I’m in San Francisco this week – and this beautiful Cool Grey City of Love is full of headquarters for so many of the best online tools a person can use in their job search.  It’s easy to forget, but the internet has so much more than just job boards to help you in your search.  In the next couple of weeks, I’m going to post my favorite sites and feature some of the best ways you can use them RIGHT NOW to get a job.

The first website headquarters I stumbled into a few days ago on accident was Glassdoor.  I was heading up to explore the Muir Woods in Marin County – and was thrilled to see that the shuttle to the woods took off from the idyllic setting of the Glassdoor parking lot (see the excited picture by their front door, above).  I’ve been recommending Glassdoor for years and think it is an amazingly powerful tool. *

What it is: Glassdoor is a website that features user-generated reviews, feedback, and ratings for employers.  The site functions much like Yelp, but for your job search.

Why you’ll love it:  You can use Glassdoor in lots of ways, because the feedback they collect is varied and there’s so much of it.  But here are my favorite uses:

• Research for Interviews – Glassdoor collects actual interview questions that other candidates have been asked when interviewing at companies.  If you are interviewing at a major employer (think Amazon, Apple, Insight) – imagine the advantage you can gain by getting a front row view of their actual interview process from other candidates that have gotten jobs there.  If you have an interview coming up, I suggest checking them out on Glassdoor as part of your research.  **

• Research for Salary Information:  The user-reported salary information on Glassdoor is a great resource.  You can use this information if you are trying to estimate your target salary, or if you want to find out what a specific company is paying for your role.  Current and former employees of companies help take some of the mystery out of pay and benefits – so you can be informed in your search and also be better armed for salary negotiations. 

Important to Note:  You will be prompted to share information about your current and/or former employer when you create an account.  The information you share will not be linked to you and your profile (more of an explanation of privacy is on their site).  Taking the time to share reviews and information about your former employer helps other job seekers, so be sure to share as much as you can to pay it forward.

Also nice:  The employer reviews on Glassdoor good way for you to get a sneak peek inside the culture of an organization to help you decide if they are a good fit for YOU.  

*Disclaimer – I do not work for Glassdoor (nor have I ever, even though that would be amazing).  I don’t have any deal to gain from this recommendation.  It’s a great tool that I have used and recommended for a long time.  Add it into your mix of favorites!

**I use Amazon as the employer in all of my screen shot examples – so my screen shots are not indicative of the diversity of employers that are on the site – they are just included to give you a sense of what the information looks like.