Exit interview advice

[Mamanua]

hello

looking for some advice! Leaving job after 5 years (gladly and timely) and have been offered an exit interview for their own use. I have seen the questions and they’re quite detailed!
on a good day I’m rejecting said interview on basis it just becomes gossip for senior management. I can ask if it’s controlled how much is discussed etc but I just don’t believe it remains completely confidential.

on bad day I want to do it & give the whole heap. How I caught Covid whilst heavily pregnant in work as they heavily pressured me come in to do training, whilst I was mostly working from home. They decided the chances were too remote but for me to have caught it in work there was no other possibility- the person I trained got it too. And lots of other things like feeling actually valued (isn’t it just a gut feeling sometimes?) but gosh I am just so conflicted about what to say if anything!

I wouldn't say anything. Just be vaguely positive about the new job. Make it clear the reason for leaving is that you have landed a new job which suits you better. I wouldn't specify how it suited me better. Show them you are a big success, full of confidence, with in demand skills and it's onwards and upwards to better things for you. You never know when you might need or want to go back.

You cannot know you got Covid at work unless you went nowhere else at all. Just say you want to have a fresh start elsewhere. Exit interviews should improve job design. COVID was hopefully a one off and not really applicable now.

Many thanks @AudiobookListener for your time! Think it’s just a good/bad day conflict but agree it’s best to focus on the positives that suit for me- otherwise it just becomes gossip for those left behind that will always have their own spin on things!

Many thanks for taking the time to respond @TizerorFizz . Realising I may have not given much context but the Covid experience was just one part of it. There’s so much other detail I’ll not get into but fairly certain caught it there, it was in the first lockdown before home testing existed so testing wasn’t widespread. The person I contracted it from - I had been training them alone and so it’s a no brainier. But I agree given the context of the whole thing we all got to the point that we thought everything and anything was possible. Didn’t mean to labour the Covid point in the original post by the way, was only one small aspect of it!

Lie through your teeth and walk away.

Just stick to job design. Take the point on COVID .

Sorry. Don’t talk about COVID. No one wanted you to get it and whatever you think, you cannot prove it.

I once gave a really honest exit interview to a new manager at the organisation I was leaving.

She later turned up working for a company I was interviewing with and she persuaded them to withdraw the offer they made me because I was a "trouble maker".

Do not say anything controversial, it's not worth the hassle.

Say nothing controversial.
Keep it super beige.

You learned so much you love the company and your manager, the new role was just too good to say no to.
I ALWAYS say I was headhunted

I had an exit interview for my last job, it was with the admin manager though and we got along so a bit easier.
I only really mentioned stuff that affected other members of the team and clients, in the hope that things would improve, rather than moaning about niggles I had personally.

If I could fo back, I would respectfully decline my exit interview FOR SURE.

I got trapped for over an hour and felt under pressure to give answers.

I came away feeling drained and downhearted.

At least I was even more sure I wanted to get the hell out of there!

There is no point as they did nothing to sort the issues when you were there and won't for the remaining staff. Leave on a good notem

Leave with dignity and grace.

I had one. Admittedly online but they were pestering the life out of me to do it Let them have it with both barrels with customer feedback to back up what I was saying. Needless to say I heard nothing back…. Nothing has changed apparently according to my spies!