Honestly – Real Reviews of Real People

Before you go out to dinner, you check Yelp for restaurant reviews. Before you hire a plumber, you do a quick search on Angie’s List. And before you buy a new car, you visit Consumer Reports for all the facts and data. Now an app called Honestly is bringing the concept of user reviews to real-world business professionals. People who use Honestly can check out new bosses, business partners, and work associates to find out how others feel about their dealings in the past.

Because users on Honestly are reviewing actual people, the application is careful to vet reviewers beforehand. One way of doing this is to require users to log in with Facebook, which lends an air of authenticity, ensures that the user is at least 21 years old, and decreases the chances that an individual will sign on anonymously to post defamatory information. Once you’ve been vetted, it’s time to start contributing reviews. To encourage users to respond honestly, the application obscures the identity of reviewers and provides a host of tools that let people rate reviews in a number of ways. Reviews are meant to focus on the individual’s professional presence only, rather than his personal life, and any libelous statements will be removed from the site.

To manage your own reputation, create your own Honestly profile and invite trusted colleagues to submit their own reviews. You’ll receive notices when additional information has been put up, and you can even add resume details and past business experience to bolster your position as a leader in the field. Whether your goal is to increase your presence in the industry, control and manage your reputation, or warn future secretaries to watch out for your past boss, Honestly is a useful tool for anyone working in a professional field.