Can I have your Facebook password?

If, “of course not,” was your answer, how would you tell this to a potential employer that is interviewing you? Yes, in recent news this question is being asked in interviews. How would you respond to this question and is the job worth giving up your personal information?

The article, “What to Do When a Potential Employer Asks for Your Facebook Password,” offers some advice of how to approach this situation. Companies doing this have a reason and that is to “get better insight on who you really are.” Some interviewers will ask you to take them through a tour of your Facebook right on the spot. Would you be willing to do this? You would think this would be banned, and currently it is, but only recently in the state of Maryland.

Since you do have the right to your own privacy and personal life, here are few suggestions of how to respond eloquently and respectively to an interviewer that wants the password to your computer from the above article:

• "I am very careful with my personal, private online persona and do not feel comfortable giving out any passwords. But you can feel free to look at my profile as it appears to you as a company right now, if you would like."
• "I would never participate in social media on the organization’s time and ask that the organization will respect my personal social media rights outside of work."
• "My LinkedIn network is a great place for you to review my professional experience and see the professional connections that I have that may be of benefit to your organization."
• "Is that something that is required to move forward with this job interview?"

As stated before, it is your personal life and your privacy so it is your choice of how you will respond to what I consider one of the toughest interview questions. In the end you really have to think about whether the job is worth it. Like the article asks, “Is it really worth it to you to have a job where you will be watched all the time?”

This is a recent issue and only one state has taken a stand, so with that being said, be prepared… you never know whether your future employers might want the password to your Facebook account.

Sharol Miller

Career Educator