go in wanting to learn about the job market and what you need to succeed, and get out while you can. – Aerotek Recruiter

You will not have a personal life. – Spherion Recruiter

There isn’t much of a work-life balance, my average week as about 60 hours, and that was nothing compared to some of my colleagues. – Robert Half Recruiting Manager

In a down economy it’s about numbers vs. the past or the quality of the individual. – Kforce Account Manager/Recruiter

What recruiters do like about their jobs: On the plus side, recruiters enjoy getting to see firsthand the fruits of their labor, and some report that the more elbow grease you put into it the more you will get out of your career in recruiting.

You get to see the result of your hard work. There is nothing better than seeing a person get a position they really wanted and having them thank you for it. – Aerotek Recruiter

This job is exactly what you make of it. They reward hard work and integrity with chances to increase your load and advance. – Spherion Recruiter

Excellent opportunity to make money when the economy is doing well. The ability to earn commissions as a sales person there are excellent. – Robert Half Recruiting Manager

You are paid for your performance and income potential is unlimited. –  Robert Half Recruiting Manager

Provides an insight into large corporations hiring practices or the lack there of. You can earn a decent entry level paycheck with a bachelors degree in social science or even liberal arts. – Volt Information Technical Recruiter

And last, but not least, what is it like to get a job as a recruiter or at a staffing agency in this market? What do recruiters get asked in an interview?

What does diversity mean to you? – TEKsystems Technical Recruiter

There is a man on the ground with a broken window and a rock in the same room. What happened? – Microsoft Recruiter

Tell me about a former colleague you didn’t get along with. – Apple Recruiter

What would you do if you got a job at a company and you hated it? – AeroTek Recruiter

Remember that this snapshot is just the tip of the iceberg for the recruiter and staffing agencies reviews on Glassdoor. If you have questions on how to determine if a recruiting job at a specific company is right for you, contact Glassdoor’s Clearview Collection, a panel of career experts with expertise in recruiting, HR and other workplace issues, with your questions (askclearview@glassdoor.com). Or, if you are looking to work with a recruiter and staffing agency, take some advice from Glassdoor career expert Jeff Hunter who offers tips on how to evaluate a job and career recruiter.

Job Recruiters Dish On What They Like About Their Careers, What They Don’t, And What They Get Asked In An Interview is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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1. Why Recruiters Don’t Get You Jobs
2. Attention All In-House Recruiters: Extra Grace Required
3. They asked you what during the interview?!?

Apple has solidified its status as a media darling with its iPod and Mac products, but how do the companies really compare? And what about their respective leaders?

When looking at employee approval ratings of each CEO, Steve Jobs’ 90% approval helps solidify his iconic status, and he completely overshadows’ Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s rating of just 41%. In Glassdoor’s deeper analysis of 90-day trailing averages, Jobs’ has always held more than a 20 percentage point lead over Ballmer. Jobs’ rating took a dip in recent weeks, while Ballmer’s approval rating continued to stay low (20-40%) and could end up being the key reason that Microsoft does not make the Glassdoor Best Places to Work list again this year.

Microsoft has taken some knocks in the industry as of late, but what are its employees saying? Anonymous reviews on Glassdoor include some pointed feedback for the company’s leadership from within its ranks:

MS has the resources to invest in cutting edge tech. And, chances are your project/product will impact millions of users…[in advice to senior management] Stop hiding from Apple and take them head-on in the coolness factor (not the majority factor). Microsoft Program Manager (Redmond, WA)

Great people, benefits, work/life balance (if one takes cares of it)… [but] All decisions made by CEO slows down innovation path. – Microsoft Director of Marketing (Redmond, WA)

Microsoft is challenging. You will be stretched. You will never be bored…[in advice to senior management] Management need to take a hard look at their marketing and advertising strategy. Uncool advertising is so embarrassing for employees, who’d really like to be proud to work there. – Microsoft Process Engineer (Redmond, WA)

Microsoft gets the best and brightest talent from around the world and puts them in global, cross-functional teams…[but] Everyone is overloaded, so planning is often given short shrift which just starts the cycle all over again [and] Lack of transperancy creates a somewhat Macciavelian environment among managers. – Microsoft employee (St. Louis, MO)

Despite notable variances in CEO approval, the company ratings are a lot more competitive. Apple has generally had slightly higher company ratings than Microsoft since September 2008 through to August 2009. However, since August 2009 the company satisfaction ratings have started to close in. In fact, based on the 90-day trailing average for company ratings, Microsoft has taken a slight edge over Apple. As of October 16, Microsoft’s 90-day trailing average rating was 3.4 and Apple’s was 3.3.

According to reviews, Apple employees on the whole are satisfied with the company. But recent reviews do shed some light on the dip in ratings:

Great products, but not a great place to work…Executives are so indoctrinated in the Apple way of doing things that they’re not open to new approaches. – Apple employee (location n/a)

Excellent products that remain among the top in the industry…[but] No communication of ongoing issues with products. – Apple Specialist (Dallas, TX)

Exposure to leading edge technology [and] intelligent co-workers…[but] management makes no effort to find ongoing projects for employees when re-structuring occurs – employees are on-their-own. – Apple Engineer (Cupertino, CA)

Apple still has a great cachet [but] Everything depends on the next hit product and of Steve Jobs staying ahead of the competition. Although there is lots to like in Apple’s products, they have fallen behind before with Steve Jobs, and he will not be there forever. Apple Marketing Manager (location n/a)

However, if the recent marketing campaign is an indicator, Apple is even more serious about the competition with Microsoft:

Will Windows 7 help remove the shadow cast by Windows Vista? Or will effective marketing campaigns continue to help Apple steal market share from PCs? Tell us what you think.

Apple / Microsoft War is Back On: New Products and New Marketing Campaigns is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

Related posts:

1. Top 10 Reasons Steve Jobs Will Be Missed By Apple Employees
2. Microsoft and Yahoo Announce Partnership; What Could this Mean for Employees?
3. Google CEO says Goodbye to Apple Board

But let’s face it: if you are making this transition from a Yahoo to a Microsoft employee, you want to know what you are getting into. And who best to show the opportunities and pitfalls at Microsoft other than existing employees? Here’s just a taste of advice from the 831 Microsoft employees who have rated the company on Glassdoor.com that can provide insight to transferring Yahoo team members:

“Your performance rating is decided how well others in your group performed (relative or stack ranking still takes place under the new performance system) even if you have delivered all your tasks satisfactorily” – Program Manager (Redmond, WA)

“The compensation is not the greatest in the world. If you have a family the health benefit will compensate for it otherwise for sure you will find it that your peer at other company is making more money that you.”- Software Development Engineer In Test (Fargo, ND)

“It has endless resources for growth (see cons), including a big library, conferences, training etc. The company can really invest in you and you can see the dividends of this investment in your work.” – Anonymous (Durham, NC)

For more tips and company reviews, check out some other of latest feedback:

Oh and if you are interested in salary and want to know how Microsoft salaries differ from Yahoo, check these salary reports out:

831 Things Yahoos Can Learn from Microsoft Employees is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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1. Microsoft and Yahoo Announce Partnership; What Could this Mean for Employees?
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3. Google Stays at #1: Do Yahoos Have G envy?

There has been some speculation about what this will mean for employees of the two companies, including potential lay-offs at Yahoo! and some job opportunities for employees to move from Yahoo! to new roles at Microsoft.

Based on reviews on both companies, Yahoo! employees  may actually be happier at Microsoft, with approval ratings at the company a full .4 points higher than at Yahoo!. More than half of employees (54%) do, however, approve of the work that Carol Bartz is doing at Yahoo!, in comparison to the job that Steve Ballmer is doing at Microsoft (42%).

The partnership is critical to both companies as they attempt to take on Google, the dominant leader in the search space. Google receives a company rating of 4.0 and CEO Eric Schmidt garners an approval rating of 87%. As you can see both Yahoo! and Microsoft have a ways to go when it comes to beating Google – both in the search space and with employee satisfaction.

Do you work at any of these technology giants? What do you think of the announcement, and if you are Yahoo! employee how would you feel about moving over to Microsoft? What impact do you think the news will have on the industry in the long term?

Microsoft and Yahoo Announce Partnership; What Could this Mean for Employees? is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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1. Yahoo CEO Gives Herself ‘B-’; 54% Of Employees Approve Of Bartz
2. Yahoo CEO Bartz Leaves With 33% Approval Among Employees
3. 831 Things Yahoos Can Learn from Microsoft Employees

UPDATE: Microsoft has quickly rectified the administrative glitch regarding several severance packages – The company said the laid off workers could keep the extra payouts.

Earlier post…

For weeks now Glassdoor.com career and workplace expert, Rusty Rueff, has been offering employers advice on how to best handle tough economic times and layoffs. It seems that Microsoft‘s HR team might want to take notice. 

It appears some of the recently laid off Microsoft employees may have been paid too much, according to Saturday’s Tech Crunch that revealed letters received by former employees noted an “administrative error” that resulted in an overpayment of severance pay. Now Microsoft wants it back.  What do you think?

Update: Laid off Microsoft Employees to Keep Extra Payouts is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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1. Microsoft and Yahoo Announce Partnership; What Could this Mean for Employees?
2. 831 Things Yahoos Can Learn from Microsoft Employees
3. Microsoft Layoffs Do Not Compute?

The Microsoft layoff announcement only worsens the fact that Wall Street’s optimistic Q1 projections were off the mark. According to an AP article, “The week’s economic news, including the Federal Reserve’s region-by-region assessment of business conditions, will be more worrisome after word Friday that the unemployment rate soared to a 16-year high of 7.2 percent during December.”

What’s ironic about this speculation over mass layoffs at Microsoft is their aggressive investment in new technologies. As TechCrunch just reported, Microsoft led a $24 million investment round for Israeli startup Intrig. Is this aggressive spending part of their strategy to stay ahead in hopes of carrying it out till the market improves?

And are Microsoft executives coming to the realization that the previous attitude of “we don’t do layoffs” is not good for business?  As you’ll read in some of the following review snippets from the Glassdoor community, employees these past few months saw the staff size as one of its greatest inefficiencies.

In June 2008, a Microsoft Software Engineer advised senior management to “Microsoft: Layoff half the company.”

In August, a Microsoft Group Product Manager added:

“Lay off 20% of the company. Not because you need the money, but because they are tripping all over each other. Several divisions spend a considerable amount of their time trying to “define their role” in the company and justify their existence. You’ll get more accomplished. Just start listening to the rank and file. This is a big reason why the best ones have already left.”

A Microsoft Senior Lead Program Manager had a very perceptive insight into the consequences of having such a large workforce. Unfortunately the repercussions this one employee forecasted would occur only within a few months rather than years:

“Size is starting to make the company less agile.  Relative to other large orgs, Microsoft isn’t nearly the biggest.  But to manage their portfolio of products they clearly don’t need more people.   Yet they continue to hire instead of cross pollinating great people.  That bloat leads to difficulties in changing strategies or product alignments.  They risk having to downsize several years from now, as most companies that grow too fast usually do.”

On the flip side, what is interesting to read is that the lack of layoffs is what some employees speak to as a benefit of working at Microsoft.

A Microsoft Program Manager II writes in under the Pros of working at the company,

“You have an opportunity to move around the company, picking whatever division interests you, as your passions change. Very stable company; never, ever had layoffs.”

And just this past December, a Microsoft Senior Project Manager comments,

“As a company, MS is well-run financially so the expectation of layoffs during this recession are quite low.  Since MS is involved in a variety of areas, even when one part of the business slows down, other parts do ok, so things do even out.”

With this sense of comfort now being drastically impacted, it has to make one wonder how will Microsoft change in terms of its culture? Will job satisfaction decline now the security blanket is being pulled from under from their feet? Will employees become more vigilant in their work and more competitive with their colleagues? And of course, how will products and software coming out of Microsoft be influenced in the long run?

As a final note, we also draw from a blog posting from Seattle Post Intelligencer reporter Joseph Tartakoff who reported in early December:

“Although Microsoft is slowing its hiring, it still added about 380* employees to its work force in November, according to a spokesman.

To put the statistic in perspective: In August, Microsoft’s work force grew by 1,200. In September, ranks increased by 700. And in October, the company’s work force jumped by roughly 1,000. Microsoft now has about 95,768 employees world-wide, up from 91,259 at the end of June. Going forward, though, Microsoft is expected to add fewer employees.”

*Note update of hiring numbers at end of Tartakoff’s blog posting

Microsoft Layoffs Do Not Compute? is a post from: Glassdoor Blog

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1. Update: Laid off Microsoft Employees to Keep Extra Payouts
2. Microsoft and Yahoo Announce Partnership; What Could this Mean for Employees?
3. Fear Of Layoffs On Wall Street Distracting Workers