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Today I had a job interview. I already knew that the woman was very religious - I checked her FB page. I was heartened by the fact that she called me in despite my, obviously Jewish, last name.

Well...she asked me if I had a FB and told me that it is the first thing she checks about prospective hires.

I rushed home and made damn sure that there are now no Atheist or Humanist or anti-Republican posts that are public!!

My daughter had done the same cleanup when she was looking for teaching jobs - an abundance of caution.

Anyone here do the same?

AmiSue 8 Apr 24
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36 comments

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0

I could never get a job that I was educated for because I refused to join any Religious, Political or Educational Alumni as a end to my means of pursuit. I ended up in a Construction Union for 25 years where I was able to enjoy the challenge of a new adventure every year. You were basically challenged with a different situation every day because as we would always comment that no two jobs are the same. They never were and when we did it their way we made more money and never were resentful concerning the concede. We walked away with a little more in our pockets to have to go and find another adventure. We lived by the motto that you were only as good as your last 5 minutes and you could get laid off at any time without notice. That was a challenge and a very memorable learning experience.

9

My Facebook only shows my profile picture and my name. I make sure to triple check my privacy settings all the time

6

You do NOT have to give them access to your Facebook page. They cannot ask for it according to the the Dept of Labor. They came and gave all the hiring managers in my compsny a course on what we could and could not ask for.

6

I would not share my FB with anyone on demand. Nope.

I thought that sounded weird

@AmiSue Oy. jeezus indeed ...

5

I should probably have a second Facebook page filled with nothing but cats and motivational quotes.

5

It is sad that we have to do that. To answer your question no. I will not hide my atheism from anyone including an employer. If they would not want me because of religion or lack of religion they are not someone I will work for.
I understand not everyone can do that. It's a line I draw in the sand and if it costs me a job then so be it.

5

Good luck Ami! I hope you get it!

Duke Level 8 Apr 24, 2018
5

I don't use my real name for Facebook, nor do I give prospective employers my Facebook.

d_day Level 7 Apr 24, 2018
4

I have my Facebook account locked down so nobody can see my friends list or likes/follows, and only friends (and not even all of them) can see my posts. I'm probably overly private, but I don't want the world all up in my business.

4

Mine is private.

3

I am not going to scrub anything. As a citizen I have every right to have no religious beliefs. And if someone does not hire me for that, they can piss off. I am tired of the hypocrisy and one way bias.

3

My profile is restricted to only those I am friends with. If allowing access to my FB was a requirement I'd likely pass on that opportunity.

3

Only my friends can see my posts. And I won’t friend anyone I work with.

Same here. As soon as I had a kid my profile went "friends only" and I deleted a LOT of people I didn't actually know well. Can't be too careful.

@bokononist that’s for damn sure.

3

Never had anyone check my FB - its an invasion of privacy.

3

I'm not too wise in the Face Book world but wouldn't you have to friend her before she could check out our profile. In most states it is illegal to consider online profiles as part of the interview process.

2

@amiSue Interesting... I knew that companies look at social media pages. I have a linked in and my FB profile is not accessible to non-friends.

I wonder what the ethics are if someone is not hired because of a comment, post or "like" they made on social media.

2

Create a second profile using your middle initial or lack there of. Make it a “Clean” page and give them that profile, keep your real one to yourself

2

I think that the majority have said it well. Only allow friends to see your profile. That said, I've never hidden my atheism, nor do i wear it on my sleeve. If the subject comes up, I'm open about my belief / disbelief. So far it hasn't hurt my working relationships or friendships with those of a religious affiliation. Perhaps I'm lucky?

2

My fb is not public, I use my nick name, not my "professional" nom de guerre. My hometown listed is not where I live & I use an avatar, not a profile pic. The accompanying email address is not my professional or my normal email address. I do not place my current or former employers in my bio either. They can look all they want. If the position

The salary would have to be incredibly fat for me to consider working for such a person. Once on the payroll, I imagine there would be quite a bit of oversight. Being "on" day in & day out is exhausting.

2

Except in certain regulated websites (I.e not allowing google searches to show my name and the content of individual posts) I try to control much of my online presence and frequently google myself to see what comes up.

2

Dunno. In my case, if they don't accept my liberal, agnostic views then I don't want to work for them in the first place.

@AmiSue That's the point. If a workplace makes an issue of my private beliefs, that is a violation of my privacy and I don't want to work for such a place.

2

Nope. I am what I am, I do what I do, I think what I think.

Somebody wants to check out all my pages/profiles, great. Maybe they'll learn something. I'm consistent.

2

Whatever you have to do to make an honest living... is okay with me. I am retired and honest I never said anything denigrading toward my job. Never identified me with my feelings about god, religion or church... because I have no feeling toward any of those things, out of the picture, out of mind, not in a war with any superstition. Wishing you the Best of Luck in your job hunt!!!

1

I'll never understand why people hand over their social media to employers when asked. Why not just say you don't use social media? Or create a false profile? So easy to circumvent.

@AmiSue you can make your profile private so that no one can find you who isn't already a friend. And/or the create a false profile if need be.

1

sad that you have to do that. I'm sure they don't scrub off there religious bullshit when they want a job.

1

I wouldn't. I would rather be passed over for being honest than work where I feel the need to hide from co-workers.

I do work in education, science museum, in South Carolina... So I don't discuss my personal beliefs openly with the public, but I won't lie. Only two out of 5 of us are religious. So for once athiests are the slight majority.

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