This is your first week in your new job at Safety Zone, a leading producer of IT modeling software. Your prior experience with a smaller competitor gave you an edge in landing the job, and you are excited about joining a larger company in the same field.

So far, all is going well and you are getting used to the new routine. However, you are concerned about one issue. In your initial meeting with the IT manager, she seemed very interested in the details of your prior position, and some of her questions made you a little uncomfortable. She did not actually ask you to reveal any proprietary information, but she made it clear that Safety Zone likes to know as much as possible about its competitors. Thinking about it some more, you try to draw a line between information that is OK to discuss, and topics such as software specifics or strategy that should be considered private.

This is the first time you have ever been in a situation like this. How will you handle it?

The best thing to do in this situation would be to simply answer the questions to the best of your ability without divulging any proprietary information of your previous employer. This will allow you to be honest and maintain a legal boundary between you and your previous employer. Since the hiring manager has not specifically asked you for such proprietary information you should be fine if you think carefully about what you are saying in your answers. Aside from this, staying firm with your answers and protecting the integrity of your previous employers proprietary information shows to your new employer that you are trustworthy and are able to keep such information safe and to yourself.