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Cox Newspapers
ATLANTA — It's a familiar scenario relived over and over when you're trying to get a job.
You endure the dog-and-pony show — interviews, meeting with managers, talking to a few carefully chosen workers who gush about the company.
Then, you get there and find a group of sullen workers, bad bosses and misguided company goals.
If only there were some kind of reconnaissance for job hunters, which could work the way Web sites have popularized user reviews of everything from books to hotels.
Well now there's www.employerrap.com, launched in December. As it grows, it aims to give the 4-1-1 on potential employers before you get a job offer.
Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs, for example, gets high marks for his leadership.
"As an employee, I often felt frustrated that there was no openness or transparency about upward feedback," said Peter Reed, who oversaw development of the Web site. "Also, it was really hard to exchange experiences and stories with others.
"Moreover, when changing jobs, I would have wanted insights about what a certain employer or boss is really like," Reed said.
Employerrap.com is an online social network for job hunters. Workers can get an unvarnished sense of what it's like to work at a company from the rank and file. It's not scientific, but it offers workers' opinions and anecdotes.
Because workers can post comments anonymously about past or current employers, the information is sometimes raw and not so flattering. The site includes postings on companies such as Home Depot, Google, General Electric and Ernst & Young.
Companies are rated on pay and benefits, culture and atmosphere, vision and leadership.
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