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Be Clear About Expectations. HR Daily Newsletter News, trends and analysis, as well as breaking news alerts, to help HR professionals do their jobs better each business day. Contact Us This also puts you at a distinct disadvantage if you want to apply for a job but have a wish to not have your personal privacy invaded, concerns about what might happen to your information, or if you are a jobseeker who does not have a social security number for a legitimate reason, such as being an overseas applicant with family or career aspirations in America.
In reality, there are only a small number of instances where a social security number is required for a real purpose, rather than just acting as a glorified tracking number. For instance, jobs that require an in-depth background check, such as school teaching, truck driving, legal professions and so on do need to ask. In these cases, companies have a responsibility to look into their potential employee's backgrounds for safety and security reasons. If a company hires a headmaster to teach young children or a driver to be put in charge of a ton Big Rig, they want to make really, really sure the person has no criminal background or a history of substance abuse.
Another case of where absolute proof of identity might be required would be for government, police force, CIA or high-security engineering jobs such as Boeing or NASA, where a faked identity could be a threat to national security.
Another example of a job where a corporation might want to delve into a person's credit history would be a banking or finance job, where being good with money or giving financial advice would be an integral part of the position. After all, you wouldn't want to hire a Loan Adviser who has exceptionally bad credit or a history that includes red flags like bankruptcy or many unpaid loans. Aside from those kinds of jobs, there really isn't a convincing reason for employers to ask for your SSN upfront before interviewing you or offering you the job.
Once you have the job, that is when you'll need to supply it, so they can pay you and process your SS payments. Sorry, no. In most cases other than those mentioned above, however, it's technically not required until after hire, when the company will need your SSN to report and process your Social Security account contributions, or complete a W4. Most companies who ask for it upfront are usually doing so thoughtlessly, because that's the way things have always been done at their company.
Most common offenders are large and long-established corporations, who have the money to spend on background screening. Most likely they are rarely challenged on this, due to job hunter's fears that questioning their motives will raise a red flag on their application and maybe even exclude them from the running.
The theory is that any job is better than no job. With this horrifying image firmly in mind, it's certainly prudent for any job hunter with a modicum of self-respect to slow down and start asking questions when faced with that flashing red 'Required Field' box. Any company worth it's salt will at least attempt to answer your questions, and will do so politely and with honesty. If a company is dismissive, condescending or rude in response, it's seriously worth reconsidering your desire to work there.
Adds the Society for Human Resource Management : " an applicant's Social Security number should be requested separate from the employment application, and safeguards should be in place to protect and keep this information confidential. Employers should also implement procedures for safe disposal of this information once an employment decision has been made.
If you feel uncomfortable providing your SSN, you can offer any of the following legally recognized alternative means of identification:. If you're confronted with an electronic job application form that stubbornly refuses to let you submit or save it without filling in that pesky SSN box, you can try entering all zeros to bypass the system. If that doesn't work and you really want the job, try calling the company direct.
Ask to speak to the HR department and tell them you're uncomfortable providing your SSN due to concerns about identity theft. Your doctor may ask for your Social Security number when you fill out patient forms because they want to easily identify you to collect outstanding payments. But your insurance company identifies you by your insurance policy number in order to bill you and submit payments.
While your insurance company will need your SSN, your doctor does not need this information for billing purposes. According to the US Department of Justice , all children living in the US are entitled to attend public school, and schools cannot require children or their parents to provide a Social Security number in order to enroll.
If they ask for proof of identity, provide a birth certificate or passport. Leases or electric bills can also be presented as proof of address. You will need to provide your Social Security number when applying for a credit card, because the bank associated with your card will want to track your credit score.
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