Why you should tell your recruiter where you're interviewing

I hear this all the time: candidates being hesitant to tell their recruiter where they're interviewing. Now let me preface my argument by saying that some recruiters look to take shortcuts and just want their candidates to do their sourcing - but most engineers know who these people are.  

So, in the case of working with a good agent/partner for your job search, you should always tell them where you are interviewing. I pride myself on my knowledge of the market I specialize in, so there needs to be an avenue for me to share that. It's also the only way for a recruiter to confirm the information you've shared. For example, if we meet in my office and you tell me you're not interested in a consulting role, but then you're interviewing with 3 of them - I'm missing something.  

A good recruiter will also operate as your career coach. It's really the only mainstream role in the country that enables you to get an informed perspective of your career track. We know how to maximize your utility and what hiring managers want to see. For example, coming out of a smaller team (6-9, probably agile) will always look better than coming out of a larger team (20-40, probably waterfall) because in a smaller team you tend to be less specialized/siloed and will have a better perspective on the SDLC and infrastructure. You also have to contribute more in a small team and cannot be a "free-rider." Advice like this is something you aren't able to get from anyone else objectively. Others will have individual opinions based on maybe 1 or 2 people, but a recruiter gets to see 40 people take and leave jobs every month and knows the reasons they choose to do so, the salaries they make, etc.  

On the flip side, knowing where my candidates are interviewing and their timelines - I'm able to prep my clients on moving fast and offering more. That old adage ‘you're more attractive if others want you’ definitely holds true in the engineering world. Why not let me get you a higher and quicker offer?  It's also a way to promote efficiency of hiring.  A lot of companies have drawn out interview processes and technical tests (don't you engineers just love those?) - by leveraging your interview activity and if you've passed other strong companies technical exams, we can skip several steps and save you a ton of time.

The last thing might sound a bit more selfish, but it's that philosophy of "give to get" and ultimately helps recruiters provide a better service. You want the knowledge I have of the market to benefit your job search, right? The only way for us to get this information and analyze our findings on the market it is if you tell us! Of course let your recruiter prove themselves to you, ask others in your network if you've worked with them, make sure they can generate the right interviews for you, and always look for a specialist. But if we hit all those things, then help us help you!