Could a partner confide to my boss that I want to change my job?

Question

For one year I worked with a consultant who covers an important role for a company I would like to work for.

He would most likely be working with anyone who takes one of these open positions. I have worked very closely with this person, and he knows me very well. His work with my company is defined by an NDA.

I am afraid that my application could reach his desk and in order "to protect the interests" of my company, he might feel the compelled to confide to my boss that I applied for a job in his company.

He knows that if I left my company, it would cause trouble for them. On the other hand, if he thinks I am worthy enough for his company he might recommend they hire me.

I think he might also respect the interests of his company by not informing my boss to let me complete the hiring process.

What realistic concerns might I have if my application comes to his attention.

Answer 1

Since one year we are in NDA with a consultant covering an important role for a company I would like to apply for a job

An NDA prevents you from talking about your current job. It does not prevent you from talking about other things, nor does it prevent others from talking to you.

The NDA is completely irrelevant here.

From the comments:

I immagine that according to the NDA you should protect the interests of the partners. Shouldn't it?

NDA = non-disclosure agreement. Non-disclosure means "not talking".

What you're suggesting is that they go out and talk, which is not something covered by a non-disclosure agreement.

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So what can this person do?

Well, assuming he is not bound by an NDA (between him and B) himself, pretty much whatever he wants.

To keep it simple: You work at company A and think of applying for a job at company B.

However, if this person goes and blabs to A, then he is effectively being a bad employee to B. His actions are likely to scare you off. Scaring off potential hires is not in B's interest. And if this gets out, it is going to significantly impact other applicants' willingness to engage in talks with this company.

In short: blabbing to A about you applying for a job at B means he would actively selling out B for A's benefit. That's is a major no-no for anyone who has (and wishes to keep) a good relationship with B.

So the logical thing to do for this person is to not spill the beans, so as not to ruin their own relationship with B.

But that doesn't mean that they won't do it. People make bad judgment calls too, and nothing stops him from making a bad judgment call.

Answer 2

What do you think he could do once he knows the application is done by me?

We don't know. We can't guess.

However, him confiding or not this with your boss has nothing to do with the NDA.

The NDA is an agreement to not disclose or tell anybody about the specifics of the project. You wanting to apply to a job is completely unrelated to the project itself, so the NDA has no governance on this person telling or not that to your boss.

Warning: Make sure you are not bound by any "Non-compete" agreement, as that would be different and that could matter here.