What does it mean if a company asks for your SSN number prior to hiring you?

Answer 1

If a company is asking you for a Social Security Number prior to hire (which is the key to this question), it needs to be on a form where you are actually granting permission for that employer to run a background check in the first place. If they are just simply asking for a Social Security number without you granting some type of permission for a check, the employer does not realize the liability involved with collecting such information on all of their applicants. It is not unlawful for an employer to collect SSN on the application, but this is usually accompanied by the collection of your date of birth as well, since both will be needed to verify that you are who you say you are when a background check is run.

The Department of Labor has a guideline that basically states that the employer truly should only collect information on the application that is directly related to your ability to perform the requirements for the position. If the SSN and Date of Birth are on the application itself, then this is strongly discouraged by the Department of Labor. The form where Social Security and Date of Birth are collected should always be on a separate document granting the permission as described above and should be kept in a secure place by the employer (to avoid the liability of losing this information into the hands of others). If an employer is asking for this information and you do not have an offer on the table or you are not a finalist in the interview process, avoid it altogether. There are many scam artists out there today that use this common hiring process to trick applicants into providing this information on the application itself, but again most employers do not do this because of the liability involved in having personal information for candidates they end up never hiring. The other challenge is that if hiring managers see the application and this information is a part of the application, then this is giving your personal information in an accessible way to people in the organization that should not have access or be able to see this information to begin with. So before providing this type of information, think about these main questions:

• Is this information being asked on the main application, or a separate form?
• Am I the final applicant or do I have an offer on the table that warrants the need for this information for the company to run a check?
• Have I even been interviewed yet by the organization, since a check is typically not needed until my qualifications for the role have been verified first?
• Does the form I am filling out actually have wording that describes the fact that I, as the applicant, am granting permission for a check to be run?

Department of Labor guidelines are found here for reference: http://www.dol.gov

In conclusion, keep in mind that employers are obligated to verify that you are who you say you are, and depending on the role, may require that you have a clean record, so ultimately if this information is requested, it is a good sign that the employer is very interested in you as a potential hire, so it makes sense to provide this information to finalize the process and get yourself a job!

Answer 2

I have no idea what it means in terms of your employment (unless the potential employer wants to know if you're a good credit risk), but you should never give your SSN to anyone. No one needs it, and having it could allow some nefarious person to steal your identity. Give the last four numbers-thus:

xxx-xx-0000.