Do interviewers have a duty of privacy?

Andrew_Ryan_89

Hey guys,

A friend of mine had an interview last week. He pointed out the fact that the head of department came in, asked him who was his head and then mentioned that he knew him "very well". My friend called me concerned that this person would go back and tell his boss that he just interviewed him or ask him for feedback about his performance.

I told him it won't happen in any official context as you have not been offered the job and given permission for references and so on.

Let's say for example my friend gets questioned about his whereabouts that day and it's painfully obvious that his manager knows that he went for an interview. Does the other person have some kind of legal duty to the candidates not to notify their employers about job applications and such?

dcouponzzzz

I'm not aware of any legal duty not to (Sangie will be along with that knowledge), but I certainly wouldn't want to work for someone that would do so if I specifically ask them not to. Instant breach of trust.

SeanG79

In my experience limited experience, the interviewer will not disclose the interview to any third party.

I know of an instance where the interviewer contacted the MD of the candidates current company for an unrelated matter and did not divulge that the employee had been for an interview the previous day.

sangie595

There's no legal duty, and in some cases ye, they do contact employers. Usually they will ask (references) but there's no reason they have to. On the other hand, it would be hard to prove that they gained their knowledge in this way.

Takeaway_Addict

If your friend came for an interview with me and I realised they worked for a competitor I was friendly with then yes I would let them know they had an employee looking to leave, even if I didn't offer them a job.

I would rather my friend was prepared as much as possible for potential disruption than worry about your friend.

Andrew_Ryan_89

^ That is, without a doubt, a !!!! head move. You have notice periods for a reason. I hope you're not in a senior position Takeaway_addict because !!!!! like you are why so many people dislike their roles.

sangie595

Andrew_Ryan_89 wrote: »

^ That is, without a doubt, a !!!! head move. You have notice periods for a reason. I hope you're not in a senior position Takeaway_addict because !!!!! like you are why so many people dislike their roles.

Wow. Anger management issues???

And that is why I would contact someone I knew - I'd be asking them if there was anything - good or bad - that I needed to know about in making a decision. The truth is that we all know that references don't always contain the truth. But if that really quite good seeming person in the interview was likely to blow their top when someone says something they don't like, then I'd want to know about it (and wouldn't appoint them).

d70cw6

Andrew_Ryan_89 wrote: »

^ That is, without a doubt, a !!!! head move. You have notice periods for a reason. I hope you're not in a senior position Takeaway_addict because !!!!! like you are why so many people dislike their roles.

you sound like a typical entitled special snowflake millennial.
gratz.

Alice_Walker

It's always a "friend" ...

Strummer22

I thought that for the most part references would only be taken up after a job offer is accepted. That's certainly why I do not put referees on my CV.

I'm pretty sure the purpose of this is to stop your current employer from knowing that you're job hunting. If an interviewer bypassed the references process and did let my current employer know I was job hunting before they made an offer to me, I'd be royally peeved.

If you're mates with the prospective employees boss, you can do the formal referencing process after a job offer is made as well as call the boss up to ask what they really think. Not breaching the prospective employees' trust and still getting the dirt from their boss.

[Deleted User]

I've heard tales of people being asked for interviews just so the recruiters can find out about their firm - a low level of industrial espionage.

So no - what you say in a job interview is not confidential. The fact you had an interview is not confidential either.