* Don’t reject a company out of hand based on one person’s opinion. Get all the input you can, and consider reviews from many sources. If you hear the same kinds of complaints about a company over and over in more than one place, well then, you can conclude that you are hearing the truth.

* Make sure you get some input from people who actually have worked for these companies. Second-hand info is not always bad – news travels fast about bad companies and many of us feel we have a duty to warn – but you should also try to get info from current contractors for a company *and* from former contractors who aren’t currently employed by the company.

* Google is your friend. Sometimes info about a company can show up in unexpected places on the Internet. It pays to do a few quick searches on the company name, phone number, web address etc.

* Go with your gut. Pay attention to how you are feeling about the people who represent the company when you contact them. How they treat you during the application process can give you important clues about how they will treat you once you are working for them. If you don’t feel good about the process, don’t sign on. Keep looking.