Can You Trust Glassdoor and other Websites for Compensation?

Public sources of compensation data, such as salary websites and crowdsourced platforms, can offer helpful insights, but they often lack the accuracy needed for critical salary negotiations.

These platforms typically gather information from a broad user base without verifying the data, which can lead to inconsistencies. For example, salaries reported by individuals may be inflated, outdated, or only reflect a certain industry, region, or experience level, making them less applicable to your specific situation.

These are common issues with websites like Glassdoor, Levels.FYI, Salary.com and Blind.

Another issue with public salary data is that it may not account for all aspects of total compensation. Many positions, especially in industries like tech and finance, offer equity, bonuses, or unique benefits that can significantly alter the overall value of a compensation package. Without factoring in these additional elements, relying solely on base salary figures from public sources can provide an incomplete picture.

Moreover, compensation can vary significantly between companies of different sizes or even within different teams at the same company. A salary for a “Marketing Manager” at a small startup, for example, may look very different from the same title at a large corporation. Public sources tend to aggregate data, which can obscure these important nuances, leading to misleading averages that don’t reflect the true market rate for your specific role.

So while it may be helpful as a starting point, always remember the company exists as a microcosm and it does not have to adhere to any salary benchmarking from a public source. Your best bet is always going to be to ask the company directly.