3 Things You Should Know About Exit Interviews

The last several weeks have felt like an obstacle course. You shimmied up the knotted rope of your job search -- a slow, painstaking journey with stalls and starts (and re-starts). You snagged an interview and then hopped from tire to tire, nimbly answering rapid-fire questions. And finally, you landed a job.

Congrats! Now that your hands are blistered and your legs are sore, here's one more challenge: Take on the exit interview -- a 10-foot wall standing between your old job and the next one. Scale it gracefully, and you'll move on with your career safe and sound -- and with a feeling of achievement as you land on the other side.

Just like any challenge, it helps to know what you're getting into before taking it on. Start training for your final step by studying up on exit interviews:

1. You don't have to participate in an exit interview -- but you probably should. For one, this meeting is the perfect opportunity to tie up loose ends about logistics, says Rebecca Mazin, human resources consultant and co-author of "The HR Answer Book." What will happen with your vacation days and benefits? What about your 401(k)? And -- a particularly important detail if you're moving -- does the employer have your correct mailing address? Prepare these questions before the interview, Mazin says, and then "get clarification on what to expect and what the next steps are."

The exit interview is also an "invaluable tool" for your company, says Edward Yost, who focuses on employee relations as an HR business partner at the Society of Human Resources Management. Employers can learn why an employee is leaving, as well as what the company is doing well and what it can improve, he says. For example, if several employees cite a lack of training and development opportunities as their reason for leaving, their employer would likely look into fixing that issue. If employees typically quit because their salaries aren't competitive within the industry, their employer would likely focus on improving compensation packages.

When you take the time to provide this insight, you leave a positive impression with your employer -- more on why that's important later. Plus, Yost says, "it gives [employees] the platform to be honest about their experience with the expectation that if they share that information with us as an employer, we're going to make the appropriate adjustments and improvements."

2. Confidentiality in these meetings is a gray area. "[Confidentiality] can never be guaranteed if the person complains about harassment or discrimination," Mazin says. "An employer has the responsibility to investigate that claim."

However, your comments are more likely to stay hush-hush if they're run-of-the-mill critiques about management that have nothing to do with an infringement of your legally protected rights. Or, at least, you'll probably have some anonymity -- no "Bethany said _______."

In fact, Yost points out that HR professionals are unlikely to condemn a manager based on one isolated complaint. Rather, he says, they're "looking primarily for patterns -- regular or consistent information." So, if you're the first parting employee to claim that Greg regularly gives harsh feedback in front of team members, the interviewer may simply note it. If you're the third to make the same claim, he or she may take action by, say, corroborating your comment with current employees or providing coaching opportunities for Greg so he can become a better manager, Yost says. When approaching Greg, HR would likely say the complaint came from "several parting employees," Yost adds.

3. What you say in this interview will leave a lasting impression. Before you start spilling about how your boss is a drunk or how the CEO is running the company into the ground, consider how small the world is. Is that really the last conversation you want to have before you leave? If so, imagine these cringe-worthy future phone calls with that HR professional: the one where you ask for a job reference; the one where a potential employer calls HR to confirm your employment; the one where you apply to a job at your former company -- you know, the one you left as a ranting lunatic.

Between reference checks, networking needs and the uptick of boomerang employment, assume you'll cross paths with this HR professional and your co-workers again. As U.S. News Careers blogger Vicki Salemi puts it in a post about acing exit interviews: "Keep in mind that you're not shutting the door forever. You're just shutting it for now."

Leave on a high note with these tips:

-- Take a deep breath, and check your emotions at the door. "You wouldn't break down into tears or be overly exuberant during a job interview, would you? Treat this the same way," Salemi writes. "Be calm, cool and collected."

-- Give constructive feedback. Yes, you want to be professional and positive in your exit interview. But that doesn't mean you have to pretend your job was all rainbows and unicorns and without any shortcomings. Otherwise, why would you leave? It's fine to give critiques -- remember, they're helpful to the employer -- as long as you keep them specific and factual rather than personal, Mazin says. Think: "I don't agree with the direction this company has taken with X program." Not: "Those executives at the top are morons and don't know what they're doing." Speaking of which ...

-- Avoid name-calling. "Throwing names out there -- although they may be 100 percent accurate -- is really not helpful," Yost says. So if your boss was a jerk, tell your partner, your dog or your shower head, but don't tell HR. After all, Mazin says, "[employees] should be building bridges -- not burning them."

Laura McMullen is the Careers editor at U.S. News and was previously a Health + Wellness reporter. You can follow her on Twitter, connect with her on LinkedIn, circle her on Google+ or email her at lmcmullen@usnews.com.