Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
(OP)
There's a good chance I will be leaving my current position within the next several months. Do you typically give your current employer a reason or explanation as to why you're leaving when switching jobs? Or do you typically give your 2 weeks and that's it?





RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
I always thank them for employing me and say something along the lines of however at this stage in my career I feel the new job offers better opportunities, keep it very short and sweet.
NEVER however tempting say you are leaving because your boss is a jerk, the pay is lousy and the company is a sweat shop.
One day you may well come across your old boss again but in different circumstances or at the very least want a reference.
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
- Steve
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering
www.bluetechnik.com
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
thread731-180043: Letter notifying two weeks notice
thread731-178435: Resigning - Do I tell them why?
KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
This letter is to inform you that I will be terminating my employment with the company effective on (insert date here).
Simple and to the point.
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
But, the president and director took me into their offices separately and wanted to know negatives and positives. I told them everything from what the company is doing in a positive way to the negative stuff, and what should be changed.
A few people were fired after I opened their eyes to what was going on. I was offered to come back if I want to.
Chris
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 08 3.1
AutoCAD 06/08
ctopher's home (updated Jul 13, 2008)
ctopher's blog
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
- saying something that can be used out of context with malice.
- praising people who are in fact your enemy.
- failing to praise people who will be offended by its absence.
- maligning people who were in fact protecting you from dangers that you did not see.
The best exit interview is none. If you can't avoid it, speak as little as possible, and if you can't avoid that, _say_ as little as possible.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
Leaving in a cloud of uncertainty does not make for a good last impression. If you are leaving your company because you hate it there, chances are they have a good idea why you're going anyway...
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
The more you might want to say at an exit interview, the less you can actually say. If you're really just leaving a good place for a better offer, there's no problem saying so. If you're leaving because the place is, for example, full of incompetents, there is nothing to be gained in saying so, no matter how tempting. It's not like they'll purge the place of the incompetents based on your say-so in an exit interview.
That's what I say in theory. In practice, I don't know that I have the discipline to keep my mouth shut. Haven't had the situation arise yet.
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
Then again, how effective can they be?
As suggested by HgTX the outgoing employee will not and should not be saying anything that isn't in his/her own best interests which often doesn't include telling them what's really what.
What's the point anyway? finding out something ain't right through exit interviews suggests it is too late, and especially so for that employee (like voluntary redundancies, it is always the best employees that go because (a) they are better able to see when the company is going no where and (b) they are the ones with the best shot at a new job).
If something isn't right they need better means to detect it.
So, if anyone has had an exit interview, what happened, how did it go and was there any discernible point to it?
Anyway, the best exit interviews are with your colleagues in the pub for a bevy or two on your last day. This is where you'll let your hair down a bit and the best means for the management to discover what is going on would be to get the pub landlord to provide some covert CCTV footage (with sound); no good waiting for a report from their brown-nosers, these guys wouldn't know the truth if it bit them. Of course, for the real deal they ought to have ongoing covert video surveillance of the coffee machine.
Then too, as HgTX also suggests, management will only act on things they believe. They will not believe that they are a problem and may prefer to believe that you are the problem because that way, the problem is going. It is never good news to think they have a problem with themselves or the remaining workforce.
JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
I've always left one "good place" for another so I'm not sure how I'd handle going through an interview with months or years worth of pent up frustration and keep myself from saying something I shouldn't.
Points I did discuss with my managers when I left: Travel, career development opportunities, workload, inter-office communication, salary structure, reporting structure, etc. Some of these were kind of sensitive topics but none of them were the focal point of me leaving which allowed me to talk about them candidly.
Managers appreciate the opportunity to get honest feedback on why a staff member is moving on. If they can get another gear in your seat at your pay (or cheaper) then they probably won't be too upset to lose you. If you were a valued member of the team and they've lost other staff with similar thoughts, then they have some changing to do themselves to avoid losing good staff members in the future.
Leaving them guessing will just make managers use their imagination about why you're going....which most likely won't reflect favorably upon you. Thats burning bridges as well.
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
If the old employer saw all those signs that you were unhappy and did nothing about it, never came to you to see what the problem was, it's because they didn't really want the input. Why give it to them at the exit interview?
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
Don't: Throw management or fellow employees under the bus, even if they deserve it.
Do: give them some information that's more related to the organization as a whole or, if necessary, build your new opportunity up to make it seem like a fantastic opportunity in your career which their organization just can't offer you. No manager will fault you for doing whats right for you. Unless everybody in your company has worked there their entire life, they've forced some exit interviews at other places themselves and know how the system works. Giving them some recruitment and retention feedback is the least you can do. You're already getting what you want, a new job!
This will give them feedback they can use and at the same time avoid leaving too much negativity in your wake that could possibly hurt you down the road.
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
The only question is, can your carefully chosen words be of any benefit to your colleagues who you leave behind?
A closed mouth gathers no feet...
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
HR typically conducts the exit interview that gets recorded.
The fact that there's an exit reflects on HR in two ways:
- Now they have to get off their butts and find another warm body to replace you.
- If you're the umpteenth to leave, Senior Management starts to question whether HR is doing their job right.
So, you, Mister/Ms. Quitter, have caused them to do some actual work, and possibly made them look worse than they already did... and that was _before_ the interview.
HR will typically record your carefully chosen words in such a way that you look, well, as evil, wicked, mean, bad and nasty as possible. The only way to have any control over _that_ process is to provide them with as few words as possible from which to misquote.
Do you remember what High School politics were like? Well, HR is still fully engaged in that sort of stuff, all the time.
An exit interview has NO upside for the departee or for the survivors.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
I can't really speak to what effect, if any, my exit interviews had after I left but it was certainly appreciated at the time and in each occasion I was told the door is always open if I wanted to return. I'd say it wasn't useless to me for that very fact (plus the solid reference down the road).
Engineering is a transient profession, the majority will change jobs many times over their career. Managers are either engineers themselves or are at least very familiar with them. You're not the first one to go and chances are they'll have to steal an engineer from someone else to fill your shoes. Its not like your stabbing them in the back, its part of the business. Be professional and give the interview.
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
Never say anything negative about your old company, this can burn bridges that may be useful in future.
It is best to say something like "It was an opportunity that I felt was too good to pass up."
They will usually not ask for a further explananation.
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
I was young (22) and told the truth. I liked the work but had stumbled upon a great offer to do similar and better elsewhere. Plus it didn't involve living in the arse end of London with other people who couldn't afford to buy their own places.
- Steve
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
But for those who are leaving because the old job sucks, too much honesty is not a good idea. One should still say it's a better opportunity or better geographic location or whatever.
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
I believe saying what's on your heart is normal thing to be done - as long as it has been said without hatred; at that point it simply stops to be true. Remember one thing: it doesn't matter how bad the company is, you are the one who allows bad emotions to develop and grow inside yourself. Saying bad things at the end of your employment is the same like spitting on yourself.
If the company is bad, feel free to say it is bad. Do not blame people, do not speak bad about the people who made you feeling like running away from the company. Feel free to say what are the bad things inside the company, and with what you cannot agreee. Express your attitude but don't insult anyone, you don't have the right to behave in such manner. And who cares about the reference? We are professionals, and our work and experience is what makes us good engineers - not our references.
Best regards,
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
I had an employer who would blame the company staff when individuals chose to leave. If the person who was leaving spoke the truth (that the company and the boss was bad), the boss would go and tell the managers that ("X is leaving because of your bad treatment" [a false statement, as it was the boss who was the problem]). The company staff would then hold a grude against the individual(s) who departed.
As far as references go, in my case I chose to pursue licensure. You can't get a PE without good references. I had to suck up to 3 jerk employers. If I had told them the truth about their bad behavior, I could kiss my references (and PE licenses) goodbye.
Some employers truly want to know how they can improve. Others assume that everything is perfect since they are perfect and they are in charge. Gauge your farewell statements accordingly.
RE: Give explanation to manager about why I'm leaving?
I will post my experience.
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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!