Employer background check on facebook...

[Nebor]

This.

Why stop there? Make the prospective employee bring in all photo albums, a list of all books they've read in the last 5 years, a list of every website they are a member of with their account name on said site, and make them take a polygraph to verify they've supplied everything required and have not removed any content in the meantime.

Sounds like an SF86. :whiste:

 

[bononos]

Atomic mentioned earlier about 2 facebook a/c which makes sense, one could be the 'real' one under a pseudonym with all sorts of afterwork hobbies/friends which one might want to keep private - personal feelings about race/religion/political affiliation/guns etc and another under a real-name but totally scrubbed with very little info.

Of course it is curbing rights. However, it is by choice. Employers should be allowed to discriminate against things like that, it's their business. But by agreeing to work there, you are agreeing to give up some of your basic human freedoms.

What exactly are the sort of 'basic human freedoms' should prospective employees give up?

 

[shortylickens]

This.

Why stop there? Make the prospective employee bring in all photo albums, a list of all books they've read in the last 5 years, a list of every website they are a member of with their account name on said site, and make them take a polygraph to verify they've supplied everything required and have not removed any content in the meantime.

Because that would take too much time and money while facebook is easy and free.
You guys keep handling this like its Hitler trying to push you all into gas chambers. Its not. Its businesses so obsessed with efficiency and protecting themselves from bullshit law suits that they keep coming up with weirder shit every year. Its not hostile, its just stupid.

 

[Lifted]

Its not hostile, its just stupid.

Nobody said it was hostile, but stupid I can agree with.

I'm surprised they haven't had this come up on an episode of The Office yet. I'd love to see Toby getting chewed out by job applicants over some ridiculous HR policy such as this one.

 

[waggy]

Socialize? Thats rich.

Facebook is nothing more than a means to feel important and pretend you are "socializing" with people when 99% of those people couldn't give 2 shits about what you are doing.

Sure it isn't going anywhere and that is just a sad picture of our society.

perhaps to you. for me and my family its great. we have a private group section where we can keep up on stuff.

we set up family events, post pictures of the kids, vacation photo's and yes what we are doing.

My dad is retired and spends his days fishing. he post pictures of nice fish. we enjoy that. My nephew is in Germany (just finished a tour in Afghanistan) and Facebook is a great way for him to keep in touch with family and his friends.

Its a great tool if used properly. the trick is not accept 1000's of idiots as "friends"

 

[Deeko]

I stopped reading after the first 30 or 40 posts so someone might have covered this but....man, for being such a tech savvy forum, you guys are shockingly bad at Facebook.

1) You can't claim its not your Facebook account...they can search by your email address. What, someone is hijacking your entire life?

2) That said...just accept them as a friend and give them no access. Its that simple. As far as they know, your public profile looks exactly the same as your private. Its not like it flashes on your profile "HEY, YOU DON'T HAVE SUFFICIENT PERMISSIONS TO SEE THIS!!" its just not there.

This is simple....

 

[shortylickens]

Its a great tool if used properly. the trick is not accept 1000's of idiots as "friends"

See Also: Congress.

 

[OutHouse]

I use facebook to share baby pictures and chat with my family who live in other cities/states than I do. I use Facebook to share a funny youtube video or picture I've "found" on the internet with my close knit friends. I use facebook to interact with old high school and college friends and plan get togethers.

i do all that through email. facebook not needed.

 

[Leros]

i do all that through email. facebook not needed.

You have to admit that Facebook is a better place to share something with your "friends and acquaintances" than sending out emails.

 

[Lifted]

You have to admit that Facebook is a better place to share something with your "friends and acquaintances" than sending out emails.

Facebook is even more insecure than email.

I prefer carrier pigeons and encoding messages with my Little Orphan Annie decoder ring. It's a bit time consuming converting polaroids into ASCII art by hand, and then encoding them with my ring, but it's worth it for the peace of mind.

 

[clamum]

I think that's a load of fucking shit. Unless I really, really needed that job, I'd decline their request. I don't have anything bad on mine, except for a pic or two from college of me drunk, and profanity here and there, but it's just the principle of the matter that turns me off. I've set my privacy controls and it's all private, so they'd basically be asking to snoop through my private personal life. Fuck that bullshit.

 

[apac]

I think that's a load of fucking shit. Unless I really, really needed that job, I'd decline their request. I don't have anything bad on mine, except for a pic or two from college of me drunk, and profanity here and there, but it's just the principle of the matter that turns me off. I've set my privacy controls and it's all private, so they'd basically be asking to snoop through my private personal life. Fuck that bullshit.

Well, for those same reasons I'd take the opposite approach. I'd give them access to my facebook, without censoring anything, and tell them to go to town. There are pictures of me pretty wasted, or dressed in drag for RHPS, but nothing illegal. You have to be pretty damn stupid to advertise illegal activities on facebook.

If they have any kind of issue with my personal life it's grounds for a discrimination lawsuit. I double dare them to try.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Socialize? Thats rich.

Facebook is nothing more than a means to feel important and pretend you are "socializing" with people when 99% of those people couldn't give 2 shits about what you are doing.

Sure it isn't going anywhere and that is just a sad picture of our society.

Not at all. I got my current job with the help of Facebook. Met an old friend at our high school reunion and we became facebook friends. From there, I learned he was a recruiter at a company that I was interested in, contacted him and sent him my resume. I was hired a couple of weeks later.

 

[OutHouse]

Well, for those same reasons I'd take the opposite approach. I'd give them access to my facebook, without censoring anything, and tell them to go to town. There are pictures of me pretty wasted, or dressed in drag for RHPS, but nothing illegal. You have to be pretty damn stupid to advertise illegal activities on facebook.

If they have any kind of issue with my personal life it's grounds for a discrimination lawsuit. I double dare them to try.

And what exactly would you do about it?

 

[Blackjack200]

^^^

He'd probably call a lawyer who would explain that drunken idiots are not a protected class, so he can't sue the employer for not hiring him based on pictures of his drunken idiocy.

 

[purbeast0]

i dont see a problem with this at all. when i got hired at my current job they did an extensive background check, which included stuff i'm sure i wasn't aware of. it was for a clearance type of deal though.

if i had an issue with anything they were looking through, i simply could have walked away from the opportunity.

if you have an issue with it, walk away.

 

[darkswordsman17]

I stopped reading after the first 30 or 40 posts so someone might have covered this but....man, for being such a tech savvy forum, you guys are shockingly bad at Facebook.

1) You can't claim its not your Facebook account...they can search by your email address. What, someone is hijacking your entire life?

2) That said...just accept them as a friend and give them no access. Its that simple. As far as they know, your public profile looks exactly the same as your private. Its not like it flashes on your profile "HEY, YOU DON'T HAVE SUFFICIENT PERMISSIONS TO SEE THIS!!" its just not there.

This is simple....

1.) You can change your e-mail address, plus that's if they have the right e-mail address to search for.
2.) Actually it does. It says "This user only shares some information". Its not like you can't tell what info you're not seeing either.

So...

 

[RedCOMET]

The database is given. The personal investigators don't work for 2 reasons (1) they are too costly on the county level (but the fed and private industries dealing with confidential into still use them) and (2) they are like references on a resume...much less likely to find dirt from friends and family rather than random pictures posted on facebook from random friends of friends.

Yeah, true ... but doing it the cheap and lazy way ( ie facebook) does not paint a complete picture of who a person is. You want to know the good and the bad, but you should not nit pick things or take them out of context.. that just doesn't do anybody any good.. and things on facebook can be taken out of context.

At least on the SF 86 (electronic version) they don't ask for social media info.

 

[slag]

i do all that through email. facebook not needed.

Email is not needed. Its so much easier with facebook.

 

[Anonemous]

This thread reminded me about the time my coworker scoffed at me for using gmail because he said they read all your emails. Then he proceeds to go on FB to post his pics from partying the night before.

 

[darkswordsman17]

i dont see a problem with this at all. when i got hired at my current job they did an extensive background check, which included stuff i'm sure i wasn't aware of. it was for a clearance type of deal though.

if i had an issue with anything they were looking through, i simply could have walked away from the opportunity.

if you have an issue with it, walk away.

I agree with this, however, its getting to the point where Radioshack is gonna ask for your family lineage, 5 references, and all of your other info. I can't believe how willing people are to give their personal info away, and because they are so willing, places can get away with whatever they want.

Something that highlights this point is, my friends told me about a free sub promotion. So we go and first thing we're in a line and then we get handed PDAs. I don't really know what's going on so I look and its asking for social security numbers and information like that. I ask what this is for and don't get an answer and I'm just like WTF? Turns out, Citi Bank was doing some promotion where if you apply for a credit card they'd give you a free sub. Most people didn't know that and were just entering all that information for a free sub.

Its just gotten way too far and I've been told by a couple of places that saying you don't have a facebook account and things like that they assume you're lying and will toss your resume. And that refusing to give your personal info (places asking for usernames and passwords) or not friending them on Facebook is even worse.

 

[lxskllr]

I agree with this, however, its getting to the point where Radioshack is gonna ask for your family lineage, 5 references, and all of your other info. I can't believe how willing people are to give their personal info away, and because they are so willing, places can get away with whatever they want.

Something that highlights this point is, my friends told me about a free sub promotion. So we go and first thing we're in a line and then we get handed PDAs. I don't really know what's going on so I look and its asking for social security numbers and information like that. I ask what this is for and don't get an answer and I'm just like WTF? Turns out, Citi Bank was doing some promotion where if you apply for a credit card they'd give you a free sub. Most people didn't know that and were just entering all that information for a free sub.

Its just gotten way too far and I've been told by a couple of places that saying you don't have a facebook account and things like that they assume you're lying and will toss your resume. And that refusing to give your personal info (places asking for usernames and passwords) or not friending them on Facebook is even worse.

Big Brother is here, and people willingly let him into the house. A bloodless revolution. Disgusting...

 

[Gibson486]

She played her move wrong already.

She should've said she has no FB. If they ask, "Isn't that you?" You simply say no, someone else with same name.

They have like 12 matches of my name.

works for me....i am asian, with a common name, and to other people, we all look the same....

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Wasn't it in the news a year or two ago about some state or city government somewhere actually asking you for all your account information (email address/password, FB address/password, etc) on all their applications? Too lazy to search right now, but I remember a huge uproar and they finally relented and changed their application.

With that being said, I'd simply refuse to comply if they "required" me to accept a friend notice as part of a background check. Oh, and you guys saying "You can grant them access without showing them anything" are technically right, but if you go that route, you're setting yourself up because I am sure the "background check" requires full access and if they find out you didn't give them full access (through a mutual friend, for example), they might use that as grounds for termination. It just isn't worth working for a place like that -- you are entitled to a personal life.

Also, I know I don't need to tell AT this, but I'll mention it anyway. I had hiring access in our system (a VERY popular third-party portal used by hundreds of big companies), and the functionality is built right into the system to conduct web searches on candidates as a "background" check. So beware.

 

[SKORPI0]

works for me....i am asian, with a common name, and to other people, we all look the same....

I don't look anything like this guy. D:

Wow, can't believe that some companies use FB as a source for "reliable background checks".