Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I had to get a background check for my job; the report is a 300 page pdf

twitter.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 323 posts

Re: I had to get a background check for my job; the report is a 300 page pdf

#171

Post by wolco »

komali2 wrote: post #49
coldtea wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it's OK if it happens to "bad" people. People who have bad opinions should not of course have jobs. They should die on the streets, as untouchables... Of course this holds as long as "the good side" has the power to make companies fire people for their tweets. If and when conservatives get this power (like e.g. they did in the Hoover or McCarthy era), this practice would be wrong again, and it should all be about…

"Bad opinions" is a pretty remarkable simplification of the concept of someone that doesn't think you're fully human based on the color of your skin or your sexuality. Would you want to work with someone that didn't think you should be allowed to exist?

I'm from Canada and this opinion seems extreme and would result in the opposite effect.

Not allowing someone to work would make them open their own business. They would hire like minded people. They would push some mainstream businesses into bankrupcy.

Sounds like a recipe for more racism. Like you are doubling down.

In Canada we would work with the person and tell people to leave your opinions at home. Magically opinions change quickly when you get to know one another. It is hard to hold on to such views when the reality is so different.

Re: I had to get a background check for my job; the report is a 300 page pdf

#172

Post by grecy »

BurningFrog wrote: post #115
dudul wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've also laughed at companies trying to pull this thing, but I also realize that this is a huge privilege. There is really only in tech that the tables are somewhat flipped, and applicants can afford to give HR bullies the middle finger.

The US has record low unemployment. There are many fields outside tech where workers can be picky about jobs.

Yes, and millions of people working multiple jobs are considered to be living below the poverty line. America is the only developed country that has the class of "working class poor"

More crap jobs is not a good thing, and nobody should want that.

Re: I had to get a background check for my job; the report is a 300 page pdf

#173

Post by WalterBright »

I seriously doubt that punishing people for their opinions is going to change any minds. Totalitarian countries tried that for decades, with severe punishments. All it did was cause people to hide their opinions, and have a fake society with fake consensus that everyone knew was fake.

Re: I had to get a background check for my job; the report is a 300 page pdf

#174

Post by jlgaddis »

lightedman wrote: post #103
caconym_ wrote: post #30

I don't even know what to say about this. I'm speechless. This is so, so, so, so, stupid, yet it's presumably being used to curtail some people's job opportunities in a society where you basically need to be employed by a corporation to be a first-class citizen. There need to be laws against arbitrary background checks. If only our government had a real interest in protecting its citizens.

There need to be laws against background checks in their entirety. People who have supposedly paid their penitence for their crimes are still punished up to 7 years after the fact, or longer, and cannot obtain meaningful employment due to it, and are thus stuck committing crimes to survive. Absolutely abhorrent.

Yep, in the state in which I reside (Indiana), there is no seven-year limit.

Did something stupid when you were 20? It's still gonna be held against you when you're 65.

Re: I had to get a background check for my job; the report is a 300 page pdf

#175

Post by basilgohar »

guntars wrote: post #164
n4r9 wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's fine and dandy for people in tech but if you're a single parent with a narrow set of skills who's struggling and been applying for jobs for over a month then you're going to take the offer. And then you're not going to have much time to continue job searching.

Who’s responsible for you being a single parent with limited skills? The corporation?

No everyone has the same experiences, opportunities, or blessings that would lead to the set of circumstances that make these decisions easier for others. Therefore, we should all be concerned when a system makes people in different, unchosen circumstances from us suffer more or go through more difficulty. Without this compassion for others we are no better than beasts roaming the lands looking for mates and territory.

Re: I had to get a background check for my job; the report is a 300 page pdf

#176

Post by doitLP »

Aardwolf wrote: post #22

Running a simple algorithm that flags specific words in liked tweets: meh, whatever. But why waste 350 printed pages of paper for that?

They offer the checked person the option to get a report of whatever they found and reported to the company.

Re: I had to get a background check for my job; the report is a 300 page pdf

#177

Post by harrisonjackson »

Let's put aside the absurd conclusion that you can actually assess job fit and performance based on twitter engagement... you could scroll their feed for 5 minutes and have a more accurate feel for their attitude, humor, and public persona than this keyword matching.

If you HAVE to go this route...as an employer I'd rather see something like Github's contributions by DateTime showing me when they are most active on social media lol. Ah 200 posts every Monday at 2PM, eh? Interesting.

Re: I had to get a background check for my job; the report is a 300 page pdf

#178

Post by sneak »

grecy wrote: post #168
guntars wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who’s responsible for you being a single parent with limited skills? The corporation?

The better questions is do you want to help your neighbours and people in your community who are in such a situation, or do you just say "It's your problem" and turn a blind eye. What kind of world do you want to live in? Keep in mind you're only one serious medial disaster (massive car crash, cancer, etc.) away from bankruptcy, so it would be extremely quick for the tables to turn. Do some reading into people who we…

I’m thinking that the best way to help those sorts of people is, when the opportunity exists for one, to choose employers that don’t abuse their potential staff. Not everyone has that choice, of course, but those that do should take it and do everything else possible to disadvantage such abusive organizations.

That’s how I choose to help.

If everyone with a skilled trade adopts that sort of approach and suggests that others do the same, these kinds of places will eventually go away and their abusive practices with them.

Re: I had to get a background check for my job; the report is a 300 page pdf

#179

Post by jlgaddis »

frgotmylogin wrote: post #136

I wonder how long it will be before someone competent starts doing this and including deanonymized data from places like HN, Reddit, Twitter accounts without your real name attached, phone location, etc.

What makes you believe there aren't already dozens of companies working on exactly this?
Post reply on HN