Interviewer (HR) wants to know more about a job offer I accepted. Which is the best way to answer that question?

Question

I will explain step by step what happened.

-I went for an interview at company A.

-The next day, I went for an interview at company B. I was offered the job and accepted it. I have already started working at company B.

-Interviewer(from Human Resources department) from company A tries to phone me to tell me that I had advanced to the next stage. I could not pick up my phone because my boss was near me. She sent me an email and told me I had advanced to next stage and that she would like to schedule another interview.

-I answered the email from company A within 24 hours and told her that although I am grateful because of them being interested in me, I had accepted another job offer that could not be declined.

-Interviewer from company A tried to phone me the next day but I could not pick up my phone because my boss was next to me. She sent me an email to ask me if I was interested in telling her about the job offer I had accepted.

-I answered within 24 hours and told her that I had already started working, I apologized for not being able to tell her about the job offer I accepted and told her that I preferred to keep those details private.

Was that the best way to answer that question? What was she trying to find out?

Answer 1

It's impossible to know what she was trying to find out without asking her. Some HR departments track their hiring activities to measure their recruiting success (or lack thereof). It is possible that she was just trying to find out why they lost out on you, because they obviously thought highly enough of you to want to continue evaluating you.

It's up to you whether, and how, to respond to her. You might consider simply answering her email with a short description along the lines of "I took at job at ABC Company as a X."

Ignoring her, or responding in a negative way, might burn a bridge that you someday might have wanted to cross. Its always nice to leave a pleasant impression. It can only benefit you later.

Answer 2

Was that the best way to answer that question? What was she trying to find out?

It's none of the recruiters business what you are doing since you have declined to progress further with them. I think you did the right thing.

In general information is always worth something, don't give it away, especially when you don't know the agenda. There is a number of things she might have been trying to find out, none of which should concern you.