What is an exit interview?

From the employer's perspective the purpose of the exit interview is to understand why the employee is leaving and to gain insight into what areas the company can improve on, the strengths the company can build on and how the organization and management is perceived. From the departing employee's perspective the exit interview provides an opportunity to give constructive feedback about the organization, the working environment, the job itself and management.

Top Exit Interview Tips

• Be as objective and fair as possible. Try to remove any feelings of hostility or disappointment from the situation. Don't get involved in the blame game. Be honest but diplomatic. For example if your reason for leaving is because you do not get on with your manager share the responsibility for this. A good approach would be to say something along the lines of,
  "It has become apparent that we have different ideas on how to do the job. Both of us have come to the conclusion that it is never going to be a good match and that it is better to move on."
  Recriminations are not a good departing gift!


• Spend some time thinking about how to answer the exit interview questions you are likely to be asked. Stick to the facts. If you offer an opinion or a comment be sure you can support it with an actual example. Always have a constructive suggestion for improvement if you are offering honest but negative feedback. For example,
  "My manager did not always ask for my input before making changes that significantly impacted on my job. For example, she changed the process for handling customer complaints without discussing it with me. It is easier to accept change if one is part of the process. Setting up a meeting to discuss potential change with an employee and asking for suggestions would improve the process."
  View frequently asked Exit Interview Questions.


• Don't get personal. Stick to an objective assessment of the situation rather than focusing on individuals. Bad mouthing colleagues and managers by name is not appropriate. If asked to describe your relationship with other employees provide a general overview like,"On the whole we enjoyed a positive working relationship and if there were any problems we generally managed to sort them out".


• Make notes to take into the exit interview with you. It is easy to forget what one wanted to say when confronted with a formal interview situation. Referring to your notes demonstrates that you take the exit interview seriously and have spent time thinking about it beforehand.


• Be aware of your non-verbal signals. If your exit interview is conducted face to face be conscious of your body language. Folding your arms across your chest makes you appear defensive. If you are doing it over the phone be aware of the tone of voice.


• Don't feel pressurized. An exit interview is a voluntary exercise. If you feel too uncomfortable about answering a specific question then simply reply that you have no comment.