Applying for a job? Show your Face(book)...

Should you have to open up your Facebook page to a prospective employer? Has any prospective (or current) employer asked you to do so?

This is the current "hot potato" in the HR world right now.

What would you do, if the personnel guy (or gal) asked for your Facebook password or asked you during an interview to open up your Facebook page for inspection? Would you say "This "blankety-blank" interview is over. You can take this job and stuff it."

Wait, you're trying to get the job; right? Suppose the employer asks about your family situation - are you married? Do you have children? Are you pregnant? Are you disabled? What church do you attend?

Huntley P.D. apparently requires an applicant to open up his Facebook page. Does any other P.D. in McHenry County do so?

The director of the McHenry County HR office says the County doesn't do any checking of Facebook information. Yeah, sure....  If a person's Facebook page is open, why not read it? If it's full of foul language and disrespectful remarks, why not know in advance what kind of person is being considered? If the Facebook person allows others to post "inappropriate" comments and leaves them on his page, what does that say about the person? I say, "What you see is what you get." You can tell a lot about a person from his friends and his (FB) Friends.

If you like the sound of Illinois House Bill 3782 (passed 78-30), contact your Illinois Senator now and ask for a positive vote, when the Senate bill comes up for a vote. This bill would prohibit employers from demanding passwords or ordering workers or applicants to sign onto their accounts for review by management.

Thanks to NWH reporter Chris Cashman for including the House Bill number in the article.