Would you give your employer your facebook password if asked?
- Thread starter ace99
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AlpsStranger
Jump jump on the tiger!
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1) I don't use Facebook.
2) If I did I sure as hell wouldn't give an employer my password.
3) This kind of story makes me damn glad I don't use Facebook.
Now I'm not quite old enough not to get flack for not using Facebook so it's awkward for me sometimes, but I'll starve in the gutter before they're dragging me into this mess. If I had children to take care of I might have to play ball, but since I don't I have the luxury of telling them to get stuffed for things like this.
This kind of nonsense is exactly what I always hated/predicted about social networking, and I'm really proud that I was so correct about it.
2) If I did I sure as hell wouldn't give an employer my password.
3) This kind of story makes me damn glad I don't use Facebook.
Now I'm not quite old enough not to get flack for not using Facebook so it's awkward for me sometimes, but I'll starve in the gutter before they're dragging me into this mess. If I had children to take care of I might have to play ball, but since I don't I have the luxury of telling them to get stuffed for things like this.
This kind of nonsense is exactly what I always hated/predicted about social networking, and I'm really proud that I was so correct about it.
Mise
isle of lucy
No, obviously not, that's completely ridiculous.
Cheetah
Deity
I can imagine a few scenarios where I'm so desperate to get the job that I would have complied in the same way your friend did. I've never put a single punctuation on facebook that I didn't expect at some point to end up with my worst enemies, I really don't have anything there to hide.
But I'd consider that question so unprofessional that anyone stupid enough to hire me after asking it is really just asking for it. I'd jump ships again as soon as I found a reasonably equivalent job.
In the vast majority of cases however, I would simply laugh of the joke. If they were actually serious, I'd inform them that 1) they could open themselves up for lawsuits, 2) asking that question is among the worst kinds of unprofessionalism I've heard of and 3) I have very little interest in working with such people.
But I'd consider that question so unprofessional that anyone stupid enough to hire me after asking it is really just asking for it. I'd jump ships again as soon as I found a reasonably equivalent job.
In the vast majority of cases however, I would simply laugh of the joke. If they were actually serious, I'd inform them that 1) they could open themselves up for lawsuits, 2) asking that question is among the worst kinds of unprofessionalism I've heard of and 3) I have very little interest in working with such people.
I did it once before, when working for a govt agency that required a low level security clearance, and under very specific circumstances, I would do it again (and by do it, I mean show the account, not give the password, something I'd never ever ever do).
Digital and social media marketing is a major part of my job now. It isn't super uncommon for folks to ask to see various social media accounts, like FB and Twitter...not so much to see what they posted, but if they wrote regularly and had large personal networks. I imagine a social media marketer who doesn't really use social media might be a negative attribute.
I don't really like doing it though, and I don't think I'd ever go through with it again if the job description didn't explicitly call for facebook experience.
The only three jobs where I think this would be defensible would be things that require a particular security clearance, political organizing (where, like it or not, operative facebook profiles can become campaign issues), and a job where social media was part of the job description. I can see why a law firm would ask, but I wouldn't give them the info)
Digital and social media marketing is a major part of my job now. It isn't super uncommon for folks to ask to see various social media accounts, like FB and Twitter...not so much to see what they posted, but if they wrote regularly and had large personal networks. I imagine a social media marketer who doesn't really use social media might be a negative attribute.
I don't really like doing it though, and I don't think I'd ever go through with it again if the job description didn't explicitly call for facebook experience.
The only three jobs where I think this would be defensible would be things that require a particular security clearance, political organizing (where, like it or not, operative facebook profiles can become campaign issues), and a job where social media was part of the job description. I can see why a law firm would ask, but I wouldn't give them the info)
Smellincoffee
Trekkie At Large
Absolutely not. I despise the contempt businesses treat people and their lives with. Businesses and employers with such policies should be regarded with enmity and resistance.
Mise
isle of lucy
TBH I think if I were in an interview situation and this was the last thing they asked after an otherwise great interview, there's a good chance I'd say "sod it what's the harm" and show them my profile.
I use a random 32-character string as my facebook password though, so it might take a while to log in.
I use a random 32-character string as my facebook password though, so it might take a while to log in.
VRWCAgent is 5 years younger than I am, and I have a Facebook account. Of course all they'd find is a picture of my cat (the one I've used here as an avatar; it's my avatar there, too), numerous invitations and updates from friends on stupid games I never joined, the occasional "hello" to/from people, and a conversation with someone over why my cat has an obsession with licking plastic shopping bags (apparently one of the things they're made of is cornstarch). Other than miscellaneous "did you see that movie" questions and a few odd posts here and there about stuff that means absolutely nothing except to the person who sent it... well, that's all people would find. Unless somebody has posted something incredibly weird or awful since I deliberately used Ad Block Plus to prevent myself from accessing it (you can do that if you block images of things like log in buttons)... since I hate IE, I'm almost never tempted to respond to the occasional notification I get that "so-and-so has written on your wall."
The last time I friended somebody was when an old high school friend found me there. I accepted the invitation out of courtesy, but we've never interacted there. If he wants to chat, he can damn well email me directly.
I wonder how many interviewers might then say (before the walking out part), "Good. That was a test, and you passed. We would never hire anybody so willing to break confidentiality rules."
If you did it on one of their computers, they'd have the password anyway - unless before leaving the keyboard, you deleted all trace of your having accessed your account, including erasing any records made by keylogging software.
If anybody wants to see my relevant social media, I'd point them to my Cheezburger account. You don't need my password to see all the lols I've made or faved.
Honestly, has nobody in government ever considered FACEBOOK'S position on this? The rules state that they'll cooperate if ordered to by a court because of a criminal investigation of the user, but never for any other reason. Are all job applicants now to be classified as criminals?
What if the job description includes managing a facebook account?
Nobody in a job interview setting is going to lie to you and access your FB profile by using keystroke tracking software. Taking action on that information would be unethical as hell, and the exposure to bad publicity/possible lawsuit would outweigh the benefits.
Just log out when you're done.
Why does that matter?
It should be a crime to log into any online account that is not your own. Exceptions of course for family when assisting your parent or something. Probably be a nightmare bill to write to make it workable, but I think it would be worth the effort.
Privacy uber alles! (that works, yeah??)
Privacy uber alles! (that works, yeah??)
Considering it's unethical as hell to ask for the password in the first place, I sure wouldn't trust any company not to "take action on that information."
It's like I would never trust a Reform Party (they now call themselves "Conservatives") person doing the interviews for working for Elections Canada, after the time I was interviewed and asked if I was a Reform Party supporter. Questions like that are ILLEGAL, and the interviewer damn well knew it. Luckily I was able to skate around the question and let her draw her own (incorrect) conclusion. I didn't tell her where to go, because I needed the work. But I've never shied away from letting people know afterward that they were that sleazy.
'Cause it violates Facebook's rules and Terms of Service/Usage (whichever they call it)?
duckstab
Child of Noble Family
I wouldn't give it, and I wouldn't work for a company that required me to do so.
warpus
In pork I trust
I think you're forgetting that somebody asking you to provide them with your login and password to any site as a part of a hiring process is usually unethical already.
If they're already being unethical, how do you know how far they will go? They've already shown a willingness to engage in unethical and in some cases illegal behaviour.. not to mention putting you in a position where you are engaging in an activity that might see your facebook account suspended, technically speaking.
I would question the integrity of anybody who does something like this. If they pull something like this, what else are they doing that you don't know about?
'Cause it violates Facebook's rules and Terms of Service/Usage (whichever they call it)?
You know what, you're right. Sharing your password is explicitly mentioned in the terms of service. Based on that, yeah, no firm should ever ask somebody for their password. That's pretty shady.
If your FB account is private though, and an interview wanted to see it to make sure there wasn't any objectionable content, or to make sure you knew how to use FB, they could ask you to log in in front of them and review the content (which is what I imagine the person in the OP's scenario wanted to do), without violating FB's terms.
Cheezy the Wiz
Socialist In A Hurry
This. I have no wish to give any company the benefit of my services who dragoons its employees into divulging access to such personal information. Would they also ask for the front door key to my house?
rugbyLEAGUEfan
Deity
This, mainly for the use of dragoon as a verb. Very very cool.
I doubt Mise, or Lucy, or a good chunk people with sound security policies actually know their Facebook passwords. (And again, two-factor authentication should be enabled if you do know your password.)
I guess we could pull out our phones and show them on there...