LinkedIn's Top Stories of the Week: Want a Job? Hand Over Your Passwords

Francesca Levy
Authored byFrancesca Levy

Executive Director, Marketplace by APM

March 23, 2012

You may think you're prepared for every question that could come up in a job interview. But here's a new one: "what's your Facebook password?" In one of the most widely shared stories on LinkedIn this week, the Associated Press reports that companies are getting aggressive about peeking at your social networking profiles. Many job hunters have tightened their Facebook privacy settings so that the details of their personal lives don't jeopardize a potential job. But some employers are trying tactics to bypass those obstacles, including asking potential new hires to log in at the job interview, or "friend" human resources managers to get around those settings.

Top 5 most-shared articles by LinkedIn members (March 16, 2012 — March 22, 2012) Follow @LinkedInToday

  1. The Magic of Doing One Thing at a Time (HBR)
  2. 6 Habits of True Strategic Thinkers (Inc.)
  3. Why Top Talent Leaves: Top 10 Reasons Boiled Down to 1 (Forbes)
  4. Why Bilinguals Are Smarter (NYT)
  5. Job Seekers Getting Asked For Facebook Passwords (AP)

The legality of asking job candidates for their passwords has been challenged, and some interviewees have walked out on opportunities rather than work for a company that would employ the practice. But with unemployment still high at 8.3 percent, many people need a job so badly they can't afford to stand on principle. But maybe employers should be more concerned about making their new hires — and their top achievers — happy. There was lots of buzz on LinkedIn this week around a story by Forbes contributor Erika Anderson on why companies lose their top talent. Anderson says it comes down to being badly managed, and organizational structures that are "confusing and uninspiring. Writes Anderson:

Be clear about what you're trying to accomplish as an organization, not only in terms of financial goals, but in a more three-dimensional way. What's your purpose; what do you aspire to bring to the world? What kind of a culture do you want to create in order to do that? And then, once you've clarified your hoped-for future, consistently focus on keeping that vision top of mind and working together to achieve it.

It's advice that applies to keeping not just to top talent, but entry-level workers. Nobody wants to work in an environment where people are clamoring to leave and providing an inspiring culture can often be a better incentive to stay than a fat paycheck.

Here are the most-shared stories by professionals in the following industries:

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