Should you put your SS# on paper job application?

[Silhouette of Seraphim]

That's not really fair. I've worked at many places where applications and resumes are simply left in a pile in the back office where anyone can just walk by, pick them up and read them. I'm not about to go and steal someones identity but I did work with about 100 other people who I cant vouch for. It's sloppy to leave those things lying around though.

Yeah, at one of my old jobs, there were always applications just laying about wherever they landed.

Ask yourself this, if you need more help deciding on whether or not to do it.

Does the company you're applying for have an HR department and/or hiring department? If so, is it in house? If yes, then if they're worth what they get paid, they have procedures and policies in place when it comes to dealing with Personal Information, so in that case, yes, you'll probably be fine giving it to them.

If their whole in house hiring procedure is a manager in an office with papers on various stacks and piles, and/or in no immediately identifiable sane configuration, then you may want to hold off on giving it.

[freeti]

ive never put it on an app, and family friends in positions that hire(all the way from a hospital hiring doctors to a resteraunt hiring just bussers and waitresses). neither of them says it is important unless you are hired.

Thank you.

[belfpala]

ive never put it on an app, and family friends in positions that hire(all the way from a hospital hiring doctors to a resteraunt hiring just bussers and waitresses). neither of them says it is important unless you are hired.

Yup, I don't care (restaurant hiring) at all. Give it to me on the W4 and I9.

[freeti]

For restaurants, do you still want people to write their whole address and references or can you just submit bare minimum information with phone number, age, availability?

[Rukentuts]

They need your SS# for background checks and payroll.

[Deleted]

is SS# like the NI number in the UK?

[belfpala]

For restaurants, do you still want people to write their whole address and references or can you just submit bare minimum information with phone number, age, availability?

I prefer you just walk in my door and ask if we're hiring. If yes, I'll give an interview on the spot. If no, I'll take down your name and phone number to file for when we are. That's just me, though.

[mistuhbull]

Really? Interesting. Always did wonder how they determined the number assignment.

IIRC it's a combination of birthdate and city where the SS card was requested/filed

[Masark]

Really? Interesting. Always did wonder how they determined the number assignment.

The format is AAA-GG-SSSS, for example, the famous 078-05-1120.

A is the area number. For numbers issued prior to 2011, this indicates the area the number is issued in. Post 2011, the area numbers are just used sequentially as needed and don't indicate anything. The areas 000, 666, and anything above 899 are not used and 987 is specifically reserved for use in advertizements to prevent the famous example from happening again. Areas 700-728 are special and indicate railroad workers who received their numbers prior to 1963, and 763-899 are not used yet. 078 indicates the number was issued to someone in New York state.

G is the group number and is semi-sequential (it uses an odd order for issuing them issuing even and odd ranges of them. I'm not able to find why exactly they do this other than "administrative reasons".) within each group. 05 would have been the 3rd group used. 00 is not used.

S is the serial number and is simply the order in which it was issued. 0000 is not used.

So what the 078-05-1120 tells us is that it was the 21,118th SSN issued in after New York started into the 078 area number.

[Nengal]

I refuse to put my full SSN on anything unless it's some type of legally binding contract where it is required (as in once you're hired for payroll/tax purposes). If an employer asks before being hired, I will either leave it blank or give them the last 4 digits if they're really concerned since the last 4 digits are not that difficult to obtain regardless.

[Ave07]

Most applications I seen ask for the last 4 numbers or none at all.

[freeti]

My concern is that they might want to do a background check before calling you in but if you don't give them SS# they might just not call you back.

[theredviola]

Its sad that in today's world you need your SSN to preform pretty much anything. Be it your default password, or you your cable company requiring you to give it up as well. I can understand why some places do (again, cable companies, car lots...). Its so they can check your financial history. But, again this brings me back to "its sad," because people out there like to ruin things for the rest of us. Thisiswhywecanthavenicethings.jpeg.