What are potential consequences from disclosing other interviews I'm having?

Question

Amazon is the most desirable places to work in 2019, I applied for a tech position, I was phone screened then promoted to the next round, an online assessment. If I pass I will be prompted to the next round which is the in person technical interview/assessment/discussion. I believe I will pass the online assessment and I am full of hopes for the in person meeting with them. The online assessment is scheduled for mid February.

Today I was contacted by a good local mature company asking for a phone screen around mid February as well. I believe that the fact that I am being assessed by Amazon adds a value into me. But I would like to know, what would happen if I mention it to other companies?

In other words, if I am asked by the later company whether I am interviewing right, would I want to mention that I am being assessed by Amazon? Any unintended consequences to saying yes?

I am overthinking this because if I get an offer from the later company, then an offer from Amazon, I don't want to look bad to the later company or/and burn bridges. At the same time, if I fail with Amazon, I don't want to look weak to the later company.

EDIT: The marked duplicate does answer whether to say yes/no, but does not mention the harm in saying yes, or no.

Answer 1

You do not gain any leverage from mentioning that you are interviewing for any specific company. Most interviewers will assume that you are interviewing for multiple companies anyway so they would not even bother asking. If they do ask, you can give a generic answer of yes, there is no need to mention specific companies.

If you receive multiple offers simultaneously, you are not burning any bridges or look bad by choosing the best offer for yourself. But if one company offers you a position, you should not hold out indefinitely until you receive an offer from your desired company, that would definitely look bad.

Answer 2

If they don't ask, don't tell. If they do ask, just say yes or no. Mentioning it off-hand like you have looks kinda cheap/desperate; there is no reasonable method to verify your claim, and in all honesty, it's not necessarily a good claim;

You could be 'being considered by Amazon' as a warehouse worker or because every other techie in your area won't touch them with a 50ft barge pole due to their very public and severe employee abuse issues. Your idea that

Amazon is the most desirable places to work in 2019

is, by many, many public accounts, including people in tech roles there, so untrue that it sounds like something Donald Trump would retweet.

Or you could simply be blowing smoke for all they know, or let's be honest, care; It's not really an achievement to be 'considered' by Amazon, and that statement says nothing about your capability. It's not like you've actually worked there or have experience from there that you could bring to the other company.

Answer 3

I believe that the fact that I am being assessed by Amazon adds a value into me. But is there an unintended consequences from mentioning it to other companies?

The main advantage from letting companies know that you are actively interviewing elsewhere is that it lets them know they need to move it along if they want a chance to hire you. At some companies, the bureaucracy is thick enough that it won't matter at all, but at many places they can move at least a little faster knowing you have other interviews happening. If you want to consider both places, it is probably worth it to let them know you're progressing through interviews with other companies.

As far as specifically mentioning any company by name, I think it's a bad idea:

• You don't know what kind of relationship that company has with Amazon. Some companies agree not to compete for hiring people, even though it's illegal.
• They may decide to rule you out as a candidate. Some companies don't want to get into bidding wars and may decide "we don't pay Amazon level wages, so we'll focus on other candidates."
• If you're looking for them to raise their offer to match what Amazon might offer, then it's too early for that. Assuming you got both job offers and Amazon is higher, you can go back to this company and say you're interested, but you have another offer that pays $X more and see how they react. It's completely normal to interview with multiple companies at a time, so there isn't a risk of burning bridges here.