"Password please...."

There’s lots of noise these days about prospective employers asking job applicants for their Facebook passwords during interviews.  Expect an escalation of these sorts of privacy issues in the future, because the stakes are high and the social contracts that bound employers and employees in the past are extinct. Folks are going to be lining-up on privacy issues in the workplace in smash-mouth fashion, like opposing NFL offensive and defensive lines.

Hint to prospective employees: If a potential employer asks you for a Facebook password or for other information that is very close to ‘the line’ during the hiring process, you can expect the same behavior and attitude to continue once you are an employee. 

One objective in a job interview is to determine the ‘fit’ of the candidate to the company and the job.  Determining that fit is a two-way street.  The candidate must also decide if the company is right for them.  If you feel uncomfortable being asked for your password, refuse to give it.  And if that ends the interview, then so be it.  There is no fit.  Better to make this determination early on than years later, when you realize you’ve given a piece of your life to a soul-killing company in exchange for ‘a living.’ 

When enough great job applicants say ‘no thanks’ to companies that are trust-busting in the opening stages of the employer/employee relationship, those companies will stop saying, “password please” during interviews.