The Exit Interview – Some Useful Points

Sometimes the best way to move forward in your career is to resign from your current position. If you decide to do so, your employer may ask you partake in an exit interview to find out how the company can improve working conditions and better retain its employees. No matter what you’re told, this is not the time to pour your heart out. After all, there’s no sense in burning bridges if you can avoid it. Also, keep in mind that exit interviews are never mandatory, but your boss might assume the worst if you refuse to participate. Follow these five tips in our exit interview survival guide to walk away from the meeting with your professional reputation intact.

Prepare your answers
Leaving your place of work can be a stressful experience. That’s why our exit interview survival guide recommends that you work out some of your comments in advance just in case nerves get the better of you during the meeting. It is, of course, impossible to predict every inquiry, but some questions are inevitable such as, “What is your main reason for leaving us?”, “How would you improve the department?” and “What does your new employer offer that we don’t?” As you prepare your answers, focus on clarity and diplomacy. You should also try to keep your responses brief so they’ll be easier to remember.

Stay positive
Whether you’re quitting because your career is in a rut or because you think your boss is incompetent, it’s crucial that you maintain a professional attitude and a positive outlook throughout your meeting. This is a key point in any exit interview survival guide. Don’t rant about trivial annoyances like poor ventilation or issues with parking validation. Doing so would only make you seem petty, which could cost you a good reference. Instead, focus on the company’s strong points and choose your topics carefully. If the interviewer presses you, only make constructive suggestions. Talk about what your office could do better, not what it’s doing wrong.

Don’t get personal
An exit interview is the absolute worst time to air your dirty laundry. What makes these surveys particularly dangerous is that you never know in whose hands the information may end up. That’s why you should always stick to general facts and avoid giving out names in your examples. Our exit interview survival guide also suggests that you refrain from boasting about your accomplishments within the company. Otherwise, you’d run the risk of accidentally denigrating some of your colleagues, and your employer might misinterpret your resignation as a desperate power play for a promotion. Besides, you should remember that this is an exit interview, not a job interview.

Don’t lie
The last thing you want is to get caught in a fabrication. You don’t need to put your credibility at risk to protect your privacy. If you want to conceal your reasons for quitting, it’s best to just remain vague on the subject. Keep in mind that you’re not obligated to answer every question. If a specific inquiry makes you uncomfortable, simply tell the interviewer that you have no comment. Another reason our exit interview survival guide advises against lying is that employers sometimes make a counter-offer to get you to stay. You wouldn’t want them to tailor their offer to the wrong information.

Inquire about your performance
An important point other exit interview survival guides often fail to mention is that you can use the process to improve your own professional skills. If your manager is present at the interview, ask for some constructive criticism. The benefits are twofold: First, you’re likely to learn a few things about yourself that will help you on your next job. Second, it gives you an idea of the comments you’d get if you were to use this employer as a reference. However, make sure to check your ego at the door. A defensive reaction on your part could cost you a valuable contact.

MAKE A SMOOTH EXIT
The advice in our exit interview survival guide will help you protect your professional reputation during the meeting. However, it’s also important that you politely decline if the human resource representative asks you to sign his or her notes. As we’ve mentioned before, it’s impossible to tell who will have access to this data, so a signed statement could easily come back to bite you in the ass if taken out of context. A good rule of thumb is to treat the interview as you would any other business meeting. As such, you should try to leave on a high note and make sure to thank your employer.