So let's say I work in a company but I am open for applying to other companies. And while updating my resume I wondered if it is okay to mention the name of product that I currently work on or responsible of, or/and what does the application do and how does it do it. And as Non-Technical, to mention why I like it but I am applying to another job.

If it is okay, do I mention that in the resume or in the interview once I get it? And how could I approach the new job?

Edit: I work as a Software Engineer and I spend most of my time writing and reviewing codes. The product is a hardware/software system and it is commercial and customers are using it already. I did not sign any contracts. I would like to say what does the application do exactly and how does it do it because I feel it will support my application to mention that I can maintain/develop such a system and solve such a problem (product's function is to solve a certain problem).

  • 1
    What you can talk about depends on what type of contracts you signed. Tech industries have something called "NDA" (Non-Disclosure Agreements), and if you signed one of those, you say NOTHING.
    – Nelson
    Jun 17 '16 at 5:11
  • 1
    "to mention the name of product ... what does the application do and how does it do it" - Are these things public knowledge already (e.g. the product is available for download or purchase to a wide audience)
    – Brandin
    Jun 17 '16 at 7:10
  • @Nelson please see edit
    – Sandra K
    Jun 17 '16 at 13:48
  • @Nope In your edit I still can't really tell if it's public knowledge or not. The fact that customers are using it does not really matter. If you share secret information, that is bad, regardless of contractual agreements.
    – Brandin
    Jun 17 '16 at 14:24

NDAs and Classified Work

Know what you signed when you joined the company. If you signed anything about not telling people what it is you are working on then you cannot. If you are unsure check with your manager or HR. The company might allow certain things to be said like name of products but none of the details about how the product works. So again talk with you manager or HR to determine this.

Outside of those two things if you did not sign something and you are comfortable with talking about it in an everyday conversation with people then it can go on the resume.


I would save this for the interview. Your resume should be focused and all the space on it is precious. Also keep it positive, if you go negative about aspects of things you did not like, it will hurt you.


You have to be careful. You can mention some things if the product is known to the world at large.

However, let's take it to an extreme: Suppose the product you are currently working on is Global Thermonuclear War. There are some things you do not talk about, and that's one of them. (You'll have the full power of the US government breathing down your back if you do.) Even if your product you work on is much, much more mundane than Global Thermonuclear War, it still might well be something that your current employer views as intellectual property. While they don't have people carrying guns, they do have lawyers.

Even if what you worked on is not intellectual property, there is a better approach than talking about the boring details of the product you worked on. Talk instead about the tools, techniques, and tricks you learned while on the job. Those are the things your future employer will want to leverage rather than the specific product on which you worked.

  • -1 because this answer doesn't even mention non-disclosure agreements or other contractual requirements.
    – user45590
    Jun 17 '16 at 7:54

As others have said, what you say in an interview should not go beyond what you could say to someone working at a competing company -- and you really should already know the rules for that!

This isn't generally a problem. What the interviewer needs to know is how you have been applying your skills, not what you have been applying them to. You can generally find a way to tell them what you have been doing and it's impact on the project without having to disclose proprietary details about exactly how you made it work or the product/project it was used in.

You may want to practice that in advance before going into interviews. Which is good advice generally -- it help a lot if you know what messages you want to give them, and how you want to phrase them for best impact, before the interview starts.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .