SSN requested for online job app - is this still a thing???

February 26, 2018 4:29 PM

I'm considering applying for a job, but the application portal says I need to enter my birth month and day as well as last 5 digits of Social Security Number to create a PIN number that will be used to identify my application in the system. Giving this info seems like incredibly poor security. Advice on how to proceed?

This is the website of a fairly large and well-known public institution. There are a couple of jobs on this site that I'm interested in, but I'm even more interested in not having my identity ripped off.

Is it normal for orgs to still ask for SSN and use it to track you?

Any advice/strategies for how to get around providing SSN?

I know I could just make up some numbers, but I'm paranoid that that'll somehow bork my application. Or am I just over-thinking this?

posted by the thought-fox to Work & Money (7 answers total)

I have never heard of a legitimate institution asking for such an absurd identification process.

If I were faced with this, I'd consider it a reason not to apply. If I applied anyway, I would simply use a random number as a PIN instead, as I don't know how they'd be able to determine it is fake.
posted by saeculorum at 4:39 PM on February 26, 2018 [3 favorites]

Also, I feel compelled to note I doubt this is legal - disregarding privacy and data security considerations, requiring an SSN is nationality discrimination.
posted by saeculorum at 4:40 PM on February 26, 2018 [3 favorites]

I'd probably try to use all 0s or something and see what happens. This sounds like their idea of creating a unique identifier for applicants whilst not asking them to use their full social security numbers. When they are actually considering hiring you and need to do background checks and verify your identity, they will ask you for your full social security number. My guess is that this is just something that whoever designed the job application portal came up with.

If you see any contact info (i.e. "If you have problems submitting your application, contact ____") then you could ask what the number is used for and if you can choose a random one. That's your only option if you're truly concerned both about keeping that info private and whether it will somehow affect your application.
posted by AppleTurnover at 4:43 PM on February 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Speaking as someone who spent many years in staffing for some of the world's most advanced companies: you would not BELIEVE how terrible ATS systems are. Seriously. ATS's are typically a shambles and a disgrace, even at terrific companies. So yeah, this is really dumb, but if you eliminate any company with a bad ATS interface, it's gonna be a long job search.

Just make up some numbers. They won't use it for anything else.
posted by fingersandtoes at 5:43 PM on February 26, 2018 [4 favorites]

The ATS is not going to be used for actual background check verification, at the online application point. I'd put in my phone number, missing the last digit. If it ever comes up... "Oops! My browser auto-filled it." If you are at the point of hiring, you can provide your actual SSN to a human being for the purposes of employment verification and background check.
posted by juniperesque at 7:18 PM on February 26, 2018 [6 favorites]

Nthing that you make up numbers. Birth day and month plus 5 numbers of your SSN is not a unique identifier at all (366 times 100,000 is only 36.6 million combinations). If anyone got mad at you over this, you could plausibly say you used your real info and it was rejected as already in use.
posted by soelo at 8:04 AM on February 27, 2018

Response by poster: Thanks for the help, everyone!
posted by the thought-fox at 5:20 PM on March 5, 2018