# What if a prospective employer requires your SDMB log-in info? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 24, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-prospective-employer-requires-your-sdmb-log-in-info/616662 "2012-03-24T02:02:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-prospective-employer-requires-your-sdmb-log-in-info/616662/41 "2012-03-24T22:13:04Z")
Yeah, going on an actual crime spree and doing all you can to fuck over your current employer is a winning longterm stragtegy. ---
**Author:** ![living\_in\_hell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@living\_in\_hell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/living_in_hell)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-prospective-employer-requires-your-sdmb-log-in-info/616662/42 "2012-03-25T04:00:00Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > If you have my 2+ decades of experience and advanced degree(s) and experience successfully managing more than 100 projects and working at more than 600 job sites and professional and industry certifications in the US and abroad and government security clearance(s) and teaching experience in 20+ countries and at 3 universities and industry contacts and 100+ published papers and 12 books and a willingness to work 50-60 hour weeks every week, even working on Christmas freaking morning without pay or any comp time, sure. What, do you think jobs just come at random to people? Keeping a job and keeping attractive in the workplace is a second full-time job all of its own, every goddamn week. > > I was explaining why I would feel free to tell the hypothetical prospective employer in the OP why they could fuck off. I’m unaware that we have to limit all our posts to a binary answer with other information lest somehow someone be offended in some way. > > The scale also tips the other way. Less than two years ago my job was highly insecure and no one was hiring, and at one point I was probably within 2 weeks of being on the streets with no prospects at all, spending the last of my accumulated vacation time to pad my hours - spending all my vacation to work during the day to find new work. I didn’t see much sympathy then - in fact, fuck-all - when I mentioned that on here. :dubious: > > I understand you’re in a bad place, but there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it. Your snark was unwarranted. Hopefully when you post that you have found a new job and things are looking positive for you in a troubled economy, no one will come in and dump on you to make you feel bad on a Saturday morning. Wasoneofyourjobswritingrunonsentences? ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-prospective-employer-requires-your-sdmb-log-in-info/616662/43 "2012-03-25T04:43:36Z")
> [@living\_in\_hell](#): > > Wasoneofyourjobswritingrunonsentences? This is a warning for you, **living in hell**. If you want to attack other posters over posts in any way, you can start a thread in the BBQ Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-prospective-employer-requires-your-sdmb-log-in-info/616662/44 "2012-03-25T04:50:50Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > In any event, my feeling is that at that exact moment I really didn’t give a shit about the job anymore and I would ask the person “why would you want to know that?” (followed by a rapid end to the interview.) > > And yes, I know what it’s like to be unemployed and broke and feeling like if I don’t get the job I will never eat again. My feelings exactly. If they mention a site specifically they’ll require log-in information, depending on the site I’ll just lie. If they require Facebook information, I’ll gladly tell them I don’t have a Facebook account and defy them to find my profile. Worst they can do is find my profile, see that I was lying and not hire me, which I planned for anyway since I suddenly stopped caring about that job the second they earnestly asked for my information. If they mention Google Plus, where my profile is far more open to the public I’ll just straight up tell them they’re not getting my information. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-prospective-employer-requires-your-sdmb-log-in-info/616662/45 "2012-03-25T06:23:52Z")
Sure, my username is Chronos. I’m a smart motherfucker. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-prospective-employer-requires-your-sdmb-log-in-info/616662/46 "2012-03-25T06:54:24Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Sure, my username is Chronos. I’m a smart motherfucker. Brilliant! ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-prospective-employer-requires-your-sdmb-log-in-info/616662/47 "2012-03-25T07:10:56Z")
After not getting the job, I’d sign up an account under the interviewer’s name and describe my incestuous coprophilic beastialic necrophiliac tendencies. Oh yeah, and anime! ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-prospective-employer-requires-your-sdmb-log-in-info/616662/48 "2012-03-25T07:18:22Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Sure, my username is Chronos. I’m a smart motherfucker. I thought you were Spartacus. And I too am Spartacus. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-prospective-employer-requires-your-sdmb-log-in-info/616662/49 "2012-03-25T07:20:12Z")
No. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-prospective-employer-requires-your-sdmb-log-in-info/616662/50 "2012-03-25T07:36:45Z")
I liked WhyNot’s answer in the other thread: “Why, I sure wouldn’t want to expose you to that kind of liability. My profile contains information pertaining to protected classes. I wouldn’t want to put you in that position.” ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-prospective-employer-requires-your-sdmb-log-in-info/616662/51 "2012-03-25T07:38:31Z")
I don’t have any problem, generally, with anyone stalking me online. I don’t have any secrets online that would cause me any problems; I try to be courteous, and keep most references to specific people or incidents vague or positive. But I sure do have a problem with this on principle. It’s none of their damn business, especially at interview stage, but really at any stage, what I do or say online. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-prospective-employer-requires-your-sdmb-log-in-info/616662/52 "2012-03-25T16:04:44Z")
Facebook actually came out saying they are going to consider suing employers who do this…so one response could be “you know I don’t mind giving you my password, but just so you’re aware Facebook has made it their policy to consider litigation against employers who do this sort of thing…just thought you might like to know this policy could end up with a multibillion dollar company suing you.” Of course FWIW, I’ve had my facebook profile set for years so that you can’t find me via search. I think the only way to find me is to find one of my friend’s on facebook and I believe I will show up on their profile under their list of friends (I don’t think you can keep yourself from showing up on lists like that.) However because of my account privacy settings even if you click on _that_ link, you come to a profile with just a first and last name and no information, no picture, no location or etc…so they would not even know definitively if it was my profile or not. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-prospective-employer-requires-your-sdmb-log-in-info/616662/53 "2012-03-25T17:36:16Z")
Fuck to the no. It’s bad enough that they want to SEE your online accounts. But to have password access? Hideously inappropriate invasion of privacy and none of their fucking business. I’m also not giving them the keys to my house/car, my checkbook/credit cards, or an accounting of my menses schedule. I’m so glad I’m self-employed. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-prospective-employer-requires-your-sdmb-log-in-info/616662/54 "2012-03-25T19:34:27Z")
> [@Darryl List](#): > > After not getting the job, I’d sign up an account under the interviewer’s name and describe my incestuous coprophilic beastialic necrophiliac tendencies. Oh yeah, and anime! First request: “Could you send that requirement to me in an email please? I’ve always been happy to comply with my employers policies. Just list the accounts you’d like information on it by username. Thank you!” A nice camera phone pic of the person asking at this point could be helpful. “Mind if I post this…?” Also, I’d save that email if/when it comes. Any listed accounts will show exposure of what they know vs what they don’t, which in the long run will help you get a job. Transfer the phone pic & copy / strip all IDing file points/strings/dates attached to its origin. Photo-shop to taste (“…No, no, no, don’t think of it as work. The whole point is just to enjoy yourself.”). Next, follow through on your idea to every porn site, newsgroup, alt group out there. Post it up on those sites from an email created in that person’s name, listing preferences, name, position, title, office location, company email, landline and extension in case the reader likes “phone”. Next, research the company for any/all officers and the names of all board of directors; its a pretty easy thing to do. Then remember that all of those people are given courtesy emails that are something like “[John.Suit@companyinvolved.com](mailto:John.Suit@companyinvolved.com)” and that most monitor (or have someone monitor) them. Using anon throw away accounts, email links to all these names in firstname.lastname at the company’s domain with a header like “I think you have a problem in HR that you may not know about…” Adding a screen-shot with the link will make the reader more curious. (…presentation is important, after all. 😉 ) The trick is not to let companies cull the workforce into their political agenda or oblivion. The trick is to cull the workers of that company who would enforce such a culling away from the ability to create or enforce policy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-a-prospective-employer-requires-your-sdmb-log-in-info/616662.md?page=2)