Very Disappointing Company Culture - Recruiter Swoon Employee Review

1.0
20 Apr 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The people that work there are pretty great excluding leadership. The recruiting and sales teams are genuine, hard-working people that truly care about their success. The perks (not to be confused with culture) are great. Tons of happy hours, beer in the kitchen, snacks, occasional WFH days (that come with a price), and a pretty solid benefit package. Going to Lollapalooza is fun.

Cons

It is sold as a fun culture, but there is a major difference between culture and perks, that is truly lost on Senior Leadership. Culture is about creating a feeling of ownership in your employees, and making them buy into the company's goals, because they feel they're being invested in. There is little to no opportunity for career growth, and this is largely because there is a core group of people that have been with the company from the start that receive opportunities with very little training or knowledge around the teams they're leading. It is a culture of 'what have you done for me lately' and although they preach collaboration, they only really care about individual performance. If a team member next to you is struggling, they will tell you to 'worry about yourself, and will ultimately terminate that employee, and take 0% responsibility for it. They deem certain employees as 'bad apples' or 'bad hires' when in reality, this means 1 of 2 things. Either they are a staffing agency that is incapable of finding the right people for even themselves, calling into question the credibility of their business in general OR (more likely) their 200% turnover rate of their sales team, and 40% turnover rate of their recruiting team probably has something to do with the way the company is being run. Managers don't have training in the areas they manage, or in management itself, so it really is up to the individual to attain the goals that are put in front of them. The goals are created based on the hopes and dreams of Senior Leadership, and are created with little to no thought around actual business analytics. They are actually OBSESSED with Glassdoor, and instead of reading this and feeling any personal consequence whatsoever, they will instruct an army of new recruiters to write posts or make up profiles to talk about how this is 'the best place ever' in hopes of continuing to trick people into working there. Myself, and the nearly 25 other people that left last year wish I would have heeded the negative reviews prior to signing on.

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Swoon Response
8y
Swoon is a company where we have to remain agile and adjust as the business demands us to do so. Feedback from our team, including exit interviews, has been the catalyst for adjustments in Leadership team, adjustments in commission structure, adjustments in career progression, adjustments in technology & related spend, adjustments in which business ventures to focus on and adjustments in how we recognize one another (among so many other improvements implemented from constructive feedback). We agree that there is a vast difference between culture and perks. Our culture and the tone of Swoon that has been established are direct results of the efforts from various team members over the course of 8 years, the generosity of our Founders, and from the ownership & accountability, we employ to make our departments and positions successful. The perks, which we agree are great, are simply offerings to all of our team members for their continued hard work. We are sorry you had a poor experience, that you feel your feedback was interpreted as negative, and that you feel leadership is ‘brainwashed.’ Since we are an ever-changing firm with a 4.6 out of 5 rating on Glassdoor, and we are always willing to listen - our VP of HR, Gina, will be more than willing to hear additional feedback on a 1:1 basis anytime. Please feel free to reach her at HR@swoonstaffing.com.

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5.0
13 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

Quick, professional, courteous, and a pleasure to work with.

Cons

None. I have had one experience with Swoon and it was very positive

5.0
2 Mar 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

* Supportive and accessible leadership team * Clear focus on specialization and career development * Strong training and coaching environment * High-performance culture that still feels collaborative * Opportunity for growth and increased responsibility * Transparent goals and expectations * Team celebrates wins and recognizes effort * Entrepreneurial environment where your impact is visible * Competitive compensation with upside potential * Exposure to reputable, enterprise-level clients

Cons

* Fast-paced, metrics-driven environment that may feel high pressure at times. * Hiring freezes or client budget cuts can impact deal flow unexpectedly. * Sales cycles can be long, especially with larger enterprise clients. * Requires strong resilience — rejection and follow-up are part of the daily rhythm in staffing.

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