Do jobs look at social media before hiring?

[garwig1]

I can tell you that when I have it narrowed down to a couple applicants I google their names to see what comes up. I'm sure other employers do as well so you don't want anything coming up that suggests that you're immature, you're a drug user, you call in sick to work just to take a day off, etc.

The passwords thing is up in the air right now. I've never had to give mine, but hear that some companies do ask for it. At the moment there are no laws against employers demanding it, but there's talk of legislators trying to make it illegal. There will be more to come from that, I'm sure.