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I had someone e-mailed me that they saw my Resume and wanted to ask more about projects (more than one listed on my resumes).

The question was "Please send me a more detailed resume with the work environment for the various projects you have mentioned in your resume".

I was perfectly happy to talk about most of them except for one.

For competition reasons I am unable to fully disclose all technical details on only one of the project.

My project listed on my Resume looks like (not quite exact word used but close enough):

Freelancer Author/Programmer (followed by 4 book titles)
Contractor Programmer -development work on website server/front-end
Remote Unity 3D video game project

Website server/front-end is the one I can't really comment much about.

How should I respond to a request for more information like this?

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  • I missed your comment. Yes semi-officially verbal agreed to a NDA.
    – Vyndicu
    Oct 27, 2016 at 17:00
  • Keep some undetermined stuff about a project a secret. The studio I worked at was fairly smallish only 3 people. Most of the "office space" were all storage for various bits. There was very little need for a paper to sign. Beside It would be easy to find where any info leaked out if I "tell a tale" so to speak.
    – Vyndicu
    Oct 27, 2016 at 17:22

4 Answers 4

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List the technologies used, there is no need to go into detail on the actual project. If asked directly just say that's it's still under a non disclosure. If they insist then that is a red flag.

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I think you're reading more into this than you need to. Just a polite "For this one I'm under NDA so I can't discuss" will suffice, since you have other projects to discuss. It's likely the request is to better understand your skills and experiences, hopefully for a job offer.

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  • This is a specialized internal website that only the client can access to. Think of it as a portal to e-mail kind of deal. True enough that most website can be freely accessible. What I worked on isn't that as public.
    – Vyndicu
    Oct 25, 2016 at 23:54
  • @Vyndicu Understood. I've edited that tangent out. I don't think it's a big deal... "Can you explain these 3 projects?" "Well, I can explain 2 of them...".
    – jimm101
    Oct 25, 2016 at 23:59
  • @JoeStrazzere Are we sure? Sounds at least like there's some equivalent arrangement with the "competitive reasons".
    – jimm101
    Oct 28, 2016 at 16:50
  • @JoeStrazzere absolutely... specific phrasing aside, basically brushing off the one as off limits and explains the others sounds like it would suffice.
    – jimm101
    Oct 28, 2016 at 17:18
  • Sounds like they want to know what you did in terms of roles and technologies, which should be possible to specify, rather than anything that would be covered by a typical NDA (I.e. Identities or specific functionalities).
    – Gwyn Evans
    Nov 1, 2016 at 23:37
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For competition reasons I am unable to fully disclose all technical details on only one of the project.

How should I respond to a request for more information like this?

Discuss the project as much as you can.

Don't disclose any details that you feel you cannot divulge. If asked, just indicate that you can't go further for competitive reasons. If they are a decent company, they will understand. If they don't, you probably don't want to work there anyway.

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  • 2
    +1 for the last sentence. So many people forget that interviews are for the employee to evaluate the company, as well.
    – sevenseacat
    Oct 26, 2016 at 7:51
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To the hiring manager, it could sound like you are lying about your experience when you refuse to talk about a project. So be ready to talk about anything on your resume.

You can say that the actual projects are under NDA (if they are). At that point you can discuss very general details like what technologies were used and how long you worked on the project and what your role was.

If the project is not under any formal agreement, you can just say that you were asked to not discuss certain specifics, or that you think it would be unethical to divulge those details.

For example, if you worked on a website for an upcoming show for Disney(like I did), do not mention the project if you have an NDA, for the term listed. Just say that you worked for a major entertainment network. If you worked on a specific website for one of their products, just say you worked on a (for example) microsite to promote (product type) and among the technologies used you implemented (for example) canvas animations or whatever.

If they keep asking, it might mean that you come off as inexperienced or dishonest. So be prepared to tell the story about what type of problem you were solving, what issues you ran into and how you solved them, how you came in on time and on budget, or why you did not and have a good reason for it.

If they harass you to answer, that means they either don't respect your privacy, or do not respect your professional capabilities. Either way, you have no job at that point, so respectfully end the interview and say that it might be better to save each other time.

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  • This was the employeer question for me; not how I frame it. The actual direct quote phrase was "Please send me a more detailed resume with the work environment for the various projects you have mentioned in your resume".
    – Vyndicu
    Oct 25, 2016 at 22:44
  • @Vyndicu oh ok, that is totally understandable. Can you post a link to your resume? or upload a screenshot of that section? maybe we can offer something to help out.
    – JGallardo
    Oct 25, 2016 at 22:49

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