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Discussion on: Ace Your Exit Interview Using Little White Lies of Omission

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victorioberra profile image
Victorio Berra

Or to rephrase "don't burn bridges in your exit interview". I have mixed feelings on this. Its a very pessimistic view. If you are leaving because they truly treated you poorly, you may think you owe them nothing and they owe you nothing. And any feedback you give them they will file right under the "who gives a shit folder". Especially if the company culture is broken from the highest levels, change will likely never happen until enough people quit the company feels it in their pocket book.

But not every company is like that. Some companies DO want to retain talent. They do take complaints and feedback and constructive criticism seriously. A lot of this advice really depends on your position with the company, the company itself, and the reason for leaving.

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daedtech profile image
Erik Dietrich • Edited

YMMV, but I would give this advice to people with any position at any company with any reason for leaving.

And I don't really view it as "pessimistic," nor do I think "don't burn bridges" is an accurate summary of the point. Instead, I'd call it rationally self-interested and summarize the point as "offering honest negative feedback during an exit interview is a favor (of unclear value) that you're doing your former employer in exchange for nothing, which is fine as long as you understand that's what you're doing."

But I'll certainly concede that the style of career advice that I generally offer is cynical and often mercenary, and certainly not for everyone.