On Mon, May 9, 2011 at 4:23 PM, S. Dale Morrey <[email protected]> wrote: > On Mon, May 9, 2011 at 1:26 PM, Merrill Oveson <[email protected]> wrote: >> On Mon, May 9, 2011 at 1:07 PM, Eric Olsen <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>> I, for one, would like to see a location on the web site where members >>>> could >>>> record their past and/or current job experience. >>>> >>>> It should be anonymous. >>>> >>>> Was the pay fair? >>>> Was your boss reasonable? >>>> Was there high turnover? >>>> Was there a chance for professional development? >>>> Was it a fun place to work? >>>> etc, etc. >>>> >>>> I've worked a place or two that was a complete nightmare. >>>> I believe others on the list might benefit from learning about my >>>> experiences. >>>> >>>> Anybody interested? >>>> >>> >>> That sounds like glassdoor.com >>> >>> -Eric >>> >>> /* >>> PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net >>> Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug >>> Don't fear the penguin. >>> */ >>> >> >> I know there are websites out there that do this. >> The advantage here is that it would remain relatively local i.e. >> mostly within Utah County and it would be more specific to IT and >> programing. >> One company might be great if you're in sales but crappy if you're in >> IT and vice versa. >> >> /* >> PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net >> Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug >> Don't fear the penguin. >> */ >> > > It's a good idea at first blush, but it's a lawsuit waiting to happen. > If this were undertaken it would need to be away from PLUG, it would > be helpful if someone could bring a news agency such as the KSL or the > daily herald on board to give it legitimacy. Otherwise it runs a huge > risk of being sued for liable. > > Also not sure about anyone else, but if this did come to fruition I > think a hiring manager might be tempted to look at the site and do one > of two things. > #1 Terminate any employee that is currently working for me, that > participates in it. > #2 Use it as a screening tool for new employees to "weed out > complainers & whiners". > > > The final problem with a site like what you propose is that you are > going to end up with a lot of astro-turfing. Either companies that > want to raise their score posting false positive reviews, or companies > seeking to lure talent away from other good companies using it to post > false negative reviews. > > There is also termination bias that would need to be accounted for. > An employee may have sucked at his / her job and ended up getting > fired. That employee may post exaggerations about how bad the place > sucked. > > Also who likes their job enough to actually go to a site and post what > a great place it is to work? Sorry but in my "downtime" I'm sure I've > got more important things to do like reading comments on Slashdot & > going over the latest Dilbert & xkcd cartoons ;) > > /* > PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net > Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug > Don't fear the penguin. > */ >
First, only members of plug could post - so no worries about astro-turfing. "Also not sure about anyone else, but if this did come to fruition I think a hiring manager might be tempted to look at the site and do one of two things. "#1 Terminate any employee that is currently working for me, that participates in it." "#2 Use it as a screening tool for new employees to "weed out complainers & whiners". The hiring manager would have to be a member of plug. And even if the hiring manager were a member of PLUG all posting would be anonymous. Anyone who posted anything about their current job, would probably want to carefully craft his/her post so as not to reveal his/her identity. I imagine most would post about previous jobs. Second, all postings would be anonymous - so who would you sue? Trust me. The worse that could possibly happen is a cease and desist letter - or an injunction mandating that the posting be removed. No one would lose any money unless the group wished to fight the cease and desist or injunction. Third, only plug members could review the postings Fourth, I would post the good the bad and the ugly. And would like to read about other's opinions. Fifth, there are websites already doing this. Sixth, are you a recruiter or a hiring manager? Some years ago, I had the idea of rating your college professors using a website. I remember my frustration with trying to figure out who to take classes from at BYU. I had a number of professors who were not good teachers. Some didn't seem to care about students. I remember going to one for help who asked "Are you in a study group?" I replied "well, yes." To which he then replied "Well, go ask them." I asked a professor at BYU what he thought of my idea. He, of course, thought it was a horrible idea. Well guess what? There are now websites where you can rate your professors. So who are you? Lastly, I feel the relationship between employee and employer is asymmetric. I get a job. They decide they don't want me. I'm asked to leave immediately - almost never is severance offered, etc. (Has anyone ever been let go and been told we'll do everything we can to help you find another job?) On the other hand, I get a job and decide I want to leave. Now suddenly there's a lot of "How can you do this to us? Could you give us a month to find a replacement? If we have questions, we'll call you and expect you to help us out, etc." It's the same thing with finding a job. I've been expected to fill out my entire job history, including former bosses, so they can be called and ask about me. Would a company ever give me a list of former employees - so I can call them and find out about working there? I'd just like to make the relationship a little more symmetric. I've intentionally not applied to a certain company in this valley based on the information I've learned from current and former employees. /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
