Untrue. Your doctors office does need it. It’s a required field in most EMR’s (though you can override for someone who doesn’t have one with 0’s) Insurance companies use it to verify your information and sometimes request it. It can be used to differentiate you from someone else with the same/similar name and/or date of birth. Because your SSN is individually identifiable information though it’s considered protected under HIPAA.

I really did need a job but told them I was not going to give them all of that info at this point.

I think the interview itself went well with the hiring manager complimenting me on my cover letter and we really hit it off in the general discussion and interviewing part.

I have no doubt that not giving HR all that info upfront put a major kabash on any chance at all for that job regardless if I kicked booty in the interview.

I stuck to my guns and did not regret it at all.

I am now, over 5 years at another place that is 10 mins from my house, jumped from PT to FT in less the 2 yrs and got a promo after 5 years.

When I complained, I was told it was absolutely up to me to allow the College to use it, and if I wished I could have an alternate # assigned. However, if I chose that route I was informed I would be barred from financial aid disbursed at that institution permanently.

Also the Doctor’s office here won’t accept you as a patient if you do not provide your SSN#. I don’t know how legal or illegal that is, or if I have any recourse. I just know I needed to be seen; the fact that I even asked has caused me to be viewed with suspicion at that office forever after.

As for employment, there were a few places that had a paper application, where I saw the front desk people just leave applicant’s materials out for all to see (or passerbys to just walk off with).

I also pretty sure I had a few of my applications tossed unshredded in the trash the second I was out of sight, as I learned later that there were a few places notorious for this (Can someone get in legal trouble for that by the way? Or does it depend on company policy?)

In the case of the paper applications, I always put “Will provide upon offer of employment”… but I guess I should not be suprised I never got a call back, really, as I was warned that incomplete applications would not be processed.

I always prayed these were not the employers the Unemployment Office Examiners would call, as the mishandling of your personal information was not a good enough reason to not to seek or decline work from one of these places.

Because how could you know it was mishandled if you didn’t go to work for them?

I agree, I always enter some obviously fake number and if they insist on a real one, buh bye. Unless this is once and a life time opportunity to get paid Scrooge McDuck amounts of money to pet puppies, it ain’t worth it.

…Though tbh any job with that description and salary that demands a SSN up front is probably a scam, so really there is no reason to ever put in your social to just apply for a job.

I will back out of an application and away from a company that requires this if the application doesn’t let me put in 0’s or leave it blank. City and county jobs often require it, but I’m beginning to question even that.

Also, your doctor’s office does not need it either!