Text size: A A A A

Jobs Current Postings The latest job posting for Powell River Facebook Even more postings on our Facebook page Job Banks Links to job banks by industry, region and season. Includes links to government and popular sites Work With Us Work with Career Link Resumes & More Writing and interview tips, resume choices, templates and more Found A Job If you are a Career Link client and have found employment let us know Services Employment Counselling Services for Job Seekers Workshops Career Link Workshop and Event Calendar Wage Subsidy If you have been on EI in the last 3 years you may be eligible BladeRunners Self-Help Use our telephone, fax machine, photocopier, computers, internet for your job search. Disability Support If you have a disability and are looking for work Helpful Links Links to several self-help services including EI, financial, housing and legal Career Planning Education & Training Links to post secondary education and other training websites Newspaper Links Links to Canadian newspapers sorted by location Phone & Addresses Convenient links for phone and address research Your Career Great info and links for researching your career Labour Market Career Sense Career Link Labour Market News for Powell River and Area Labour Market Career Link Labour Market News for Powell River and Area Water Cooler Our latest Water Cooler Survey Blog Water Cooler Index Index of our Water Cooler Survey Blogs

Employer Services Career Link Employer Services FREE Job Postings Fill out our online form and we will post it as soon as we get it Wage Subsidy Is your job eligible for Wage Subsidy Service?

About Us Information about Career Link staff Career Professionals Links to professional career groups Contact Us Career Link’s contact information FAQ Answers to some frequently asked questions Feedback Tell us how we are doing History Find out about Career Link’s roots Vision & Mission Career Link’s mission and vision statements Scent Free Policy Tell us how we are doing

Warning: include(content/slide.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/www/careerlinkbc.com/blog.php on line 15

Warning: include(): Failed opening 'content/slide.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/local/php5.4/lib/php') in /home/www/careerlinkbc.com/blog.php on line 15

Would you accept a position knowing the company has a bad reputation?

We say yay to that!

By Maureen Latta
Monday, July 15, 2013"I’m an employee here. I’ve been working here for a long time, and I don’t feel that this is right," says the young man who posted a YouTube video that blew the whistle on a Florida restaurant.

The video, which ended up on the television news, is not just about stomach-churning visuals of hamburger patties and green bean casseroles attracting flies next to the dumpster, it’s also about a young man who found himself in the unenviable position of working for a disreputable company.

Steering clear of a company with a bad reputation is the surest way to avoid being required to go along with unethical practices. Working for one of these "bad apples" is likely to be stressful. Nobody wants to see their leader in handcuffs on the morning news, a sight that employees of the City of Montreal had to witness this summer.

Ethical failures are only one factor that can impact a business’s reputation and spell gloom for employees. The Annual Harris Interactive U.S. Reputation Quotient Survey rates the 60 most visible companies in the United States based on six factors: financial performance; products and services; workplace environment; vision and leadership; social responsibility; and emotional appeal. Problems in any one of these areas can give a company a poor reputation.

Whether the employer is a local restaurant or a mining company operating overseas, a bad rep means hardship for hapless employees.

Here are some basic steps you can take to assess the reputation of a company:

• Do a Google search on the company to see what the general buzz is on the Internet;
• Read customer or client reviews about the business at sites like yelp.ca and tripadvisor.ca;
• Check out the company on the Better Business Bureau website;
• If possible, talk to someone who has worked for the company;
• When using sites like Craigslist, always double-check to make sure the company is legitimate, and never give your bank-account information or pay for anything related to job applications or hiring.

Companies that hold themselves to high standards are more likely to be desirable places to work. Speaking to business owners in a recent Canadian Business blog, Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group of Companies, commented, "If you develop a company culture based on mutual understanding and respect, your employees are more likely to enjoy their jobs and become ambassadors for your brand and reputation."

We say yay to that!