What is an Exit Interview?

An exit interview is typically a meeting between at least one representative from a company's human resources (HR) department and a departing employee. (The departing employee usually has voluntarily resigned vs. getting laid off or fired.) The HR rep might ask the employee questions while taking notes, ask the employee to complete a questionnaire, or both. What's the Purpose of an Exit Interview? Human resources departments conduct exit interviews (also called exit surveys) to gather data for improving working conditions and retaining employees. However, a hidden purpose is to help employers avoid costly litigation down the road, caused by "disgruntled" employees. Must I Submit to an Exit Interview? No. It's your right to decline an exit interview. A reputable employer will respect your decision. However, a not-so-reputable employer might resent that you didn't participate and file a "would not rehire" or similar adverse notation in your personnel records. The same employer might reveal the notation during a background check. Should I Participate in an Exit Interview? Naturally, the decision whether or not to participate in an exit interview is ultimately up to you. But there are varying opinions about whether or not you should participate. Some career experts think you should, because, although it doesn't help you much, it helps a sincere employer improve working conditions for remaining employees. But other career experts question the usefulness of an exit interview. (A better time to conduct such a meeting is while an employee is committed, not while he or she is on the way out the door and concerned about burning a bridge.) Consequently, they don't think the risks for departing employees are worth it, so they advise against participating. Alternately, they advise participants to give "generic" responses only or at least think carefully before responding. Besides potential bridge burning, risks for departing employees include the information falling into the wrong hands and ruining references, the employer revealing negative information during a background check, and as previously indicated, the employer submitting either positive or negative information as evidence in a lawsuit. Some things to consider before participating in an exit interview are listed below. As a departing employee, will you benefit from an exit interview? Is the exit interview anonymous or must you sign a questionnaire or the HR rep's notes? Is the reason you're leaving any of the company's business or an invasion of your privacy? Why did your employer wait until you're leaving to ask your opinion?

Will the HR department really use your comments for improvements or are they just trying to find out the "real" reason you're leaving? Might an exit interview burn a bridge, ruin a reference or cause an adverse background check for you? Might you sue your former employer down the road?

Exit Interview Questions - Samples Listed below are samples of the types of exit interview questions that employers commonly ask departing employees. What is your primary reason for leaving? Did anything trigger your decision to leave? What was most satisfying about your job? What was least satisfying about your job? What would you change about your job? Did your job duties turn out to be as you expected? Did you receive enough training to do your job effectively? Did you receive adequate support to do your job? Did you receive sufficient feedback about your performance between merit reviews? Were you satisfied with this company's merit review process? Did this company help you to fulfill your career goals? Do you have any tips to help us find your replacement? What would you improve to make our workplace better? Were you happy with your pay, benefits and other incentives? What was the quality of the supervision you received? What could your immediate supervisor do to improve his or her management style? Based on your experience with us, what do you think it takes to succeed at this company? Did any company policies or procedures (or any other obstacles) make your job more difficult? Would you consider working again for this company in the future? Would you recommend working for this company to your family and friends? How do you generally feel about this company? What did you like most about this company? What did you like least about this company? What does your new company offer that this company doesn't? Can this company do anything to encourage you to stay? Before deciding to leave, did you investigate a transfer within the company? Did anyone in this company discriminate against you, harass you or cause hostile working conditions? Any other comments?