Introduction to Exit Interview Policy
You were employed at a particular company, but you want to switch to another company, either because you didn’t like some things at the former, or you are getting new opportunities for flourishing at the new ones. Whatever may be the case if you have decided to leave, then you’ll be asked to attend an exit interview policy. An exit interview policy is probably one last conversation with your employer, where the employer may ask you questions regarding the company and work environment to get a feedback from your side. With the help of exit interview policy, the employer gets to know about the reasons you are leaving, about what the competitors are offering to their employees, the things to be improved I their own organizations, their opportunities and threats etc.
The exit interview policy is commonly overlooked by former employees who are eager to join a new job. Where it some companies it may be taken via automated phone calls, website or mailed questionnaire, in others it may be taken as the traditional sit-down meeting.
Whatever may be the format, you must keep in mind, to form one last good impression in front of your employer. You never know, when a situation arises where you have to return to your old job, just like a boomerang. One may see much scope of growth and profit in another company, but after some weeks may experience the worse situation. Hence, he/she may want to go back to their former employer. This may not even solve your problem if your relations with your former employer were not good, and he rejects to hire you again. As a result, you get stuck in a dead end.
While it is preferred by the employers to hire former employees through contacts and social media, he/she may avoid rehiring employees who left their job after the latter imposed ill will or threats against the former.
Hence, it is advised to leave your previous job with a good reputation with the former employees as well as the employer, so that you have left multiple doors open for you even after the exit. Spoiling relations by speaking ill words about the employer in front of him/her will make you achieve nothing but a bad reputation. Remember, the employer will go nowhere and will stay in a place where he is, it is you who may wish to seek his/her help in future.
Sometimes even the fully engaged employees want to leave the organization. When this is the case, the employer becomes anxious of the reasons that led such a sincere employee to take the decision of leaving. An exit interview policy helps a lot to know what the circumstances were led him/her to leave the organization.
You may find the exit interview policy as a waste of time, as you may be busy thinking about your future endeavors, goals, plans etc. You may want to say a harsh “no” to the company. But wait! You never know you would need the company in the future, when you would want to return there, or when you have to give reference to your previous employer.
A popular quote says it all-“The only bad thing about the burning bridges is that the world is round”. You never know when you travel across and end up in the same place. Hence maintaining proper interpersonal relations with your former employers and managers is a necessity.
Tips to Ace An Exit Interview Policy
Here are some tips about how you should perform at an exit interview sample questions to ensure that your interpersonal relations with the company are maintained-
Plan conversation
While the exit interview sample questions don’t need as much effort as the recruitment interview, but it surely needs little efforts from your side to ensure that you speak what you’ll not regret for. Make short notes about your job, the work environment, your superiors, colleagues etc. Note down the things you loved at your workplace, things you didn’t like and things you want to change. Plan proper way to speak up the things so that you don’t reflect yourself as egoistic or negative. Prepare commonly asked questions such as why you want to leave, what you didn’t like here, what does the other company has etc. Pre-planning these things will surely help you in properly showcasing your thoughts in front of the interviewer.
Recommend someone to replace you
If you are attending an exit interview questions and answers, and your replacement hasn’t been announced, then you may begin the interview by advising or recommending some other employee who can fit in your place after you leave-be it a present employer at the lower position, or any relative or friend working at some other company. This will make the conversation go on in a positive way. Before recommending his/her name make sure that the person you’re recommending is willing to join your job position. Take their permission before giving in their name. Don’t just give in the name of an employee, just because he/she is your friend. Make sure your decision and advice are honest, careful and responsible. If the HR person likes your suggestion, then this topic may get stretched for a longer time and you may not have to use other tips listed below.
Be assertive
The most difficult question which you’ll find weird to answer will be-“why are you leaving?” Which if answered in an inappropriate way, will leave you in a big problem. You don’t have to say the whole truth. Mold in your statements in such a way that coats the reason with sugar. You can give reasons like-
- You want to move on
- You find the new job location easier to commute
- The new field or industry
- is interesting for you
- This is what you always wanted to do
- The new job will take you closer to your career plan
Avoid saying that you wanted a better pay hence you joined the new company, or you found that particular company prestigious and better.
Appreciate the good things
Focus your discussion on the things you liked about the organization, appreciate the things you got to learn through them. Enlist the challenges you got, how you overcame them etc.
You can list the following things for appreciation according to the situations and your experiences-
- You liked the office locality
- You find easy to commute
- Liked the parking system
- Found the workplace comfortable and positive
- Found your co-workers supportive and friendly, like your workplace furniture such as desk, chair etc.
- Got favorable support from maintenance, HR, Administration, IT, Medical, cooks staff
- Got great benefits such as- sick leaves along with pay, paid vacation days, reimbursement, promotion etc.
Be truthful in what you say, don’t just appreciate everything. Don’t compliment something you didn’t like.
Express your gratitude
You may want to express some gratitude if possible to your interviewer. Tell them about any task, project or software tool you got to learn through the organization, how some of your superiors, employees proved to be your support system etc. Thank your employer for giving you the opportunity to learn and grow through the challenges and tasks. Take instances from your job period which mentions how your employer proved to be your mentor, what qualities he/she exhibits that makes him/her charismatic etc. Don’t just say things in the air, express good feelings about a particular person or matter only if you think it to be genuine, not just for the sake of impressing the employer.
Stay positive
It is much common that you may get emotional during your exit interview questions and answers and may vomit up your feelings in front of the interviewer. You may want to express how you didn’t like the pay system, the work burden, your superiors etc., and thinking that you’ll leave the organization. This should not happen as you may end up spoiling your relations with the company. Try to express a constructive criticism of things you didn’t like, be assertive and don’t express anything negatively. For example, you should replace the sentence-“I worked overtime still I got minimum wage”, with a much proper sentence-“I was finding it difficult to maintain work-life balance”.
Give a proper feedback an exit interview policy
Generally, an exit interview policy is set up so as to get a formal feedback from the employee about the organization before leaving. Hence they expect you to speak things you liked about them, the things you didn’t like, things that can be improved etc. Be confident in answering these questions, but in an assertive way as explained before. A proper feedback from you may help the organization to improve their functions which may benefit other employees. Moreover, a well-explained feedback from your side will help the employer and impress him/her, which may prove to be fruitful for you in the later life.
Think before answering a surprise question
There would be a case where the interviewer may ask you a question, which you were not prepared for. In order to fill the silence, you may end up saying something which you regret later. Before answering, think deep what you would be saying about these surprise questions. If you think that you’ll not be able to answer the question appropriately, tell the interviewer openly about it. A wise interviewer will understand that you don’t want to answer a particular question because it’s discrete or inappropriate and will toss in other sets of questions.
Don’t get too frank
Never get too friendly with your HR interviewer, even if you are friends with them. You may end up saying things you shouldn’t have said. Let the interview take place in a formal way. You may want to express your emotions, but wait, many of us think that things don’t get out of the HR department, but many times they do get out! So be ready either to control your feelings or to face the consequences of gossips later on.
Finish the meeting at a high note
A smile along with the words-“thank you for your time sir” wouldn’t consume much of your energy, and will impress your interviewer. You may repeat some nice things about the company in a summarized way before leaving. Don’t just express that you are joyous to go out of this position and company, but express some regret of leaving. You may say-“I enjoyed and learned a lot here. I don’t want to leave but they are offering me some new opportunities for growth”. This would look more tactful and sincere.
Conclusion
The exit interview policy is not that bad as you think. They are just a way of saying goodbye to you while extracting some useful feedback from your conversation. Many of us wouldn’t want to waste our time on these meetings, just because our job period is over at that place. “We’ll get nothing after attending it and wouldn’t lose anything if we don’t attend it” would be thinking of many of us. While it may be true, it is no harm in attending it. It will help the employer forgetting things in place and also ensure that your interpersonal relations remain intact. It is these relations which will prove beneficial later in your life, when you may want to give reference of your former employer or when you want to join the firm again, after getting a negative experience at the new job. These previously opened doors will help you then.
Exchanging views in this exit interview policy is also beneficial, as it may help the employer to know about the things that are going wrong in their organization. You may not feel it, but the importance of feedback is much bigger than you think, it helps the company to improve their organizational functions.
Sometimes, there may be a case where you found your employer’s behavior with you bad or inappropriate. Instead of directly conveying this, you should present the case with a constructive approach which will save you relations while on the other side makes the employer aware of his/her actions. Proper planning of what you’ll be answering is crucial so that you don’t end up regretting things you spoke. A proper tone of voice, along with cheerful nature and healthy conversation will impress the interviewer and on the other hand let you express what you wished to express.
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This is a guide to Exit Interview Policy. here we have discussed the basic concept with some tips about how you should perform at an exit interview. You may look at the following articles to learn more –
