Is it bad to tell a company you are interviewing with you are interviewing elsewhere too?

[box*of*rain]

I used to be a sourcer (just laid off) but my job was to pre screen candidates for the recruiters. We had to ask where they were interviewing, and then the sales dept could use that info as a lead. If they knew company XYZ was hiring then they had their 'in.' Everyone I worked with (including me) hated asking that question bc it was just so weird. One girl was eventually fired bc she refused to ask. We had to get 40 business leads a month.

[Osito]

Why state it? I mean it's common knowledge that you probably are.

[Mae Maes Garden]

This was asked of me at an interview. I was honest and told them anout another, similar business. I thought it interesting that they even asked the question.

[bobsell]

There is no correct answer to this question.

In other words, every answer is WRONG.


If you do have other jobs that you are interviewing for and are in the process, they'll probably reject you because you have options. You are likely to have leverage in the salary negotiations and that means you cost more, meaning less money for the CEO's bonus check.

If you don't have other jobs that you are interviewing for, you clearly don't have options, and they can string you along and treat you like garbage and lowball you on salary.

I would ask "Are you interviewing other candidates for this position? How far down are you on this process?" Watch their response.

If they're like "that's confidential" and your response is "in the same way, that's confidential."

If they're power tripping, that's enough for you to know how bad they are.

[Jdawg8181]

Originally Posted by unknown00

One common question recruiters ask during initial screen is 'are you looking or interviewing elsewhere? how far are you down the process?', is it bad to say yes?
I have always thought being open and honest is the way to go but now I'm thinking otherwise because...

1. Companies want to hire someone who is passionate, dedicated, and goes for what they want. If you are looking around and interviewing elsewhere too, it shows you have interest in other places. It may show you are not serious about this opportunity and they would rather hire someone who is more eager
2. From my past experience, I, one time many years ago, had 3 final round interviews with 3 different companies all within 3 days. I was honest and told each one of them my situation. All 3 went well and every company wanted me. At the end of the interviews, the hiring managers would tell me and asked me stuff like 'I know you are interviewing with 2 other companies but I want you to choose us. What do you need from me?' etc etc. I basically got a verbal from all 3 on the spot. A couple days later, I got a written offer from 2 of them, and 1 of them called me and said they decided not to move forward. I always wondered why that one decided not to move forward cause again, the hiring manager said he wanted. The only thing I can think of is they wanted to hire someone who is passionate and dedicated and not shopping around elsewhere. This is a guess...

So thoughts on this topic?

I usually say I have some interviews in the works and just started actively looking. If you give them an indication they are not the only ones, sometimes if they like you, it will be more of an incentive for them to get the ball rolling so they don't miss out on you & you go elsewhere.