What to Do if a Company Asks for Your Facebook Password in a Job Interview - CareerEnlightenment.com

But when Justin Bassett, a statistician based in New York, was asked for his Facebook password he refused. And so should you. Many states are already in the process of introducing legislation against this practice, and if you live in Illinois and or Maryland, such legislation already exists.How to Protect Your Privacy in a Job SearchAs our economy makes its baby steps towards recovery, chances are that fewer people will “need” to find a job that desperately. Assuming your situation is not dire (and it’s probably not, the unemployment rate for people with bachelors degrees or higher is only around 4.5%), here are some responses you can memorize and use in an interview just in case they ask.I take my agreements very seriously. And it is against Facebook’s user policy to share my password with anyone else. I’m going to have to respectfully decline your request.I’m sure your firm has a social media policy. Well, it is my own social media policy to use Facebook for personal re asons. I mean no offense, but I’m going to have to decline.Privacy is a very serious matter for me. Should I be employed with your organization, I would honor private company information just as seriously as I honor my own. Even if this means losing a great opportunity for me, I must refuse your request. And know that if I were presented with a similar situation with your private information, I would respond in the same way.I wouldn’t want to jeopardize your organization’s standing with  OFCCP’s regulations about asking about kids or other protected private matters in the course of an employment decision. Therefore, if you don’t mind, I’d prefer to keep my Facebook profile private. However, should you and I become friendly after my employment, I would have no problem having you in my  network. (Note: please see my post on  how to deal with nosy bosses on Facebook)I will leave you with one final thought. Never forget that Facebook owns your data no matter what â€" and it takes up to seven days for them to remove deleted information from their database.When you use social media you are a publisher. Never forget that. When people complain that they now have to “watch their step” with every post, welcome to reality. That’s the way it always was. And I think these issues are arising precisely because we are all maturing in our use and our understanding of social media.