According to Jobvite, 33% of employers have received negative Glassdoor reviews tied directly to their recruiting process. That’s not a small number. What’s more, 75% of organizations say Glassdoor can help them hire—as long as the reviews are positive. It’s clear: your recruiting experience shows up in your reviews. So it’s time to recruit with that in mind.
If your hiring process feels like a black hole to job seekers, don’t be surprised when you get called out in public reviews. You have to recruit to avoid negative Glassdoor reviews—not just hope your process holds up.
Step One: Communicate Clearly, Honestly, and Often
One of the top reasons candidates leave negative Glassdoor reviews is lack of communication. It’s one of the easiest things to fix, yet many employers still get it wrong.
Audit your current process. Look at every point where a candidate might wait, wonder, or get ghosted. Then fix it.
Examples of Where to Add Communication:
- If hiring slows down, update candidates with a real status.
- If a position is closed or filled, tell the others immediately.
- If an interview goes well but someone else gets the offer, send a thoughtful “silver medalist” note.
Use your ATS to trigger automated emails. Set up different statuses for every scenario—like extended requisition delays or roles closed unexpectedly—and make sure each status sends a message. This is basic loop recruiting hygiene. It keeps your process clean and your candidates informed.
Even if someone doesn’t get hired, they should leave the process knowing what happened. That alone can save your employer brand.
Step Two: Hold Hiring Managers Accountable
Let’s be honest—some hiring managers don’t treat interviews as a priority. And that’s a major driver of bad recruit feedback reviews.
Common Hiring Manager Mistakes:
- Showing up late or not at all
- Not reading the resume
- Acting distracted
- Being cold or dismissive
- Holding interviews after the role is already filled
- Making the candidate jump through extra interviews for no reason
These things seem small in the moment, but they stick with the candidate. And they show up later—on Glassdoor.
If you want to avoid negative recruiting outcomes, you have to track hiring manager behavior. This isn’t just about protecting your Glassdoor employer branding. It’s also about making sure the right people are hired.
You can’t fix what you don’t measure. Survale’s feedback tools let you see where breakdowns happen, who’s involved, and what to fix. If one manager consistently gets poor interview ratings, they need coaching—or they’re hurting your ability to hire.
Step Three: Use Candidate Feedback to Stay Ahead
The most effective way to prevent negative Glassdoor reviews is to gather real-time feedback. Not once a year. Not after someone’s already onboard. Constant feedback.
Here’s how it works:
- After application: Ask how the process felt.
- After screening: Ask if expectations were clear.
- After interview: Ask about the interviewer’s behavior.
- After offer: Ask about timing and communication.
- After hire: Keep checking in through onboarding.
This isn’t about over-surveying. With short pulse surveys triggered by ATS status changes, you get timely data without annoying your candidates.
Why This Works:
- You catch problems before they escalate.
- You get context behind declined offers or poor ratings.
- You turn bad experiences into chances to fix your process.
Candidate feedback helps you recruit smarter, faster, and with more trust. It also helps you keep Glassdoor reviews in check—because you hear the complaints internally before they go public.
Convert Job Seekers Into Fans
Here’s something most companies miss: asking for feedback is a signal. It tells candidates you care. That you want their opinion. And that you’re open to improvement.
Very few candidates are asked for feedback. So when you do, it stands out. This builds trust, which improves your overall employer brand and candidate job satisfaction.
When job seekers feel respected—even if they don’t get the job—they’re far less likely to leave a negative review. In fact, many leave positive reviews simply because they appreciated being heard.
Stop Negative Glassdoor Reviews Before They Start
Negative reviews often come from:
- Long silences after interviews
- Confusing or messy application systems
- Unprofessional behavior during interviews
- Lack of updates or closure
None of this is hard to fix. It just takes attention. That’s where constant feedback and structured communication come in. You catch issues early and handle them before they snowball.
Feedback isn’t about ratings. It’s about showing candidates that your process respects their time, effort, and interest. This is how you recruit in a way that improves Glassdoor hire success.
Attend a Glassdoor Recruit Conference? Great. Now Act.
Glassdoor recruit conferences are helpful. They highlight what candidates expect and how to respond. But knowing isn’t enough. You have to act on it.
Whether it’s improving your loop recruiting reviews or cleaning up internal workflows, what matters is what you do after the conference. Feedback tools like Survale help turn those ideas into real improvements.
FAQs
What is negative recruiting?
Negative recruiting refers to anything in the hiring process that leaves a bad impression—like ghosting, rude behavior, or disorganized interviews. It leads to bad reviews and lost talent.
What does negative recruiting mean?
It means candidates feel mistreated or ignored during the recruiting process. The result is usually a drop in employer reputation.
How to avoid hiring the wrong people?
Use structured interviews, gather hiring manager feedback, and track candidate fit over time. Post-hire surveys can confirm if the new hire was the right choice.
What are the three types of recruiting?
- Internal recruiting (hiring from within)
- External recruiting (hiring from outside)
- Agency recruiting (using third-party recruiters)
What should you not say to a recruiter?
Avoid saying things like “I’ll take anything,” “I haven’t researched the company,” or giving dishonest answers. Always stay professional.
Final Thoughts
If your recruiting process creates confusion or frustration, it will show up on Glassdoor. And once it’s public, it’s hard to undo. But when you use real-time feedback, track interview quality, and improve your communications, you shift the story.
You move from damage control to proactive improvement.
You don’t just hire better. You build trust. And that’s how you recruit to avoid negative Glassdoor reviews.
