I’ll Show You Mine if You Show Me Yours
Yes, I’m a little late in the game, but it’s my frickin’ blog, and I’ll rant if I want to. Two weeks ago, the online world went batshit over the story of Roberts Collins being asked for his Facebook password during a reinstatement interview. Some articles suggest that it’s not cool, but it rarely happens, so calm down. Don’t tell ME to calm down (side note: does telling an angry person to calm down EVER work? I’m pretty sure it just adds jerk fuel to the rage fire).
Sadly, I almost need work bad enough....
First, if you want to get up in my business, then hand over your passwords, too. I mean, I should know who I’m going to be working for, right? Don’t want to choose an employer with undesirable political views or a fondness for American beer.
Second, this guy was getting reinstated after a leave of absence. I’m not sure I get the need for an interview (retraining, I would understand). How much could this guy have changed?
Third, his employer wanted to make sure he had no gang affiliations. Isn’t that what a criminal background check is for? I don’t know much about Maryland, but based on a recent study there’s several thousand gang members in the area. That means, that even a generous estimate would claim 1 out 650 people are a gang member. Based on my experience, there’s a much higher chance of being a misogynist, micromanager, or an energy vampire, all of which are sadly, rarely screened for. Dare I say (YES I DO!) that if he was a nerdy white girl, the same reasoning would not have been offered.
Fourth, I don’t need a job that bad (o.k., I do) but many people a) can’t afford to walk away from an interview and b) don’t know they can say no to this kind of thing. It’s exploitation. Period. The idea that an employer would and could not hire you because of what they find on your Facebook (or Twitter or WordPress) opens up a huge can of HR worms.
Last, as Jen and Tonic recently pointed out, Facebook may not be an accurate reflection of a person. My hatred of Nickelback does not reveal much about my multitasking abilities. I may love Hyperbole and a Half and Robot Chicken, but I promise it doesn’t affect my ability to write good copy or resist stealing other people’s luches from the office kitchen. My support for the Occupy Movement doesn’t mean I can’t do my job. But if you think it does, then I don’t want to work for you, and I certainly don’t think we should be Facebook friends.
SL,
You should blog more often.
(being told what to do is right there with being told to calm down, right?).
Le Chop Chop Clown
This is one time I agree with you. I have time management issues.
Sara, me too! Of course, I use my blog entries to avoid other stuff. You have other stuff that interferes. I think you are doing better. ;)
Thank you. That makes me smile (Clown can verify).
I second that nomination.
Um…wow! I don’t watch the news and haven’t been on FB, so I hadn’t heard of this. As far as I know, going on a leave of absence shouldn’t require an interview to come back. *IF* he had been gone long enough and they were trying to find a new position for him (in the case of the military or FMLA leave, they are required to have a position for you when you come back, but not the same one, as I understand it), they might have needed to inreview him for that. Since he was already employed by the company previously, they should have run any and all background checks previously. Even if he was going into a more security-conscious position, they should not have been asking this. If he needed security clearance for something, then the government would be asking the questions (and let’s not argue that one, please?). But the company shouldn’t have been asking at all.
They have the ability to Google the person’s name to see what they can find about their public behavior, but passwords? One of the reasons I don’t use my real name online is because the only way to get information about me is to know all of my aliases. Even then, they will not lead you to my personal information. If you look my legal name up, the only listings are on the background check websites (from multiple jobs) that you have to pay for or the white pages. So there’s no way I would give out my aliases, let alone passwords. If I was asked in a job interview, I would get up and walk out. If they asked me why, I would tell them that I don’t want to work for a company that wants to look in my underwear drawer.
Wow, people would really go nuts trying to find all the info about me, too. I don’t just have one alias online, I have several. I also plan on writing under multiple names because I write m/m erotica, straight erotica, sci-fi, sci-fantasy, and might try my hand at YA at some point. :) Granted I am not published, but I am planning on it. And there’s no way I want people to pick up an erotica book by accident because I use the same name. *lol*
I do think the situation is completely psychotic! What company was it for, do you know? I will definitely put them on the list for me to *NEVER* deal with.
I believe the job is one as a Security Guard. So yes, a criminal check would be understandable. Don’t need a hollywood style heist goin’ on. But Facebook?
You bring up a couple of good points. OUr rights over our own identity, as is the case with pseudonyms, and the issue with trust. Companies who do not trust their employees decay morale. Been there, don’t want to go back.
There’s also this (discussing illegality): My blog (about a medical condition) is connected to my FB. Neither of these items are attached to my legal name because…do I look nuts to you? Oh…wait. Okay, do I look *STUPID* to you? Invasion of privacy is a regular thing here in the US and I have been stalked before. So I don’t connect my legal name to any of it.
But, if a company requires I give this information and I am desperate enough to give it, they now have information about my medical condition and my ADA status. *ALL* of which is illegal for them to ask me. So if it is illegal for them to ask me about any of that, how is that different from asking for a password to a private account?
BTW, I hope you don’t mind if I link to this post for my post today? If you do, please let me know! I will remove said link. :)
Link away, my friend. And unless you’re calling really bad names (like Clown Fucker) then you don’t need my permission from here on in. I do appreciate the courtesy though. Makes you classy.
Classy? That’s the opposite of white trash, right?
Don’t ask me, I’m poor white trash. Clean clothes are classy to me.
Hmmm…I do currently have clean clothes. Can’t always guarantee it. My laundry pile looks similar to the Fraggle Rock monster thing I remember. I think it was Fraggle Rock…Could also be similar to the piles of trash in The Fifth Element.
I read today a woman got fired because she did NOT give her password..
Sara(sans the h)- I’m with you, no way in hell I would want to work for people that either did not trust me or were so insecure as a company they have to invade my measly FB page..
I’d get fired before I got hired because I would flip the switch..This I know..
That has got to be illegal. I read that ASKING for passwords isn’t illegal, but firing someone who already has a position? I hope she runs them through the HR wringer.
And a company that doesn’t trust it’s people is not a healthy company. Mis and distrust are poison. I’m not saying let everyone borrow from the petty cash, but why the need to look over my shoulder all the time?
I know for a fact that anyone who would demand that kind of invasion of privacy as part of job screening is someone I don’t want to work for. Period. It’s a job, not my personal life, for cryin’ out loud.
Anything that is publicly available and attached to your identity on the Interwebs is fair game for employers to Google up and consider when they’re examining candidates. That’s just reality. Anything that is password-protected, anonymized, pseudonymized, etc, is NOT fair game. Long traditions of patriotic dissent and all.
Blah blah blah. I’m not in a ranty mood but I’m wholeheartedly in agreement.
And yes. BLOG MOAR! Love the illustrations, too. They make me all eager to read the post.
Write on!
Right on!
I think if we have to show all our private parts to employers, that can only lead to people being not themselves in their private lives. I could do up my FB profile to make me a genius/superstar but that does not necessarily make it so. Also, I prefer if my gang affiliations are not known.
Simple for me. You ask me in an interview if you can have my Facebook password (there have been a few Canadian articles, which I can’t locate right now, that have pointed out that it is highly unlikely this would happen in Canada) and I simply say to you, “Well, as it happens, I only have people on Facebook who I’m comfortable with seeing pictures of my children. Given that I don’t know you that well, you would not qualify. Thank you very much for your time today.”
And, yes, you should blog more often.
I will find those articles. It seems that those south of the border do have different experiences than us when it comes to things like “rights”.
And thanks, I’ll work on it.
Here you go (I actually looked this time):
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20120326/labour-laws-canadians-facebook-snooping-120326/
http://www.yorku.ca/ddoorey/lawblog/?p=5033
Essentially, it comes down to asking for Facebook and other such passwords being the same as asking questions about age, marital status, sexual orientation, etc. during the interview.
The problem remains, though, that discrimination does happen and it’s difficult to prove. Further, the vast majority of us do not have the resources to pursue such a case.
(Oh, and sorry if this posts twice. I tried from my phone, but it doesn’t appear to have worked.)
Wow. I had read about this too. All they would find out about me on Facebook is that I never look at my Facebook page or post anything on it. the former head of HR at my workplace keeps trying to friend me and I keep ignoring it. Hopefully she gets the point someday.
It’s a slippery slope, that one. Friends/colleagues/bosses etc. To each their own. If somebody wants to be inundated with status updates from their supervisor, so be it. I hope that your HR lady does get the hint…
I like to believe that it’s usually harmless, but then again, I’m pretty loose with my facebook. It hasn’t bitten me in the ass yet….
First, getting that little pingback from this post made me wet myself a little. Not a ton, but the amount of pee that comes out when senior citizens sneeze.
Second, I’ve determined that I would make the interviewer tell me what the “greatest strength” and “greatest weakness” is in his/her argument for why I should give my password up. I would then discuss with my colleagues and get back to him/her in a few days.
Don’tchya love a good pinging?
I’m gonna try that in my next interview….though I don’t leave the house and I shun the phone…so it may be awhile.
Yours in slightly soiled underpants,
s
Ugh. That’s redunculous. I didn’t even hear about this. I guess I’ve been in a smaller bubble these days. Thanks to you now I know. Blegh, I can’t even apply for work at the moment without ICE coming down on me with handcuffs. hehe.
And you mean handcuffs in a bad way, right?
Of course, in your situation, finding work is way more complicated. Sadly, I think it’s people in difficult situations that would be most affected by something like this.
We have a problem with sketchy landlords here in Montreal. They break a lot of laws when screening tenants. I was once asked for my bank account number and the make of my car. HUH? And people do it, because we feel powerless.
Your bank account number? What in the fuckin fuck? I agree, they see desperation and use it to milk the person dry while violating their rights.
Great post Sara. I love the drawing. Hypothetical Punch Recipient, hahaha. I agree that you should blog more often. I enjoy reading your prose. But hey, no pressure.
I don’t feel pressure when I’m this drunk.
And sir, if I make you laugh, then I can die happy-ish.
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Here you go (I actually tried this time). Essentially, it violates rights the same way asking about age, marital status, sexual orientation, etc. during the interview would.
http://www.yorku.ca/ddoorey/lawblog/?p=5033
http://m.ctv.ca/topstories/20120326/labour-laws-canadians-facebook-snooping-120326.html
The problem remains, though, that discrimination in interviews happens all the time. Part of the trouble is proving it; the bigger trouble is that the vast majority of us simply don’t have the resources to pursue any suspected wrong-doing.
I’m happy to be Canadian. Seems our kith and kin south of the border have it a lot harder than we do, on many levels.
Sadly, like you said, it’s a situation ripe for exploitation.
Cool doodle Sara and great article. I too think you should blog more often.
This is a super sickening tendency. It makes me really angry. I can’t believe anyone would go along. But it looks like they do… which is even worse.
Thank you, my Carribean friend (Eric told me you’re from the Netherland Antilles, which I had to Google…and are NOWHERE near the Netherlands).
Sadly, it’s the people that need to be protected the most from exploitation that are usually exploited. It’s bullying, if you ask me.
Netherlands is quite far from here really. But there is a lot of Dutch island spread all over the good ole West Indies.
It is bullying indeed. It is misuse of power. It’s disgusting really. Intimidating and totally trespassing peoples privacy. They know people are fucking desperate to get a job, of course some will say… oh what the heck. It’s so wrong. They also mentioned getting into peoples emails account. When are they gonna ask for access to bankaccount? It surprised me, that some were more willing to cooperate, if they were asked in the interview session, to log on. That’s so sneaky. Computers have little programs to save logged passwords.
This is wrong. So wrong.
I can’t imagine anyone hiring me as an accountant if I was willing to hand out my username and password. How could they view me as a trustworthy candidate that wants to maintain internal controls? So stupid.
Sure I’ll give you my password and I’ll leave the checks and petty cash in an unlocked drawer if you want to access them whenever you feel the need. Sure thing.
I’m so going to use this as a “trick question” when I screen applicants next time! Which will probably be never. But a girl can dream.
“Never tell a girl to calm down! Guys always tell girls to calm down and it never works, it just gets us all whipped up! You see me all whipped up now? It’s all because you told me to calm down!“
(My favorite line from iCarly ever.)
True dat.
Screw anyone who thinks they have a right to my password. They can beat it straight to hell. Sorry, but you got me kinda pissed there…I had no idea this incident had happened, and I never imagined anyone could ask for a password. I thought it was illegal. Love your blog…nice to meet you..sorry it was under the circumstances of a rights violation…GAWD!
Sisters in boiling blood! It’s lovely to meet you to, under any circumstances.
this is ALSO so feckin’ awesome. “just adds jerk fuel to the rage fire”. stop it. do you know how may people do that to me throughout the day?! lol. and yes to everything you’ve said and yes to your drawings (god, i wish i could draw) and the whole, they don’t screen for being a “micromanager, energy vampire, or lady-hater” – oh, OH! I wanted to wrap you up in a bow and take you out for a stroll. so good, SO good. she-sus, good stuff. you’re a powerhouse.
What a great post! I found your blog while searching for other writers who had used the phrase “I don’t want to work for you” because I am getting ready to write a really angry rant about my industry and why I’d rather work for myself. This was inspiring.
And I agree, there are many bad traits that companies don’t screen for. We must choose our bosses wisely.
Thank you! Interestingly, there’s not much recourse for an employee hoping to screen potential employers. I think if bosses (and landlords, etc) had to submit their resumes to us, things would change pretty fast. I wish you well in your writing. It takes courage to speak up!
Rock on Sara!!! I love a good rant. I do a little ranting myself, and anyway this is so valid. It is a tough world right now for people looking for work, and sadly some can’t afford to walk away and must endure the humiliation. Shame shame shame.
Well said, Dani. It is shameful. Exploitation at best.