Would you put your MN username on a job application?

[noblegiraffe]

A school job application form requests that applicants give all social media usernames, including any pseudonyms and details of any websites they are involved with, for background safeguarding checks.

I understand that they might do a Google search and find publicly available stuff but this feels way too intrusive.

I can’t say that I’d apply for a job there.

schoolsweek.co.uk/teaching-hopefuls-asked-for-details-of-any-website-youre-named-on/

No, I wouldn't. Instagram, certainly.

The whole thing is nuts anyway, where do you pick and choose what to include? I've got hundreds of online accounts - e.g. I leave reviews on clothing websites, groceries, have accounts on software user forums, Nextdoor, iplayer/all4 etc - none of which I post on regularly or at all, Spotify, pinterest....

Which things are they expecting? If they can't even set that out clearly then I have no expectation they'd do anything sensibly or accurately.

You're never really anonymous online but I think they just want the accounts with your real name on it, or that can be tied back to you by normal searches. I wouldn't give them anything else. My benign private life is otherwise none of their business.

I've heard it said you shouldn't post anything you wouldn't paint on the side of your house for all your neighbours to see, but not minding sharing something with friends/neighbours/general groups isn't the same as sharing with employers who don't really need to know me socially, just professionally.

No chance

I would tell them my usernames are Go fuck yourselves and You nosy bastards

I suppose you do have reflect a little on WhatsApp and so on because Wayne Couzens and his colleagues. The conversations that they had they believed were private. But they were sacked and prosecuted.

Doing a job in the public sector does have different requirements. The scrutiny on you is higher than in the private sector. That's part of it

Lol no. I can think of no reason whatsoever I'd divulge that or any other username.

No way and I name change a lot anyway so it would be a long list!

10 people have voted I am being unreasonable. Is this because they are happy to hand over their MN username??

The response is you didn't ask me about MnN at interview.

You shouldn't write anything on WhatsApp or under your own name that you wouldn't want to have read out in court as evidence (against you or anyone else).

I get that they want to be on the ball with safeguarding - but anyone who is writing or looking at anything really dangerous online is using Tor or something else more untraceable. And may have "cover up" accounts posting harmless stuff that they can hand over.

I would say no. Do you really really want to read 12 year's worth of tweets saying "fuck me, Wednesday, that was Accrington fucking Stanley you wasters"?

If the job is with MI5 they already know all of your usernames 🕵

Surely you can just refuse. How are they ever going to know that Sally Jones is mumma2boys on MN?

That would be a no.

They ask for this on an ESTA form now too. I think it’s becoming more common.

twitter, Instagram etc. Not Mumsnet 😊

ESTA can fuck off.

They are looking for what you are posting online, including anonymously, in order to judge whether you pose any risk to children.

Why would it not include Mumsnet?

Absolutely no. Not one person in real life knows my username and nobody really knows that I'm a (massive) MN'er! I definitely wouldn't give it!

No. I keep my professional and private lives strictly separated.

No but if they insisted I might feel the need to give a very nice persons user name instead of my own.

No way. And that would be a massive red flag to stop me applying.

I'm a school teacher, so I know what schools can be like. So I'd probably reach out and tell them that that is a massive over-step. People are entitled to a private life.

I once nearly applied for a job at a church school. Just seemed like regular old CofE, but the application asked for a character reference from my vicar!! Umm... As a non-church going atheist, I figured this school and I might not be the best fit.

Uh no. People always discriminate against gingers.

Joking aside, if it's not your actual name and identifying, you can't really be compelled.

However people also have private conversations offline that others might take issue with

Yes, private conversations are private. As far as I know the only societies that make private conversations a matter for HR or the police were the totalitarian regimes like Hitler’s or Stalin’s, the ones we used to be told were a dystopian nightmare.

These days it seems quite a lot of people would rather like to live in a society where you could denounce your neighbour or colleague to the thought police.

No, I wouldn’t give any social media names