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One of the companies I was applying for had a mandatory github id and SO id fields to be filled. It was an online registration form.

I am not comfortable sharing my online ids(tech or non-tech) to any company and I felt like I got rejected just like that.

The company is super cool one; would have had a great experience even if I had attended atleast one tech round.

I am still wondering why is it that the companies, these days, are asking for a mandatory SO id? I could have asked silliest questions on SO and I am not really comfortable for my future recruiter/colleagues to know that silly side of me. Or it could be any other reason.

Did the recruitment world change so much that my online tech footprint is needed for my tech assessment? What makes such companies mandate it?

I'm not sure that you would find a company with such rigid requirements to be "a super cool one" to work for once you got there.

While I believe a strong GitHub presence and a solid SO ranking are both strong points for a candidate, I can't imagine a scenario where I would mandate both from all candidates. There are other ways to demonstrate your prowess that should be just as acceptable.

You have to ask yourself, if they are this rigid in hiring, what will happen when you propose doping something in a different way from the norm. Doesn't sound like an open-minded bunch.

What makes such companies mandate it?

It cuts down on the number of applicants or if it doesn't, it is an easy way to limit which applicants are considered.

That's the same reason some companies require a four-year degree in a related field.

SO and Git are both arguably work related things, and I would provide them.

I wouldn't provide something like Facebook, Google+, Instagram, etc.

But I'm technical - if the position is a PR or social media position, I'd expect you would provide things which are social.

Just put in a bunch of X's. Recruiters often set fields as mandatory without thinking too deeply about it. If they are interested, they will get back to you - it's not a dealbreaker.

In the case of GitHub, it's probably so they easily can find code samples. Makes sense.

With SO, it's a bit more complex. One thing that an SO account can attest is strong communication skills, but it can also be compromising for the individual. Not only can it expose posts of personal nature, but an employer could find your level of participation on such a site problematic. Most managers don't mind employees making use of online resources and communities (it saves effort for senior team members to have someone else solve problems for free!), but OTOH they don't want their own employees possibly spending hours every day researching other peoples problems and writing long, well thought-out answers. Likewise, they don't want employees sinking lots of time into dead-end, extremely niched hobby projects (which is, frankly, what most code on GitHub is).

There's also the possibility that a company wants employees to use their (semi-)private "social media" to help build their brand, e.g. my employer routinely suggest we share "interesting" posts from the company blog on LinkedIn ("and write a short comment, just a couple words, so it scores higher in rankings"). However, only if it is actually a marketing position they advertise, can they expect a candidate to have a strong online presence.

I am still wondering why is it that the companies, these days, are asking for a mandatory SO id?

Because companies are fooled by buzzwords and stupid trends like "hiring a rock star".

It is important to show your code, but a SO account seems absurd. A repo is important, especially if you're mid to senior level, but if they insist on that I suggest you move on. Your value isn't measured by online activity, and if they can't see that I don't think their company is actually a "super cool one".

On a side note this is one of the minor reasons why SO is such a toxic place. People are (rightly) desperate for those points so they get hired, they promote that companies ask for a SO account and be part of the hiring process

Here's the problem with online accounts: you can easily link anyone's account as your own. In my opinion, this is a sign that they are lazy. They want a certain candidate and rather than reading resumes (assuming they get 100s or 1000s) they rather a computer do a pre-screening by being able to seperate accounts that provide this right out through their questionnaire. They're missing out on potential candidates that might be better, or maybe they don't want to provide such information.

With that said, I don't think it is common at all. I seen polar opposites where a hiring manager dislikes people who go on SO to answer questions as they see it as a way for people to simply "copy and paste" without understanding what they're doing. Just as opposite, I don't see how helping people would be beneficial. Maybe they're looking for people who mentor others.

If you have a high ranking SO and/or GitHub accounts, I say provide it to them especially if you been active in any particular group. So long as you didn't ask or provide questionable, not safe for work material, I don't see how it would impact you negatively. Anyone on GitHub or SO would certainly know the type of person who would go on there.

It's just one company, not a trend, some parts of the World (most of it) haven't heard of github or Stack Overflow... I found SO by accident and only heard of github through it and only have a vagueish idea of what it's about.

So like any other requirements, they're company specific, perhaps even specific to the individual who wrote it up.