You’ve decided to leave your current role and organisation. You’ve submitted your resignation, agreed your last day at work, maybe even organised a leaving do. While your thoughts may be preoccupied with the future – a new role, a new industry, or even a career break – you may well have one more decision to make before you go.
You may be invited to attend an exit interview with your current employer. Many – although not all – organisations invite leavers to such interviews. But should you actually take them up on their offer?
Why do organisations offer exit interviews?
Exit interviews function as an end point to an employment journey, tying up any loose ends; they can help shed light on why an individual has decided to leave. Exit interviews are a way for companies to harvest feedback and valuable information which can help them to identify positives and negatives from employees experiences that can guide future improvements.
Potential personal pitfalls for you
At first sight, it’s all too obvious what the drawbacks of an exit interview might be for you personally. If you’re not careful, you can fall into the tempting, but ultimately damaging, trap of the self-harming exit interview. As The Economist puts it, when you’re invited to participate, “it is tempting either to ignore everyone and just walk away or, conversely, to really let rip.” Dishing the dirt, while momentarily cathartic, can certainly do you more harm than good in the long term. Yes, it might feel good to settle some scores, to tell the unadulterated truth about that colleague who tipped you over the edge to resignation. Or to deliver a no-holds-barred takedown of the management.
Ultimately, though, the cliché is a cliché for a reason: it’s true. It is a small world. You never know when, where, or in what future capacity you might bump into someone from a past employer. One of my clients had exactly this situation when they moved on to avoid working with a manager, only for that manager to join the new firm a few months later. It was a good job we’d talked through how to handle the exit interview before they left!
Using your interview to settle scores weakens your own personal brand and integrity. And for what? What do you expect might happen as a result?
It’s important to remember that exit interviews are optional. As Jack Kelly states in Forbes, they can be requested — but not demanded by the organisation you’re leaving. Unless you’ve agreed to this being a clause in your contract, you are not compelled to attend.
Why say yes to an exit interview?
Knowing all of this, why do I encourage anyone who’s offered an exit interview to accept? What’s in it for you?
The easiest thing to do is to walk away and turn down the invitation. That way, you don’t do any damage. Right? Well maybe not.
I believe that exit interviews can be a potentially positive experience for a resigning employee. A good exit interview can help you transition successfully from one organisation to another– without burning any bridges.
Exit interviews are a transaction. Taking the opportunity your former organisation has offered you to be heard potentially improves the relationship between you and them. You never know when that might be useful for you; but even if nothing more ever comes from it, leaving on good terms is a win.
If you treat this invitation as a valuable experience, it shows you in a good light. As The Economist points out, rejecting the chance to talk things over with your former employer can make you look petty or resentful. Parting on amicable terms, if at all possible, can only be a good thing for you.
What are the personal benefits of an exit interview?
- Maintaining positive relationships
You’ve probably worked hard to build good working relationships in your organisation. These may benefit you in the future, if you keep them intact through a positive exit interview leaving the door potentially open if things don’t work out. I have worked with a number of ‘boomerang’ employees who have gone back to a former organisation if things didn’t quite work out as expected with a new employer.
- Keeping the channels of communication open
Being able to have a mutually respectful conversation with your former employer might keep the lines of communication open for future possibilities. I had one client who was leaving a business she loved to set up her own business. Through the exit interview as able to re-engage with the employer in a different way as a self-employed consultant.
- Future career development opportunities
Never turn down a chance to network – and never say never to returning to an organisation you’ve worked for in the past. Or indeed, working for, or with, the same people when they potentially also move on themselves. A good exit interview can keep this on the table for you.
- Good old altruism – a genuine desire to help others
Even though this might not benefit you directly, making helpful, constructive and gentle suggestions in an exit interview could positively impact the working lives of people you’re leaving behind. You maybe see an important opportunity to highlight some areas of improvement that will make a difference to others.
Top tips for a successful exit interview
- Perfect preparation
As with any interview, it’s all in the planning. Use the many exit interview templates available online to get an idea of what sort of questions you might be asked – and plan some great answers. Think about the key messages, constructive feedback that you want to share and approach it carefully and thoughtfully.
- What’s the purpose for you?
Consider what you want to come out of the interview. What value will you get out of what you say there? Don’t compromise your values by not being true to yourself, but always think through the end result. Keep your focus on what you can realistically hope to achieve. You’re not going to be able to heal the entire culture of the place, but you can be respectful, honest and still keep your aims for the interview at the heart of what you say. Think about the end result you want: both for you and those you leave behind.
- Keep it constructive
This is key. Keeping the conversation constructive, even if inside you’re feeling negative, is vital if you’re going to maintain a decent relationship with your former employer. Some good starting points are highlighting any positives about working there and what you’ve enjoyed/appreciated expressing any gratitude for any opportunities that you have had.
If you do want to share some constructive feedback to help raise awareness or help the employer improve do this carefully so it comes across as helpful rather than resentful. Maybe you could also talk about the reasons you’ve been drawn to another employer – couched in positive terms. If you’ve been there for a long time, it’s probably a bit easier to do this, but consider being an advocate for your former employers – they must have done something right for you to have joined in the first place and then stayed there!
- Keep an eye on the future
Consider the impact on your future career at all times. Remember that what you say will be potentially kept as a record. Use your filter, be polite and respectful throughout. If you do want to speak about anything that could potentially be viewed as challenging. As I’ve mentioned before in my post about radical candour, it’s always important to consider how something you say will land. Always bear in mind, your future references and how people may present/portray anything you have said.
- Further feedback.
Post-exit interview, you could consider leaving further feedback for the company online via sites like Glassdoor, Indeed or Google. It’s worth remembering that sometimes the balance of reviews tends towards the negative, as this forum does tend to attract people who may have an axe to grind. If you feel generally positive, it can be supportive to add a more constructive review for your former organisation off the back of your experience. It’s good to highlight those employers who have worked hard to give their people a positive employee journey. I did this for my former employer as, despite my reasons for leaving, I had a wonderful experience working there and wanted to endorse it for others.
I always recommend that at the end of the exit interview you thank the interviewer for the opportunity and wish the company well. This creates that good ending and will help you move forward to the next chapter of your career.
If you’d like to discuss how to make an exit interview into a positive experience and get through one without burning bridges, email me to book a first free session.
