Exit Interview Summary: Fill & Download for Free

We’ve reached a “wisdom of the crowd” moment on this question. It’s attracted 73 answers, each of which has a nugget of valuable information. We don’t yet have a unified summary of the best insights — so I’ll give it a shot.Bear in mind that I’m just the compiler here. Look for lots of shout-outs to the Quorans whose earlier input is knitted together in this omnibus answer.The tl;dr: In lots of situations you should decline an exit interview, but if none apply, going ahead might have slight value. Just don’t expect the company to make a miraculous transformation based on what you say.Specifically:Is there any chance you might be involved in a court case against your ex-employer down the road? If so, avoid the interview. As Jonathan Bates points out, what you say won’t help your cause and might hurt it.Are you angry? If so, don’t go. As Angela Russell observes, you’re at risk of choosing your words in ways that might create new problemsIs the HR department full of snakes with agendas that might be completely opposite to yours? Tim Hoogasian makes a strong case: If so, don’t go.Are you looking for validation of who you are as a person? Think twice. Michaele Vestal’s answer makes clear that the person on the other side of the table is not your social worker or life coach.Does that leave any reason that might warrant going to an exit interview? I found a few answers outlining safer situations, in which going to an exit interview could have value. First, as D. R. Lovell points out, if a short exit interview is part of the departure process — and it’s bundled up with a briefing on your separation package, plus what’s next on your health care and retirement benefits — then you need to be there, even if you don’t say much.Second, if you’re leaving for reasons that are part of a trend — and the sort of trend that even average-grade management might care about — a few words to the wise can be helpful for the colleagues that you’ve left behind. The two situations that come to mind are difficult bosses and sub-standard pay. Make your point briefly and avoid the temptation to unload. But I’ll agree with Kris Anderson on this one: If such factors in a lower-level team are causing a talent drain, reasonable HR teams might be able to nudge the true bosses about it.Your odds will be better if we’re talking about a localized lower-management problem in an otherwise healthy company, as opposed to a company that’s toxic from top to bottom. If it’s all bad, take Evan Kaplan’s advice. Just be on your way and don’t look back.(Photo credit: Amtec.us.com via Flickr)

I can appreciate your reluctance to sign anything during your employment exit interview (though you haven't stated why you intend to take that position).I suspect that for most departing employees under most circumstances, there is no obligation to sign anything. However, I can think of some circumstances where there may be such an obligation, and I can think of others where signing a document would be a reasonable, polite thing to do that also would be in your best interests.Potential ObligationsSome Employee Handbooks (a) require each employee to sign a page stating that the employee understands and agrees to comply with the Handbook's provisions and (b) include provisions requiring the employee to sign one or more documents at the time employment ends. (Similar provisions might be in a Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement.)Such documents might include, for example, an acknowledgement that all employer property previously in the employee's possession has been returned to the employer.If you agreed to any such provisions in your Employee Handbook, then you should comply with them. Your failure to do so could constitute a breach of contract - though such a breach, by itself, likely would not result in any legal liability as a practical matter. On the other hand, honorable people do their best to live up to commitments they have made.Politeness and Your Best InterestsWhen your employment ends, your employer is obligated to give you certain documents. These might include, for example, an explanation of post-employment healthcare benefits (under COBRA and Cal-COBRA) and a state-mandated pamphlet concerning unemployment benefits.The employer might ask you to sign an acknowledgement that you have received these items. If you have, indeed, received them, it would be appropriate to sign the acknowledgement. If you refuse to sign, you are creating a (minor) problem for your employer for no good reason, which may result in more-negative comments in your HR file (which may or may not be significant in the future).SummaryYou don't need to announce at the beginning of the exit interview, "I refuse to sign anything, and you can't make me."If and as you are asked to sign, you can simply say "No, thank you." If you have to say that a few times, the interviewer will get the message.

They cannot do an exit interview without your participation.They can do an employment summary which is often confused with the exit interview.