tl;dr: eBay is actually pretty good at exit interviews

On 30 Mar 2015 I recieved a call from what my phone identified as “Strategic Problems”. It was an exit interview for the (parent corp) of the most-recently-left job. My last day was 6 Mar 2015. They also called me on 20 Mar 2015 but I had assumed that it was spam and didn’t pick up. (First attempt 10 business days after last day; successful attempt 16 business days after last day)

It was a verbal interaction by a human who responded to my questions. It was an enjoyable interaction, surprisingly. I requested that they email my answers to me; after consulting her supervisor, she found out that it was possible and then sent it to me.

55 questions, mostly 1-5 answers, some y/n and short answers.

Some example question topics

  • Liklihood that you’d consider returning sometime in the future, same/different position
  • Various questions probably designed to elicit your opinions of your immediate manager
  • Training and career development stuff
  • What was your favorite thing at the company

My favorite favorite question was: “Do you know of any compliance or integrity issues that have not been addressed with Company (i.e., unlawful, unethical, or illegal behaviors) that you would like to bring to the attention of [Company]? If yes, please explain.”

And my second favorite question: “Is there anything else you would like to add?”

This is dramatically different from my friend’s ex-company: “Bank Companyname doesn’t want me to do an exit interview. They don’t want feedback. They told me that I was ‘top talent’ and they don’t want to know why I’m leaving.”

My TW exit interview was a lot less formal & shorter but did also ask the important questions.

Summary:

  • eBay: pretty darn good
  • Bank Companyname: bad
  • TW: good (<3)