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Why the “Best Places to Work” Might Not Be Right for You
The Internet is filled with tools designed to facilitate and ease the burden of job hunting. There’s no limit to the number of “best of” lists and online review portals designed to connect the right people with the right jobs. While due diligence is a must for any job seeker hoping to establish a meaningful career, many don’t realize that these online tools aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. And while it sounds smart to research prospective companies before signing on, you must be wary of what kind of research you do.
The Worst of the Best
Many online review tools offer a superficial perspective of what it’s like to work somewhere but fail to capture the true essence of the job experience.
This is because businesses on these “top” lists have a vested interest in coming across as positively as they can, regardless of actual working conditions. When these “best places to work” articles are slated to be posted on reputable news outlets, companies lobby to get placed and increase the exposure of their businesses. This fact calls into question “best of” lists from the get-go, but the problems run deeper than corporate influence.
What Do Lists Tell Us?
Although they’re easy to consume, most job seeking lists feature several key gimmicks, no matter where they’re posted:
- Most use rankings from company evaluation sites like Glassdoor to provide (supposedly objective) metrics,
- Most use employee testimonials to describe what things are like behind the scenes,
- And most are quick to talk up the superficial benefits of working at a business, including compensation, the presence of recreational facilities, and more.
But should any of these perks actually be considered during a job hunt? Financial compensation and insurance benefits may be strong selling points, but it’s hard to argue that health insurance and the presence of an on-campus massage parlor should be uttered in the same breath.
This is the biggest shortcoming of these lists: They’re designed to provide a broad overview and nothing else. They’re meant to let readers snack on bite-sized morsels of information without offering context or real-world experience to justify their rankings. These lists are the fast food of the recruitment world.
Better Recruitment Solutions
Job hunting lists come up short because finding the right job doesn’t start with a broad assessment of the industry—it starts with an assessment of yourself:
- What are you passionate about?
- What type of industry will let you put your talents to work?
- Do you work better solo or on a team?
- What type of work do you see yourself enjoying? What about five years from now? Or ten years?
Note that none of these questions have anything to do with a job’s perks, the facilities included in the building, or even compensation—all of which are external motivators that will do nothing to aid in a candidate’s sense of satisfaction with his/her job and overall quality of life.
Thinking outside the context of perks, the “best” places to work are the companies that let their employees leverage their own unique talents, work to avoid burnout, and explore creative alternatives in secure environments. There’s no perfect fit across the board; there’s only a perfect fit for each employee. Because of this, job seekers need to take a more comprehensive approach to their job hunt and consider not only where they want to work, but what they want to do when they get there.
At Urgenci, we take a different approach to your recruitment needs. Rather than focusing on the non-critical aspects of a company’s culture (such as the type of beer in their kegs or how many ping pong tables they might have) we analyze the what makes a company an intriguing destination for top candidates, such growth potential, project type, and work-life balance.
If you’re looking for a more focused approach to your recruiting, get in touch with us today.
Photo:Ilya Pavlov
Urgenci
