There's this really aggressive recruiter trying to get me for a job that sounds pretty good, is local, pays about right... and has sent me two voicemails and an email in the last 24 hours. Okay, whatever, he's trying to do his job. So, I go to fill in the stuff he wants, and...

... they're asking for my SSN right on their 'initial applicants' form. I don't care if it's a 'secure' form, it's still a required field to fill out, and it's setting off all my red flags.

I'm half tempted to approach the hiring company myself -- the guy already told me who it is, anyway -- just to make a point about how disturbed I am by this, but I'm secretly wondering if the job even exists right now. This is the first recruiter I've come across that wants this information AT ALL -- not even before first response, not on the phone, not in an in-person interview!

Is this legit, or should I let my instincts lead me as far away from this guy as possible?

According to the Social Security Administration's Legal requirements to provide your Social Security number, the following situations require it:

• Internal Revenue Service for tax returns and federal loans;


• Employers for wage and tax reporting purposes;


• Employers enrolled in E-Verify;


• States for the school lunch program;


• Banks for monetary transactions;


• Veterans Administration as a hospital admission number;


• Department of Labor for workers’ compensation;


• Department of Education for Student Loans;


• States to administer any tax, general public assistance,
  motor vehicle or drivers license law within its jurisdiction;


• States for child support enforcement;


• States for commercial drivers’ licenses;


• States for Food Stamps;


• States for Medicaid;


• States for Unemployment Compensation;


• States for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families; or


• U.S. Treasury for U.S. Savings Bonds

None of those situations are "to apply for a position", which is the situation you are in. You may refuse to give it, and I personally would until I was actually signing a contract/offer letter/payroll papers for a specific company.

You might ask why your Social Security number is needed, how your number will be used, and what law they think requires you to give your number, if they push you on it, and determine you final answer from there.

As to your specific questions, I don't know how common it is -- I've not seen a request for a social security number in this context in a long, long time, but that is just me. It's quite possible that you are working with a dumb recruiter who thinks he or she needs/is entitled to this information; similarly, you could be working with a scammer.

As for your response being warranted, it's perfectly reasonable to ask to confirm if the position exists and if Recruiter X is handling it, and that's the extent to which I would discuss it with them.

Here is how I handle it:

Online forms

I leave the field blank. If I cannot, then I enter 000-00-0000.

Paper forms

I leave the field blank.

So what happens when someone asks me for it? It is very rare for that to happen. When it has, I've said something like, "oh, I'm very happy to provide it once I accept the offer."

If they were to press the issue (only happened once, because it was "company policy"), then I've said, "Oh, I understand. I was a victim of identity theft (true) and as a policy, I have to be very careful about giving out that information. I'd be happy to provide it once I accept the offer." In my case, the person backed down.

If they hadn't, then I would've ended the process at that point and moved on to my next candidate company.

This MAY be legit, but I don't think so.

Recruiters will need to know your SSN if you are working through them as an agency and being contracted to the employer. Also, some bad HR people think they need to get SSN's from applicants.

I had responded to an ad, once, with no company name on it, and someone from Seagate sent me a form demanding it and a release to perform a credit check. I responded that it would be premature at this stage without even having an interview. She sent back a rather scathing email about how I need to comply with their policies, and she would now "take me off the list." I looked her up on LinkedIn, and she really did work for Seagate, so take that for what you will.

BTW - I don't by Seagate hard drives, any more. <grin>

I was approached by a recruiter for a great job with 3M (a local company here in Minnesota). I gave all of my info except my SSN. The recruiter assured me that 3M would not consider any applicant without an SSN. I refused to provide it. I explained to the recruiter that requiring an SSN makes them look shady.

There is no legitimate reason to require an SSN before an interview. It is not acceptable to expect people to give up their SSN to anyone who asks for it, especially solely over the phone.

Searching the web, this legal link about the Use and Disclosure of SSN, reads:

(c)Requests for disclosure of social security number. Any component which requests an individual to disclose his or her social security account number shall inform that individual whether:

    (1) Disclosure is mandatory or voluntary.

    (2) By what statutory or other authority such number is solicited, and

    (3) What uses will be made of it. (See section 7 of the Privacy Act of 1974 set forth at 5 U.S.C. 552a, note.)

I suggest you check that link, as it has other parts ("a" and "b"), that you should read that may be related to your situation. However (IANAL, though), it seems that those points may not apply to your specific situation here, which is applying for a job.

I also suppose that the recruiter should have followed all 3 points above mentioned, and if not you are in your rights to ask for clarification on them.

To be completely sure, you could consult a lawyer about this in case we missed some important details.