After seeing all the reviews on Glassdoor I think it’s important my experience interviewing with White Oak is shared. Skip to the *** for the important part.
I applied to work here and within a few days received an email from the owner to set up a phone interview. We spoke about my experience and the organization and I quickly felt the owner was someone who would be great to work with. How often do you have a phone interview with the top level of an organization? It showed she cares about her company and who she is employing.
After the phone call I was invited to do a skills test and then invited in for an in person interview with her and another leader. The interview was professional yet fun. We laughed a lot while getting to know each other and talking about the role. Later that day I received an offer.
***After receiving the offer I checked Glassdoor and saw two pretty damning reviews. I emailed the owner asking for her side of things. She replied promptly and eased my concerns with her side of things. One thing that stood out to me was that it would’ve been easy for her to sh** talk the former employees who left the reviews. Instead she just gave her side with the facts.
Fast forward to a few days before my start date. I went on Glassdoor and was alarmed to see so many poor reviews posted in what seemed like an all out war. I emailed the owner and told her, in a much longer form, that I don’t think I could do this.
She replied immediately asking if I’d like to grab coffee and talk. The reviews were damning but because she responded so kindly and because my interactions with her thus far had been so good I wanted to meet.
She so graciously agreed to meet on a weekend so I met her the next day with a list of concerns from the reviews. She met every single concern with great explanations and proof, when necessary, that something was false or fabricated. She made me feel wanted, cared for and excited again for this position. It can be hard in LA to find people who really care and I get the vibe from her that she cares a lot not only about her business but her employees. She believes in me which is the only explanation I can think of why she took the time to sit down and talk with me.
I haven’t started so I can’t speak to the reviews 100% other than to say the owner truly does care. She takes these reviews seriously and wants the best for her company and employees.