First off – I have been posting some on Facebook lately and am still working on getting it all connected. I encourage you to follow FireStarter Speaking and Consulting on Facebook….some people have had a hard time finding it though so you can email me your Facebook name and I will find you. I will not give you my passwords.

NOW FOR BREAKING AND ENTERING….What would you do if a potential employer said during the interview “Let’s drive to your house, I want to look inside and look in your cabinets and files?” I am guessing you would say no. But that is exactly what many employers and schools are doing when they ask for your password information for Facebook and other online accounts, and I for one, that it is wrong. Are there no limits?

I am hugely in favor of background checks by prospective employers and also am in favor of them looking you up online and checking out your public postings. In fact, as an employer, if you do not do this you are missing an important part of the hiring process. While I do think a firm should do their homework in the selection process I am not fan of starting off on tack that of mistrust. Requiring passwords as a condition of employment is just that.

It is an employers market these days. High unemployment makes people do things and giving passwords is one of those things. Would you want your boss watching over you while you sleep? yikes!! I cannot imagine asking someone to do this as an employer and do think it sends a poor message about trust. Maybe I am wrong but that is where I am on this and I hope the new legislation proposed to end this intrusive hiring practice passes.

But this isn’t about politics or legislation it is about a workplace built on trust and respect. Demanding passwords isn’t that.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 28th, 2012 at 7:13 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.