“Are You Interviewing Anywhere Else?”
They're asking two things at once: how fast do we have to move, and does anyone else want this person. If the honest answer is “no, nothing else is live,” that's fine — saying it apologetically is what costs you. Get a short, discreet answer that gives them a real timeline and never bluffs an offer you don't have.
Generated for: Career changer from teaching, interviewing for an instructional designer role, with one other early conversation
Yes, though not much — one other conversation, first round, at a company in a similar space. I'd rather not name them, mostly because I'd want the same discretion about you.
On timing, so it's useful to you: nothing is close to a decision, and I don't have an offer in hand or a deadline I'm working against. My search is narrow on purpose — I'm coming out of eight years of teaching and I've been deliberate about only going after roles where the instructional design is the actual job rather than a slice of a marketing role, so there are maybe five companies I'd genuinely say yes to. This is one of them. The reason is the internal-enablement focus: you're building for adult learners who have to use the thing on Monday, which is closer to what I already do than the compliance-course work most of these postings turn out to be.
If that changes — if anything gets to an offer stage — I'll tell you before it becomes a surprise.
Why this one works
- Answers the logistics question honestly and immediately, then declines to name the company with a reason that flatters the interviewer.
- A thin pipeline is reframed once as selectivity and then dropped — no over-explaining, no invented offer.
- Closes on a specific, checkable reason this role is on the short list, plus an offer to keep them informed.
Yours is written from your own background and the role you're actually interviewing for — not this one. One credit per answer, $9.99 for a single credit or $49.99 for ten. Fill in the form below to generate it.