4 ms·

I agree with all points except one thing: NEVER GIVE HONEST FEEDBACK. When you are leaving, never, ever give honest feedback. Say everything is great, and yo

by kjackson2012 14y ago

I agree with all points except one thing: NEVER GIVE HONEST FEEDBACK. When you are leaving, never, ever give honest feedback. Say everything is great, and you just wanted a change. Employers say that they want honest feedback, but they really don't, because the truth hurts. Case in point, I left a previous company because the founders screwed up a potential acquisition. I had no confidence in upper managment, and I thought they were running the company into the ground. I had worked there 3 years and I gave them honest feedback as to why I was leaving. Not rude, mind you, but I told them exactly that I was leaving because I felt like upper management wasn't good enough to run the company, and that I needed to leave because I was worried there was going to be subsequent layoffs. I ended up being right on both accounts. Recently, there was a drastic change in management, and I felt like the prospects for working for the company had changed, and I thought just for fun I would re-apply and see if there were any jobs that I would be interested in. I got only one phone screen, despite applying to a bunch of different areas, and in the middle of the phone screen, the interviewer had mentioned some of the things I had said in my exit interview. So it was obvious the exit interview was added to my employee file, and to some degree, I was "blacklisted". I'm fine being blacklisted, I knew the consequences of being honest with my feedback, and I'm not owed anything, but my point is that there is no benefit to being honest EVER to your employer. It's much better to simply say everything was great, and to move on. It's to your advantage to keep all of your options open, and by giving honest feedback, you are closing out some of those options. The best you get by giving honest feedback is you get to temporarily scratch an itch, and you never know when in the future you might need to play those cards.

ssharp 14y ago
In your case, it was wasted effort to give honest feedback but that one case isn't enough evidence to say "never". There isn't a right and wrong answer here. Sometimes it's best to give honest feedback, sometimes it's best to lie or avoid the question. It all depends on the person asking for feedback and the company's culture. It's never a good idea to burn bridges and if giving honest feedback cannot happen without burning a bridge, avoid it. Additionally, there are probably opportunities to reshape your criticisms in such a manner to not offend. Some people are naturally good at this and others are naturally terrible at it. If you're not good at it, it's a fantastic skill to work on.
- praptak 14y ago
  The time to give honest feedback is before you seriously consider quitting.
- michaelt 14y ago
  We can see there's a potential downside to giving honest feedback - is there any upside, from the employee's perspective?
  - akhilrex 14y ago
    hi, i just commented here http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4932876 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4932876
    - carbocation 14y ago
      That outlines more upsides for the employer, not the employee, of giving candid feedback.
  - ssharp 14y ago
    The upside is maintaining a good and respectful relationship with your past employer and/or past boss. Just because you're leaving does not mean you don't want the company to succeed without you. If the person you're giving feedback to (assuming the feedback is given thoughtfully and respectfully) is going to be thankful and receptive to it and it has the potential to do the person and the company some good, there is value to you.
    - jeltz 14y ago
      Agreed, but it is a high risk low reward thing so it is bad as a general advice.
    - greenyoda 14y ago
      Another upside is that your feedback might make things better for your ex co-workers, some of whom may be your friends. And if the company is afraid enough of losing more people, they might actually take your feedback seriously.
akhilrex 14y ago
Hi kjackson2012, what happened with you was unfortunate and i am particularly happy that you were right the first time around. I cannot speak for all the employers. But my views would resonate with the people who want to create a good working environment for their colleagues. if you are quitting because you got a better offer, i might want to match it or negotiate but in the end i will be happy for you. But if you are leaving because of something I did wrong i would want to know. If i dont improve, i wont be able to retain good people and that is crucial for small entrepreneurs like me.

ssharp 14y ago

In your case, it was wasted effort to give honest feedback but that one case isn't enough evidence to say "never". There isn't a right and wrong answer here. Sometimes it's best to give honest feedback, sometimes it's best to lie or avoid the question. It all depends on the person asking for feedback and the company's culture. It's never a good idea to burn bridges and if giving honest feedback cannot happen without burning a bridge, avoid it. Additionally, there are probably opportunities to reshape your criticisms in such a manner to not offend. Some people are naturally good at this and others are naturally terrible at it. If you're not good at it, it's a fantastic skill to work on.

praptak 14y ago
The time to give honest feedback is before you seriously consider quitting.
michaelt 14y ago
We can see there's a potential downside to giving honest feedback - is there any upside, from the employee's perspective?
- akhilrex 14y ago
  hi, i just commented here http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4932876 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4932876
  - carbocation 14y ago
    That outlines more upsides for the employer, not the employee, of giving candid feedback.
- ssharp 14y ago
  The upside is maintaining a good and respectful relationship with your past employer and/or past boss. Just because you're leaving does not mean you don't want the company to succeed without you. If the person you're giving feedback to (assuming the feedback is given thoughtfully and respectfully) is going to be thankful and receptive to it and it has the potential to do the person and the company some good, there is value to you.
  - jeltz 14y ago
    Agreed, but it is a high risk low reward thing so it is bad as a general advice.
  - greenyoda 14y ago
    Another upside is that your feedback might make things better for your ex co-workers, some of whom may be your friends. And if the company is afraid enough of losing more people, they might actually take your feedback seriously.

akhilrex 14y ago

Hi kjackson2012, what happened with you was unfortunate and i am particularly happy that you were right the first time around. I cannot speak for all the employers. But my views would resonate with the people who want to create a good working environment for their colleagues. if you are quitting because you got a better offer, i might want to match it or negotiate but in the end i will be happy for you. But if you are leaving because of something I did wrong i would want to know. If i dont improve, i wont be able to retain good people and that is crucial for small entrepreneurs like me.