For a number of reasons I'd say:1) They want to gauge whether they are wasting their time investing in you as a candidate. They will usually not be paid a dime unless you accept one of the roles that they put you forward for. So clearly a candidate working exclusively with them - or where their openings are your preferred option - is far more likely to result in them earning a fee than someone who's already got their irons in lots of fires.2) They are working for quite a number of consulting clients and so want to weigh up what other options they could put to you that would be of interest so that they maximise the chances of placing you.3) They are gathering market intelligence to know who is and is not hiring at the moment.It's really not that different to a consulting company wanting to establish how many other firms have been invited to tender for a piece of work - and where their firm stands in the pecking order of firms likely to win the bid. If a consultancy is just making up the numbers so that the client has sourced the required number of bids to proceed with the award of contract to a firm they've already more or less decided on, you'd probably not choose to invest consultant man-hours in putting together a comprehensive bid...Tony RestellTop-Consultant.com
