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The short answer is, I'm unable to answer this question;
please see my answer to the question:
are you available?
The long answer is...
Screeners:
Hearing this question usually means I have a
new problem; I'm
dealing with a suspicious sceener, not a friendly
recruiter. And, as we already know, suspicious
screeners are more than eager to screen me out.
Trick questions:
This is also a trick question, because regardless
how I answer it, my answer will work against me!
If my answer is,
"Yes, I've got three pending
opportunities", then the average,
cautious, fearful screener can see
this is as proof that
"Rob has too many things on his plate",
and he won't submit my resume, and won't
persue any interviews for me, because he fears
the competition is too much.
Alternatively, if my answer is,
"No, at this time I don't have any pending
opportunities", then
the average, cautious, fearful screener can see
this is as proof that
"Rob is a loser", and he won't
submit my resume, and won't persue any
interviews for me, because he fears making
the wrong choice in candidates.
Alternatively, if my answer is,
"Sorry, I can't tell you", then
the average, cautious, fearful screener can see
this is as proof that "Rob is uncooperative",
and he won't submit my resume, and won't
persue any interviews for me, because he fears
either problems, or competition, or both.
Not in my best interest:
It's not in my best interest to tell one firm
what I'm doing with another, and I never
pass information about opportunities with
one firm on to another. Think about it.
If I tell someone where my resume is, I
am giving him/her a list of where my
skills might be in demand. If there is
anything on that list that they don't
know about, they'll send a sales
representative to see if they can get a
piece of the action. The bottom line is
that it'll increase my competition and
that's something I don't need.
Sometimes, and I have seen this more than
once, a firm knowingly creates a
conflict to cause an interview to be
cancelled.
Never pass information:
The second part of the rule, never pass
information on from one firm to another,
is just plain common sense. It doesn't
take contract staffing firms and agencies
long to identify people who do that and
they'll just stop working with me. Again,
that limits my opportunities, and is
therefore not in my best interest.
Interested, or not interested?
If I have an offer or a highly probable
offer pending that's significantly
better than the opportunity you're
talking about, I'll tell you that I'm
not interested in that particular
opportunity, but might be interested in
another opportunity at a better rate, in
a better location, or with a more
interesting job function. I try to be
honest about what I really want, but
giving the contract firm or agency
information about my other opportunities can
only reduce my options.
Real recruiters ask,
"I would like to submit your
resume to XYZ Company; has anyone submitted you
there recently?"
This is a legitimate question, and there is
a legitimate reason
for a recruiter to ask this question.
Please don't ask,
"Where else have you interviewed?" and "What
companies have you already submitted your resume to?"
There is no legitimate reason for a recruiter to ask these questions!
If my answer is,
"Yes, I have interviewed at XYZ", a dishonest
recruiter is
likely to submit to XYZ the resumes of
other contractors with similar
qualifications.
Their usual follow-up question is, "Did you
interview with _____?" The
gullible candidate responds, "No, I interviewed
with_____," giving the
dishonest recruiter not only the name of the
company, but also the
person to address the other resumes to.
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