Tell me more ×
The Workplace Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for members of the workforce navigating the professional setting. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote -2 down vote favorite

This question already has an answer here:

Why do they do this? And, what should I say? In the past I've kept it very confidential (a company in the x sector, another in the y sector), but I've started to be more open about it (companies a, b, and c). Is that a bad practice—ie, could they use that information against me?

share|improve this question

marked as duplicate by RhysW, pdr, mhoran_psprep, Paul Brown, squeemish Feb 15 at 12:07

This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.

1 Answer

up vote 1 down vote

Never tell recruiters anything except the bare minimum... also remember everything they say to you is a lie. EVERYTHING!

They want to know so they can ring up the companies and try and place their other candidates (not you!) at those places. You are just inviting competition for those jobs.

share|improve this answer
1  
PS—I don't know why they've downvoted you, but I find it a good answer – user7806 Feb 15 at 11:11
5  
I am one of the downvoters. I forgot to post my reasons earlier. Firstly, everything a recruiter says is not a lie, large amounts of it are true, Secondly we prefer longer answers here which show both the pros and cons of an argument as well as explaining WHY something is a good answer. As it stands this answer looks very ranty / aggressive and could be improved. – RhysW Feb 15 at 12:01
3  
On top of the above we need to remember that answers need to be good now AND for people who find it in the future. As it stands this attempts to solve the immediate problem, but the lack of reasoning and explnation makes this less useful for people in the future – RhysW Feb 15 at 12:04
2  
@Matt I for one downvoted because this answer blatantly violates "back it up" rule from the faq: "answers should be backed up either with a reference, or experiences that happened to you personally. You should always include in your answer information about why you think your answer is correct." – gnat Feb 15 at 12:30
3  
@Loofer I toned it down because FAQ requires "be nice" - referring and violating it in the same message wouldn't work – gnat Feb 15 at 13:28
show 4 more comments

We're looking for long answers that provide some explanation and context. Don't just give a one-line answer: please explain why you're recommending it as a solution. Answers that don't explain anything will be deleted. See Good Subjective, Bad Subjective for more information.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.