The internet is very developed nowadays, and probably 99% of friends would search online for work experience. Maybe this post seems like stating the obvious 😅, but I think there are still some people who might feel that understanding a job just from the company's official website already counts as thorough preparation.
That's not enough!
You need to recognize that corporate websites are "official" sites that let you understand a company's development history, organizational structure, business scope, past projects, and media coverage. However, in order to promote themselves, company descriptions inevitably exaggerate.
Just to give a random example: the "Top Ten Happy Enterprises" ranking—the tenth place on this list might only be in the top ten within a specific industry. When placed in the overall rankings, if the industry is niche, it might actually fall at position 50 or 60. So I suggest that when you see such rankings or examples, you must trace back to the original data and cross-check it personally for more reliability. Can you see now why relying solely on the official website makes it difficult to understand the actual working experience inside the company, or the interview process and feedback?
So what should you do?
[Keyword Method]
I've always done it simply by searching on GOOGLE with "company + interview experience," "job opening + interview experience," "industry + interview experience," or by changing the interview experience keyword to work experience. Cross-referencing this way produces a lot of data. On PTT and various major forums, netizens compile their interview experiences comprehensively, allowing you to get a preliminary understanding of the interview process and company internal situation. Of course, you can also ask the original poster directly and interact—absorbing seniors' experiences is most important.
Below, I've compiled a few work experience boards I frequently use:
PTT: JOB Board, Tech Job Board, Salary Board
Mobile01 Workplace Candor
Dcard: Job Board
Dcard is relatively a younger platform, and the work sharing there might not be diverse enough, but because it's university students—same generation—you can better understand how rookies feel. It's also nice to vent there. Compared to PTT's job board, netizens are relatively more rational, giving more practical advice and thoughts, and they can even interact with you through comments or private messages.
[Recruitment Websites]
Did you know that job recruitment websites aren't just for job hunting?
Actually, once I went to interview for a social media editor position at a recruitment site, and I think most people would be curious why a recruitment site needs a community manager. That's when I found out they operate industry-specific online forums where netizens can use their recruitment site accounts to share their work observations and experiences.
(Top image / 1111 Recruitment Bank Career Forum; Bottom image / 104 Career Community)
From my observation, 1111 mainly directs fans from their Facebook fan pages to website article views, building the concept of communities and groups on external websites. They manage fan pages in segmented forms as follows:
Media People's Circle: 32,000 fans
HR Good Friends: 49,000 fans
Secretary Life Circle: 16,000 fans
Marketing & Planning Group: 78,000 fans
Department Store Retail Let You COW: 16,000 fans
Medical & Nursing Unmissable: 94,000 fans
This management method indeed easily attracts people from the same groups to gather together, and topics easily gain traction. Most enterprises now manage communities in this way. However, 1111's distinctiveness seems relatively low. But if any of these career communities match your needs, you can indeed find insightful career experiences and workplace secrets there. The only downside is that the website's traffic direction and memorability might be less effective. (The two recruitment banks' community management methods deserve detailed analysis in another post.)
In contrast, 104 Recruitment Bank—searching on Facebook, you can very clearly see these are all 104's segmented communities, with the same LOGO color system design and high recognition. Especially 104's activities leave deep impressions, like the Be a giver series.
Regarding community management, there's only one fan page—104 Career Community—and after directing traffic to the official website, there are diverse communities like:
Job Search Experience Exchange: 17,000 group members
104 Play with Data: 3,751 group members
Overseas Work Discussion: 10,000 group members
China Work Discussion: 5,675 members
Although member numbers are relatively low, if you ask "politically correct" questions there, you'll get quite a few responses! This part reads a bit like community management, but the main point is: when referencing job hunting experiences, it's not just about "referring"—you need to "interact well with seniors." Beyond browsing experiences, you can try to "establish connections" with people. With both these forums, you can directly find the author through their account, and if you're proactive, you can actually contact them directly to understand the company's internal situation before joining.
[Interview.tw]
Finally, there's a new website I discovered recently: Interview.tw is a place where you can actually learn about various companies' interview experiences. However, because the website is just starting out, some companies' interview experiences might not have been shared or written by others yet.
Interview.tw is different from past workplace experience websites. It mainly operates through UGC (User Generated Content)—netizens share actual interview experiences while accumulating points for viewing experiences, creating mutual benefit for everyone. The more you write and view, the better. The website also uses an anonymity system, so you can speak truthfully without fear of reporting. Because insufficient points prevent you from viewing information, it prevents companies from retaliatory complaints. (Reference Job Hunting Tianyan failure case)
When filling in experiences on the website, the platform requires contributors to include the following items:
Whether the experience actually helps, or how detailed it is, depends on how conscientious the contributor is. I've seen contributors detail the company's internal situation quite thoroughly, and in the suggestions section actually point out problems with company promotion and salary adjustments. But some people just brush through with a sentence or two. Regardless, I think these experience-sharing entries are specific to particular companies and positions, making them more concrete and accurate when shared. Compared to public forums where people don't dare speak truth due to the atmosphere, it's much more helpful. (A rare gem of a website!)
If you make good use of these websites above, it will absolutely help you boost your confidence before entering the workplace!
[Finding a Good Job: Five-Step Series Overview]
Part 2: Whether Job Conditions Suit You
Part 3: Referencing Others' Interview & Work Experience is Essential
Part 4: Decoding Interview SOPs to Understand Company Culture
Part 5: Re-examining Yourself
