Exit Interview Tips (DO NOT Do This)
You quit your job, you’re ready to go, and then you get the email from HR asking you for an exit interview, which leaves you wondering, what is an exit interview? Do you have to go to an exit interview? What are common questions and answers you should give and what should you not say in an exit interview? Well, my friend, I’m going to be breaking all of that down in this video. If you are ready for exit interview tips for employees, tap that like button, and let’s just jump straight into it. Let’s begin with the basics. What is an exit interview and why do companies do them?
An exit interview is exactly what it sounds like. It’s something that is typically done by the human resources team before an employee departs the organization to find out more about their experience working there. If you quit your job, it’s going to explore the reasons why you chose to leave and the goal of that is really to help them understand why people leave so that they can hopefully fix those problems. You can expect an exit interview to be requested when you resign from your job. But some companies also do exit interviews in situations such as layoffs. But just because they ask you to do an exit interview, do you have to do the exit interview as an employee?
The simple answer to this one is probably no. First of all, your employer might not ask for one because not all companies do that. And to be honest, a lot of the companies that do exit interviews don’t do a lot of information with what they gather in the exit interview from employees. What I’m saying is most people who do them, it’s kind of BS. You know, I don’t like sugarcoating things here. So if most companies don’t take the information and they don’t actually do anything about it, why should you dress up and go to their circus? Well, the best reason I can give you is to be a good team player as you leave.
But I think it’s important for you to go into your exit interview with that context. I’ve worked with people who are ready to go unless all of the problems in their accident interview and think that they were going to help their company save employees in the future. But really, the information typically doesn’t go anywhere, and sometimes giving that information can actually bite you and your reputation at the company. So let’s get into some typical exit interview questions and answers that you can give. I’m going to let you know the answers not to give, the answers that are really safe to give, and the in-between.
In situations where you have resigned from your job, they are going to ask you what is your reason for leaving? What you don’t want to say here is that this place is toxic AF. The safe answer to give is something along the lines of an opportunity more aligned with my goals presented itself in instances where there have been known issues that haven’t necessarily been addressed. You can also cite these. For example, if the pay was an ongoing issue, you have tried several times to get raises and they have been declined. Citing the fact that you were moving to an organization that offered you a competitive salary is fair. I know that this is a blaze of glory question that a lot of people think about airing all of their issues, but my best suggestion to most people for this answer is don’t and I’m going to come back to why in just a little bit.
The next question that you’re probably going to get asked is something along the lines of how do you feel about leadership? This can also be things like how was a relationship with your manager? Any feedback on how leadership can improve? It’s probably in your best interest not to say they’re a pile of idiots that probably have some form of personality disorder that probably requires a medical diagnosis. The safe answer is to find something that you actually like about the leadership team and to reflect on that. You can say something like the thing I admire about the leadership team is their long-term vision, and if you want to give an in-between answer because you think that they might actually be receptive, you can say something along the lines of There were things that I appreciated. However, overall I feel like my style is different from the leadership style here.
Most active interviewers also ask you a question along the lines of did you have opportunities to grow here? For this one, try not to give the answer in this toxic environment with the perfect blend of lack of training, micromanagement, and mistrust. The safe answer, which is true in almost every situation, is I grew in ways I didn’t expect during my time here. However, if this is a known issue or again, you feel like this is going to be a more receptive exit interview based on your relationship with the company, you could say something along the lines of this is a growth area for the company, and there are times that I felt like I could have been providing more opportunities to grow.
This next question I find to be such a strange one, but sometimes it’s very legitimate. And that accident interview question is, did you have everything that you needed to do your job? You don’t want to say, Are you kidding me? You barely paid for me to have an email address, let alone the tools I needed to succeed. The safe answer is, overall, I had the right tools I needed on a day to day basis, or I had most of the tools I needed on a day to day basis, and the in-between should sound something along the lines of there were occasions where I made my manager aware of gaps that we had in terms of the tools and resources we needed to do our jobs.
Well, the next exit interview questions a total ego stroke. What did you enjoy most about working here? Don’t say the part where I didn’t have to work here anymore. A safe answer is, again, a genuine compliment to the company. It could be something like there was a great sense of community and the team got along really well. And then there’s the fully loaded question. This is the one where I feel like a lot of people, especially if you’re leaving because of legitimate grievances, really want to unload. And that accident interview question is, how would you improve the company? It would not be a good idea to say, yeah, everything. Leadership, culture, systems. Yep, everything.
Now, I know some of you resign from your job because of very legitimate reasons, and you might not want to go anywhere near this question. In this case, it is perfectly fine to say I don’t feel comfortable sharing anything beyond what I’ve already shared. Now, if you think that they would actually take action, you might share some actual things here. However, I want you to be very aware of what we talked about in that most companies contractually take action on any of the insights they learn when they do an exit interview. However, saying negative things can really burn bridges and hurt your reputation, and that can have long-term consequences that you don’t anticipate when you’re sitting in the exit interview.
So let’s dive into what not to say in the exit interview. There’s something that I think is important to remember that a lot of people don’t keep in mind when they are doing an exit interview as an employee and that is this is the official documentation from the company. This is something that can be reviewed should you ever want to work there again, what do you want to be on the record as saying? And I know that some of you who watch this channel are leaving your employer under very tense circumstances and you may even be pursuing legal avenues. In this case, don’t do the exit interview or sign any documentation until you’ve had time to consult with an employment lawyer. I’m not a lawyer. I’m not giving you any legal advice here. But what I do want to say is if there is any grander implications, potentially that the few hundred dollars that it’s going to cost to consult with an employment lawyer can save you a lot of headaches and agony down the road.
The next thing not to say in an exit interview is something I’ve already touched on. In most cases, being critical in an exit interview is actually just a gigantic waste of rap. Let’s face it, most people and most companies don’t want to admit their faults. So cognitive assistance starts kicking into play. And instead of accepting accountability, what they’ll do is they’ll write you off as some second-rate employee who wasn’t very good at their job on that incidental. Harm to your professional reputation can have long-term consequences. At the end of the day whether you participate in the accident interview and what you say in the accident interview is up to you.
Just keep these things in mind and if you want to use any of the answers that I provided you except for the don’t say one, go for it because really it’s time for you to start getting excited about your new job or your next step. It’s never too early to start preparing for success so I want you to go and check out this video that’s going to help you slate your first week at your new job. But before you go, if this video helps you prepare for your accident review, give it a thumbs up. It really helps my channel and it makes you my favorite person. If you haven’t already considered subscribing and becoming one of my career besties. As always, thank you so much for watching friends, I will see you in the next video bye for now, bye.
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