The Exit Interview: Be Careful of What You Say!

If you're like me, a question might have popped to mind: 'What's an exit interview?'

AoL's article entitled, 'Why honesty is not the best policy at your exit interview', states how, at some point between giving the notice and your last day, your employer will likely to ask you to meet with the HR for an exit interview.

The purpose of this meeting is for the company to see what might be causing the turnover; in other words, they want to know what had induced you, as the employee, to leave them. Companies are likely to invest a lot of time and money into selecting the best candidates for the job. 

The following are four reasons why you shouldn't be completely honest in your exit interview. These are:

1. It won't matter anyway.

If the company is already well aware of most of the problems or issues that you bring up during the exit interview, then it is more than likely that the HR will not pass on your feedback unless requested for.

Also, if you feel that not much change will come out of it, then, that would probably be the case.

2. You could end up burning bridges.

It is not wise not to tick people off because you get carried away during the interview. Instead, try to keep things positive and bring up any problems that you want to help the company to improve in the future. Don't forget that whatever you say about your employer, might actually get to them. This will destroy any chances of getting a good reference letter from them.

3. It could compromise any pending legal issues.

If there are any pending lawsuits, less is more. If the answers to the questions could in any way compromise proceedings, either decline the exit interview altogether or say 'no comment' when you're in the 'hot seat'. 

4. You may come off sounding bitter. 

If you are existing because of a 'toxic' boss, anything negative you say will sound like 'sour grapes', in the sense that your bitterness towards a dysfunctional boss does not give you the license to get revenge during the exit interview. After all, you may not be believed anyway if your boss hold a position of power in the organisation or, perhaps, in other institutions or organisations.

Courtesy of AoL Jobs

Nikita Pisani at Muovo

Posted in: