Do you require talent to enter their full SS # when completing an initial application?
My team is asking me to add this back as a requirement due to the amount of duplicate talent coming into BOLD.
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Do you require talent to enter their full SS # when completing an initial application?
My team is asking me to add this back as a requirement due to the amount of duplicate talent coming into BOLD.
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Hello Cindy! I'm looking forward to seeing other folks weigh in, but still wanted to see if I could help.
When it comes to requiring a full Social Security Number (SSN) on an initial application, it’s ultimately up to each individual company’s policies and needs. Some applicants may be hesitant to provide their full SSN at the start of the process since they may not yet be sure if they will proceed with a staffing company.
Since your team asked for this due to duplicate talent coming in, there are alternative ways to perform duplicate checks without requiring the full SSN. These can include checking against Email Addresses, Mobile Numbers, Last Names, and, if necessary, partial SSNs like the last 6 or 4 digits.
If SSN is used as a duplicate check, it can be the full SSN or a partial version (last 6 or 4 digits), depending on your company's approach and risk management practices.
This article may be helpful: https://avionteboldsupport.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/7441570463251-Career-Page-Restrictive-Duplicate-Checking-and-the-Application-Hard-Stop-Option
We use full SSN along with other checks. We find this works great if they apply through the Career Page. However, where we run into trouble with duplicates is allowing "applying" through other services such as Talroo and Indeed. When we allow people to do that, those services don't really check for duplicates because they are not asking for that information. They may check against email. name and phone but that is still dependent on if the people use the same name (Sam vs Samuel),email and phone number that is in Avionte. It is a source of frustration for us also.
Absolutely not—I take a firm stance against this. Not only am I personally uncomfortable providing my full SSN during an application process, but I’ve also encountered many candidates who feel the same. Requiring it upfront risks losing top talent, as many applicants will simply choose not to apply. Given the rise in identity theft, their hesitation is completely understandable. Additionally, this practice can create a negative first impression of the company by putting candidates in an uncomfortable position from the start. I strongly recommend exploring alternative methods for identifying duplicate applicants, as Max suggested.
I'm curious if others feel differently, but I hope this helps.
Thank you for your feedback.
We do have the duplicate checking email/ and or phone # turned on however we still receive many duplicates.
In Avionté Classic, duplicate applicants were effectively filtered by requiring only the last four digits of the SSN during the application process. However, we've noticed that Avionté BOLD automatically places leading zeros in the first five digits (e.g., 000-00-3883). This prevents anyone with the same last four digits from applying, as the system treats it as a full SSN match. I hope that makes sense. ( I have placed several support tickets in the past regarding this issue) I prefer not to have them enter their SS# for a seamless talent experience.
We use the last 4, as we had applicants in the past that were extremely hesitant to apply with their SSN. We haven't had any complaints about using the last 4 only--but like Jr said, it can't do much to prevent duplicates from Indeed, ZipRecruiter, etc. It is very frustrating.
Thanks Tamara that did not work for us in the past due to the reasons in my last message. If it is working for you now through BOLD I am assuming they updated the logic without sharing. I will test a few apps.