Company Evaluation: Doing Your Research

Ideally you should be researching the companies you are applying to before you ever submit your resume for a position they have posted. However, with unemployment currently hovering over 10%, I can understand why job seekers will blindly apply to positions in hopes of finding something -- anything -- that will pay the bills. In case that didn't cross your mind initially though, it is essential to research the company before you actually interview with them. Common themes for researching should be to find out more about the role you applied to, basic information about the company (what they do, how they do it), and even research what current/former employees feel about the company.
There are multiple sites that can help you find out more about that last little tidbit. I will highlight a few of the best ones for you. However, as a disclaimer, it is essential to remember that often reviews can be soured by the fact that the former employees were fired or let go from their roles. It is always nice to take them with a grain of salt for the company's sake.

Indeed.com – Indeed has a forum section where you can search for a company based on the role or location and discover all the rants/raves based on the parameters you've entered. They also have a trends section so you can research the company hiring trends and what positions are posted often (typically, but not always, a sign of attrition). They even have a link in one of their forums to Emurse's behavioral interview questions.

Jobvent.com - JobVent is the web site for anyone who has ever said 'I hate my job', or 'I love my job'. Additionally, JobVent is a great resource for people who are about to start a new job, and want to see what other people think of working there. All postings on this site are anonymous and it provides both positive and negative reviews. Reviews are based on factors such as Pay, Work/Life Balance, Respect, Career Potential/Growth, Benefits, Location, Job Security, and Co-worker Competence.

Glassdoor.com – Glassdoor is a website where you need to register to actually see the best and most juicy details. Nevertheless, it is a painless process and once you do register you are given access to one thing that sets this apart from the other sites listed; They give you average salaries of the positions within that company. This is done by anonymous employee reviews and will give you a great idea of what compensation will look like before you walk into a negotiation process. In addition to salaries they offer company reviews, and there is a section that has interview questions from that company.