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Comment by d3nj4l | Hacker News Reader

To add on - having an account under your real name that's safe and boring is essential. Some jobs and visa applications require you to disclose your social media, and having a safe account to show there is necessary.

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Probably not a bad idea to have "dummy" accounts but that's something that would need maintenaince to be convincing. When it comes to prospective employers, a more robust strategy is to work toward developing skills and abilities sufficient to provide you with enough options that you don't ever need to bend over for an employer.

Obviously, not viable for a new grad but it should be a goal. My career has been long with many failures but also notable successes and certain rare, valuable skills. In one recent case I was resigning my position to take some time off and do other things. I was senior, only a couple levels under the CEO at a very large F500 multi-national. The company really wanted me to stay on for a year or two more.

I generally liked the work and the people and they offered even more money to stay but for me one of the issues was that the inevitable HR policy creep was adding stuff like mandatory training sessions that were getting tedious and annoying. Basically, liked the work but hated the bullshit. So we made a novel arrangement. Any mandatory policy at the company requiring my attendance was optional for me. In the case of "specifically mandated and enforced compliance with a relevant government regulation" my boss had to explain why and just ask me. (I'm not unreasonable and there are a few SEC and state regs that they really can't just ignore).

This worked out very well and was a small but meaningful concession that really cost them nothing.

What if you dont have social media accounts? Surely you can just tell these jobs/visa applications you don't have any.

That stands out as a red flag in this day and age, really. Having a simple account with your real name that has a few dog pics is far more stealthy than claiming you really don't interact with social media at all.

Do you have a source that says that that stands out as a red flag? And in which countries?

As far as I know, only the USA has gone so far as to ask for social media accounts for some visas. (I might be out of date)

It's just my personal experience. I've had funny looks given to me when I say I'm not on facebook, and when I was off whatsapp for a brief while people refused to believe I had a smartphone but didn't use whatsapp.

E: I'm speaking more about job applications. The US Visa application requirement is of course already being litigated, and hopefully will soon not be a requirement any more.

Ah, so it's just a story you are telling yourself and us.

That makes a lot more sense!

I have literally been asked for Whatsapp and Facebook details on my job applications.

My mother's friend was told to give up her Facebook password for a job at the police station. She accepted the terms, for some reason. This was for an administrative-type job at a police station that did not involve police work or any kind.

So, yeah, it absolutely does happen and to different (sometimes frightening) degrees.

No one can give you a list of countries where this rule will apply tomorrow.

I had to provide them for a Chinese visa last year.

I have no Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or anything else, am.i that much of an outlier?

This depends on your age group and country of origin I would think. If you are between the age of 16 and 30 and in a western first world country, then yes - you would be an outlier. If you were 60 -70 years old from Mongolia, then no.

Although if celticninja is a 60-70yo from Mongolia, they are presumably an outlier for posting here.

I never fail to find it odd that, in an industry once notorious for people with introversion and and lack of social aptitude, vigorous participation in social media has now become all but compulsory. The mundanes really have taken over.

No it doesn't.

Most people are not on Twitter or Insta the only possible 'odd one' would be Facebook, and you can say you deleted your account a while ago.

That leaves not much.

Really? I've been at the same job since college and they just had my transcript, in-person interview, and drug test results. Social media doesn't come up in any interviews. Maybe HR searches for obvious red flags via Google, but not that I'm aware of. I don't work in software though. Is it really that common when applying for software positions?

It almost certainly depends on your location and the industry, plus your relative skill as well.

I suppose if people keep repeating this, then it might be a thing with a given group of people who keep repeating it to each other. In that case, good luck hiring people like me or that other person here who clearly thinks it's wrong to think like this.

I can assure you, our value over time exceeds that of dogmatic thinkers. That's because, by the time you believe something, it's no longer true and we know that to be a fact before you do because we don't buy into this story.

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