Negotiation question: When do you tell the company you are interviewing for that you are also interviewing somewhere else / have current offers?
I recently had an interview and before booking it, they emailed me a list of questions (including my major, university) and "current company and/or competing deadlines (dates/companies): ______"
I wasn't happy about this when I got the email and read I was never to reveal too much information. I felt cornered, pressured, and my family also really pressured me to interview with this company I know was for the wrong role (too junior, wrong focus area). I did it anyway and now I regret even taking the interview, it was actually a huge waste of my time.
What should you do if a recruiter emails this and says they require this (and a long list of other questions) within a 24 time period? Something I'm thinking about in the future if this happens again.
The recruiter was internal to the company and not 3rd party. By the way this was considered a "pre-screen" interview and normally I don't talk about other competing deadlines or offers until like the very LATE stages of interviewing (meaning you've already gone through like at least 3-6 rounds, not the pre-1st round which I found SO odd).
This is the list of questions I was sent:
"[ACTION] Complete this Questionnaire within 24 hours [copy & paste answers to the below in an email reply]
- current company and/or competing deadlines (dates/companies): ______
- motivators (when deciding on multiple offers, what is most important to you i.e. mission, culture, team selection, location, etc.): ______
- please note that all x y z city headcount has been filled. Rank remaining locations in order of preference * xyz, CA, x y z city, state): _____
- are you open/available to start on September 9, 2024: ______
- preferred name: ______
- pronouns (i.e. he/him, she/her, they/them, etc.): ______
- graduation date (month/year): ______
- degree (level & major): ______
- university: ______
- hobbies/anything else you’d like me to know (optional): ______
![Senior Software Engineer [E5] at Meta company logo](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirebasestorage.googleapis.com%2Fv0%2Fb%2Ftech-career-growth.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fcompany_logos%252Fmeta.jpeg%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3Da7a5bcc0-e178-4b5b-b71e-09bf6c6aefae&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
![Entry-Level Software Engineer [L3] at Google company logo](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirebasestorage.googleapis.com%2Fv0%2Fb%2Ftech-career-growth.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fcompany_logos%252Fgoogle.jpeg%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3D780356ef-3efc-4728-9eb4-d909b75bb4a6&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
Discussion
(7 comments)- 29 months agoTech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
For anything that could hurt you (e.g. competing deadlines, salary expectations), I simply wouldn't fill it out. If they require something, just put N/A.
You can fill out things like degree/university since those are fact-based questions about the past, but even there, don't feel like you need to over-share. For motivators, just say something non-offensive. You don't have to be (read: *you should not be*) fully transparent here.
These questions usually hurt you, not help you. Your goal at the beginning of the interview process should be to interact with a human as much as possible. Once you have some level of engagement from a human and you show your genuine interest, you have a high chance to move into the actual interview.
I'm surprised Meta would require this, not a good look 😡
- 19 months agoMid-Level Software Engineer [OP]Taro Community
It was Meta internal interviewer/recruiter. Ya it was hella shady.
- 1
9 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroI wonder if this is a new thing or maybe it only applies to new grads? The junior engineer market is brutal right now as there's very few jobs (especially at FAANG) and way too many candidates. The worksheet might be a way to filter out bad-fit new grads very quickly?
Another theory is that this recruiter is a contractor instead of full-time (you won't be able to tell this as the candidate).
My last theory is that this recruiter is brand new to Meta, and this is some process they carried over from their previous company.
- 1
9 months agoEngineer @ RobinhoodThe question about competing offers and the list of questions are pretty standard: the ones about hobbies is kind of a bit odd though (I wouldn't fill that one out). The recruiter is likely using the questionaire to determine:
- If you fit the criteria for the role (location, interest in company, etc.). If you don't, it's better for both parties to not proceed before the company involves another human.
- How much the recruiter should push the company to speed up/slow down the interview. If you say you have a competing offer with a deadline, they'll move a lot quicker. If you are in the process with other companies, I'd decline to name any companies unless they're name brands. Everyone has interviewed/will interview for a big company, but smaller companies are usually fighting for a smaller pool of talent (so it's a bit more invasive for those companies).
- 19 months agoMid-Level Software Engineer [OP]Taro Community
@alex can you believe this company is Meta?
- 19 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course Hero
oh wait wtf 😬
Back when I interviewed at Meta, they never did anything as intrusive as the worksheet you got. Are you working with a full-time Meta recruiter? The contractors and the 3rd party recruiters can be highly variable (i.e. terrible).
- 09 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course Hero
So in general, you should tell other companies ASAP when you already have offers or are in late stages for other companies. The reason is so that you can make them move faster and try to get as many concurrent offers as possible. More offers = more leverage for negotation
That being said, this company is super weird. A lot of this information like university and pronouns are on your resume and LinkedIn. Asking for hobbies is... strange (at least it's optional). This feels like a yellow flag to me at least, maybe even a red flag. I wouldn't interview here unless you have no other options, but you might want to go through the motions to make your family happy. This market's terrible, so every job opportunity is valuable right now.
Here's our playlist about negotiation as well: [Taro Top 10] Pay Negotiation
