How to Handle an Exit Interview: Questions and Answers

You’ve given your notice at your current job and worked hard and diligently right up until the end. When it’s time for your exit interview, though, you may not know how to proceed. Here’s how to handle your exit interview gracefully, honestly, and above all, professionally.

Why HR Conducts Exit Interviews

Exit interviews are about the company. FlexJobs Career Experts explain. “The purpose of the exit interview is for the employer to learn about the position and the reasons for turnover.” Given that 91% of Fortune 500 companies and 87% of mid-size companies conduct exit interviews, it would seem that employers do care about what you think.

Your soon-to-be-former employer wants to know why you’re leaving. And, they’re trying to see what they can do going forward to keep other employees from leaving. So, instead of being apprehensive about the interview, the team of Career Experts advise people to “view the interview as an opportunity to think critically about your experience. What did you learn? How might the company improve?”

How to Handle the Exit Interview

Most exit interviews happen on your last day. When you’ve given your notice, you’ll have time to think about what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it. Here are some things to keep in mind.

Prepare Yourself

No matter why you’re leaving the job, there’s a good chance you might feel emotional about it. Jobs play a huge role in our lives, and even when leaving the job is the right choice, you may feel strong emotions.

Beyond that, treat an exit interview like any other interview by anticipating the questions and practicing your answers. Preparing for the exit interview will help you remain calm and professional.

Be Professional

An exit interview is your last opportunity to express your feelings about your workplace, your boss, and the company’s policies. And, it’s a chance for you to provide constructive feedback about what you do and do not like about the job.

When it comes to the “not awesome” aspects of your job, honesty is important, but so is leaving things a little bit vague. You don’t want to lie about your reasons for leaving. HR should understand why you’re leaving.

However, no matter what you say, how you say it is just as important. Keep your tone level and professional, as now is not the time to show anger and bad-mouth your boss or colleagues.

Find the Good

Regardless of why you’re leaving, find something good about your experience. Maybe you picked up new skills or had incredible coworkers. This is the time to name names. Be specific about who helped you out and how they did it.

Typical Exit Interview Questions (and Answers)

While there’s no way to anticipate all the questions in, we’ve got some common exit interview questions and answers for you to prepare for.

Why Are You Leaving?

Why they ask it: This is probably the universal question that’s asked in an exit interview. The company wants to know if you’re leaving for money, a better title, a partner’s job transfer across the country, family reasons, etc. They are trying to figure out if there’s something the company can do better or if you leaving is something out of their control.

How to answer it: Be honest but calculated. For example, if you’re leaving for more pay, you may want to say, “I found a job with more opportunities for me,” when you don’t want to reveal your new salary.

If it’s for personal reasons, feel free to get as personal as you want, but again, vague might be better. It’s fine to say, “I have to care for a relative and flexibility is very important right now.” But, you may not want to say, “I have to care for a sick relative, and I repeatedly tried to work with you guys on flexible hours, and you wouldn’t do it.”

Did You Have the Tools to Succeed at Your Job?

Why they ask it: An employer should give you the things you need to do your job. This isn’t just physical tools, like a computer or phone. Tools include training, professional development, mentoring, and timely feedback. HR is asking if you had what you needed to succeed because if you didn’t, it might be something they can provide current and future employees.

How to answer it: This is a case where you can probably be more honest than with other questions, but choose wisely. If your biggest problem was a loud office or a lack of training, bring these things up as they may be easy to fix.

For example, “I’m not really a fan of open office plans. And the bench-style seating didn’t work for me. It was very distracting. Also, I would have liked to receive feedback about my work more often than I did. I’m not the kind of person that likes to wait for my annual evaluation to see how I’m doing.”

How Was Your Manager?

Why they ask it: There’s a saying: People don’t quit jobs. They quit managers. And this is exactly what HR is trying to find out. Did you quit because of your manager?

How to answer it: If your manager was fantastic, say so! That’s a time for open praise and honesty. If, however, you and your manager didn’t get along, that could be a time to keep things more general. You can go with something like, “We didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but we managed to succeed on multiple projects.”

What Did You Like And Dislike About the Job?

Why they ask it: They’re asking you this because there’s a chance that they want to compare your notes to previous employees who had your role, or they may rethink the position.

How to answer it: Talk honestly about what you liked and about what you disliked, but keep things professional. Or, feel free to make a small (but tactful and tasteful) joke about your dislike. “I really like the amount of training I received over the years. I learned a lot about the strategic aspects of marketing and will be able to use those skills wherever I go. I disliked the coffee! But, seriously, there wasn’t anything I ‘disliked,’ but I do wish the company offered more flexible work options.”

Would You Recommend the Company/Job to Others?

Why they ask it: If you say yes, then obviously you like the job and company. If you say no, HR wants to know why to see if they can fix it.

How to answer it: If your answer is yes, explain why as deeply as you want. If your answer is no, then you need to be honest about that, without going too deep. “I’ve enjoyed my time here, but that’s my experience. If someone asked me if they should apply here, I would ask them more questions about their background and preferred work environments. It’s probably not for everybody, but could work really well for certain people.”

What Are Your Recommendations?

Why they ask it: This is an open-ended question that usually comes near the end of your exit interview. HR is trying to see if there’s anything you want to add that maybe they didn’t (or couldn’t) ask about.

How to answer it: Sometimes, you’ll have specific ideas that are perfectly safe answers. For example, if the health insurance is lacking, or the time-off policy isn’t great, you might suggest improving these. “As a working parent, two weeks off a year just wasn’t enough for me. You may want to consider adding more PTO to the benefits package or allow work-from-home days to attract more candidates and reduce burnout.”

Generally, though, stick with vague suggestions or simply say that you don’t have anything to add.

The Legal Details

During an exit interview, you may be asked to sign legal documents. These can include a non-disclosure agreement and a non-disparagement agreement. The non-disclosure agreement generally covers “business secrets.” For example, you agree not to talk about the company’s product strategies with anyone.

A non-disparagement agreement, though, is different. The Career Experts explain, “A non-disparagement agreement is a legal agreement that you won’t speak poorly about the company, its products, and its personnel.” In many cases, a non-disparagement agreement also means that the employer won’t speak badly about you.

However, many non-disparagement agreements are broad and can include communications such as social media and review sites.

Exit Stage Right

The last day of your job may be happy, emotional, bittersweet, or even challenging. And, your exit interview may be all of these things, too. However, if you view it as an opportunity to leave a positive mark on the company by giving them helpful and useful feedback, you may have an easier time when you walk out that door for the last time.

Made your exit and looking for a new job? FlexJobs has thousands of jobs and companies that could be a fit for your search! Take the tour to learn more!

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