Speak Out: Should Employers Have Access to Your Facebook During an Interview?

An Associated Press report this week profiled the experience of several job seekers who were asked for Facebook usernames and passwords when interviewing for prospective jobs.

The article stated that in cases where companies don’t ask for passwords to the popular social media site they will take other measures, such as asking interviewees to sign into their profiles during an interview.

Further, the article said people have been asked to sign non-disparagement agreements that bar them from posting negatively about their employers on social media websites like Facebook and Twitter. 

The practice of asking prospective employees for Facebook passwords is more common in public agencies like law enforcement or 911 dispatchers, according to the AP.

The article said that in nearby Spotsylvania County the sheriff’s department asks applicants to “friend” background investigators as a step in their background check.

Thursday, the Richmond Times-Dispatch published an article that said Virginia state trooper applicants are required to sign into their Facebook profiles – and other social media websites – during an interview.

Read the entire AP report here.

Tell us: Should employers be able to check your Facebook profile while interviewing you?