Candidate asked for Facebook login, interview privacy abused

These guys weren’t asked for their Facebook login

Interview privacy

Interview privacy is abused. Yes, during an interview. The candidate was asked for his Facebook login information.  Right there in the middle of the interview.  WTF!  This move takes some big-ass brass cojones! What happened to interview privacy?

I cannot believe this. Am I getting punked?  Is this an HR joke?  Is it not April 1 yet?  HR wonders why they have a bad reputation.  I will tell you why.  Because of SHIT LIKE THIS!  This move has taken HR back to the circa Mad Men era of HR and is only reinforcing HR’s reputation, as highlighted in the classic article that made the cover of Fast Company magazine in 1997: ‘Why We Hate HR. ‘

If this wasn’t someone from HR and was a hiring manager, I still blame this on HR

I understand that times are tough, the economy is struggling, and candidates need to make concessions during the interview process.  Some folks are taking jobs for which they are overqualified. Others are taking a pay cut.  To add insult to injury, let’s ask for your Facebook login credentials.  Petty.  In the immortal words of Run-DMC, “your mouth is moving fast and your brain is moving slow, you be illin.”

Unions were formed back in the day to protect employees from abusive employers who knew better and didn’t care.  “Yes, sir, thank you, sir. Can I have another, please?”

If you have plenty of options, decline

In this case, the candidate withdrew from the interview process, explaining that they did not want to be interviewed by a company that would request personal information.  Good for you!  Do not sell your soul to the man!  The candidate is a statistician, and based on the demand for this skill set, they likely have numerous opportunities.  They didn’t need to put up with this bullshit.  I would have given them my username and password and attempted to secure the job, intending to decline it at the last minute after I had dragged the process out as long as possible. 

Even as I type, I am trying to figure out if I would tell them why I am declining the position.  Do I want to help these people? I should let Darwinism weed them out of the corporate evolution.  Maybe these folks aren’t dumb. Perhaps they are brilliant and ahead of their time.   Will this be standard practice in 10 years, just like a background check?  But right now, it isn’t, and I can only imagine that the Best Place to Work award isn’t on this company’s radar. Respect interview privacy, please.

Company short-sightedness

• There is a good chance that the candidate who hands over their login info is either naïve, desperate, or both.  I don’t want to hire either.  (Never appear desperate)
• If they hand over their password, are they happy about it?  Do they trust the company moving forward?  Is Big Brother reading my email?
• The person who declines this request has options.  This person will attend the competition and likely be motivated to crush you.
• If they decline you, they will likely share the incident with all their friends, just like any other bad service-related story.  DOH!! They already did!  Bet they posted the incident on Facebook with a picture of the company logo and a caption.

Because there are so many ways to run a legit background, this smacks of HR being petty and lazy.  Let’s face it: if you need to pull this move, you shouldn’t be interviewing, and you shouldn’t be in HR.

Rats will leave a sinking ship, and this rat didn’t even get on the boat

Do I check Facebook when I am going on a blind date?  Absolutely!  I have posted about it here.

The above post discusses leveraging your Facebook profile picture as a tool to help you secure a job.  We know recruiters will check your Facebook page, so give them what they’re looking for.  Please use a profile picture that does not include blank boxes or cartoon characters. Please use an image that is big enough to see who you are.

But flat-out asking for login info seems a little Orwellian. As the article suggests, why not request login information for the candidate’s Gmail account?  Why stop there?  The party is just getting started!  Credit Card statements?  Blood work?  Who knows, maybe this place was Employer of the Universe and had stellar candidates coming out of their ass.  This company offers an on-site massage therapist and a rock-climbing wall.  This company has an ice cream truck in the lobby serving free Dove Bars.  We are not Philistine people!!!

Login vs background check

  I will be the first to admit that, beyond the privacy issues, it is a gray area.

But it is HR’s job to decipher the grey and keep the business of people issues confidential.  HR is about respecting employee privacy and solving people’s problems while keeping the noise in a soundproof box.

HR is supposed to foster trust.  Asking for login info doesn’t give me much confidence.  We conduct background checks to protect our co-workers and the business from potential crime and fraud.   Maybe I am in a same-sex relationship and not ready to share that info.

Give your age when asked

In prior posts, I have taken the position that if a candidate is asked to reveal their age, the answer should be given with no hesitation here.  The same HR group that asks for login info isn’t holding interview training, and we don’t want to give up an opportunity because some uninformed line managers didn’t know about interview privacy.

This takes dumbass to a whole new level of ass.    This isn’t just dumbass, this is Dumb and Dumber dumbass.  Interviewing is like dating. This interviewer just got their hand slapped at first base.   In the first few dates of a new relationship (the interviewing phase), you don’t go into your date’s home looking to pull out the picture albums and the shoebox of mementos from prior relationships.  This is something you are invited to see (after years of trust), not something you demand to invade.

Awkward

If the password is provided, do they review all the pictures, timelines, and comments and ask the candidate to explain everything on the spot? ” Uhh, what are you doing here?”  “Who is this?”  “Ooooohh, that’s a nice picture.”

Can we say “awkward” . .  .

I am sure that this situation is an outlier. I can picture a gaggle of HR folks sitting around the lunch table having this conversation.

HR person #1: What happened to that Statistician candidate you were talking to?  That candidate seemed solid. 

HR Dumbass:  Oh, they dropped out.  They no longer wanted to interview with us. 

HR person #1:  Really?  What happened?  What changed their mind?

HR Dumbass: Not sure I asked them some questions about Facebook, and they said I was invading their privacy.

HR Person #1:  Invading their privacy?  Are they serious?  Do they want the job or not?   Did they not see the ice cream truck in the front lobby?

FWIW, I get it. I am sure this interviewer “didn’t know any better.”  No one is waking up thinking, I am going to offend some bitches today. It’s still HR’s fault. 

See you at the after party,

HRNasty

nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone who is good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.

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