I'm telling you the truth...(READ THIS WITHOUT FAIL!)

THOUGHT: The most important TIP you should in searching and/or applying for a job online is this:

TAKEAWAYS: NEVER, EVER, EVER, AND NEVER SUBMIT YOUR #SSN TO COMPLETE ONLINE APPLICATIONS. THIS INFORMATION CAN BE STORED ON THE CLOUD OR EXTENDED TO OTHER EXTERNAL/INTERNAL SYSTEMS!

TIPS: You should be able to apply for a job online with job search systems, outlets, media or platforms which DO NOT require your #SSN to process you resume application.

Your #SSN is known as your...

Personally identifiable information (PII), or Sensitive Personal Information (SPI), which is used in US privacy law and information security. Your PII, is information that can be used on its own or with other information (attached) to identify, contact, or locate a person, or to identify an individual in context.

Protect your #SSN at ALL TIMES!

I Believe You Can...!

I have a question to anyone who can answer. Twice now in the past week I have submitted resume's to 2 companies that posted the job I was applying for as " Direct Hire", and after initial phone interviews, both directed me to different temporary job services, where I was also required to fill out a lot of personal information through a site called E-mail Validation/DocuSign. This seemed kinda fishy to me since I was under the assumption these were Direct Hire posted positions and I wasn't even interviewed personally yet, let alone confirmed Hired which was a required field in the DocuSign forms. Not to mention they also wanted #SSN and bank account information. Is this normal practice? I have sent e-mails to both companies requesting clarification on these issues and have yet to hear back from either of them. Any insight would be helpful. Is this a bait and switch tactic? Both places seemed very interested in my qualifications.

Hello beautiful people!!!! You know, today I was applying for jobs opportunities, (on line of course)...two of them ask me for my social security number!!!!! HOW CAN IT BE?? I'm not employee yet!! For what?? I cannot finished the applications. That is illegal. Am I right?

I wanted to apply for a position in Target, and they are asking for a lot of personal info like SS#, Mothers maiden name etc. Is it safe to provide such info online? Almost all other companies that I have applied for at the most they ask the last 4 digits of the SS#

I've just recently had to cancel a online job application because part of the application asked for my ssn. It was one of those applications you fill out directly on the company's website. After spending several minutes posting my resume and putting in my personal data, as some work history that was already on my resume, one of the final remaining data fields was "ssn". The field was one of those mandatory ones marked with a red *, so I could not opt out. I understand why an employer would want my social security number, they want to know I'm me and that I'm legal to work in this country. The company was a well known and respectable company and the job looked interesting. Unfortunately in today's world with computer hacking and ID theft I don't think it's appropriate to ask for it so early in the application process, not online anyhow. Later, when if I'm a finalist for the position and the company needs to check my status out as a last hurdle to employment, then I'm OK with giving a prospective employer my ssn in person to the HR or hiring manager. Again, I get why they asked for it and I sympathise with the company, they have a legitimate reason for wanting it. It's not that I don't trust them, but they have to understand that in today's world sadly, it's not appropriate to ask for a person's ssn online. I'm already entrusting them with a lot of personal information, information I would not be providing online under other circumstances. For me, my ssn was just a bridge too far. The risk of ID theft was just not worth it, not for a position that I might not even be interviewed for. I can only hope that for myself and other job seekers, a trend will start where prospective employers no longer ask for it online so early in the process.

I went through all the usual painstaking rigmarole of an online application, only to find, at the very end, a request for my SS number. Of course it was asterisked - a required fill-in. So, do I waste all that previous time and effort, or do I give my SS number to what amounts to a stranger at that point? It is unwise, of course, to give such sensitive info in a one way conversation. Maybe once I get past step one, and am being considered, but... I filled in a made up number. Is there any law, or at least an "unwritten rule" I can share with HR at such a company?

The last couple years (2014-2016), it became common for third party recruiters to ask job candidates four or five last digits of their Social Security Numbers (SSN) or the whole SSN and Month and Day of their Birth (sometimes and Year of Birth) under pretext of avoiding double submissions.

I always believed that it could be necessary only on the final steps of hiring process, however very often I yielded their nice voices promising such great opportunity surely coming.

Yesterday I've found a new collection account in my credit report based on some Car Title Payday Loan with unknown me business and which I never borrowed.

So, I am strongly advising all job seekers never ever giving away to recruiters any part of their SSN and Date of Birth (DOB) unless it's coming to real hiring which materialized for me just once (in December 2015 for six months contract).