I saw this in the Post-Dispatch, but had to pull it from Buffalo.
"Answers to Unwanted Interview Questions." It's from a syndicated employment column by Joyce Kennedy where she gives answers to what candidates should say to recruiters who ask where else the candidate is interviewing.
Her suggestion is to lie, obfuscate, flatter or remain silent in order to best protect your position as the #1 candidate. Go ahead and read it.
This kind of advice is just about the worst you can get, and it's sent out nationally. A candidate may be able to pull out such a ruse, but 90% of people interviewing, and anyone who gets their employment advice out of the newspaper is going to sack their interview trying to be clever.
Here's what you should do. Ask the recruiter why they want to know in a calm and professional manner. They will explain it to you, or they will make up some flimsy excuse.
A good recruiter has to know everything about you - including where you are looking. If you refuse to tell them, they are going to realize you are hiding something from them. We don't send candidates to hiring managers that lie to us.
If the recruiter is trying to use you to dig up information, it shouldn't hurt you if you're the best person for the job. Honesty is always the best policy. And if you feel used, don't work with that recruiter anymore.
There's enough distrust in the marketplace without poisoning the well. If you have to use tricks in an interview to win you the job, chances are you shouldn't have that job. If an internal recruiter is trying to scam you, chances are you don't want to want the job. If an external recruiter is trying to source you for information, you wouldn't want to work with them, either.
Honesty. That's the best employment strategy. Demand it and interview by it.
And for goodness sake be careful in the advice you follow.
