October 14, 2019 Leave a Comment

Make the Most of Your Exit Interview

Business people shaking hands in a meeting room

Maybe you’ve handed in your resignation letter or maybe your contract is almost over. However, it happened, your job is officially coming to an end. This is the time when your employer may invite you to an exit interview.

An exit interview is a closing meeting between an employer and the employee leaving the organization (either voluntarily or through termination). It is an opportunity for employers to gain feedback from exiting employees in order to evaluate the company’s practices, retain employees and reduce turnover, and improve the organization.

What to expect in an Exit Interview

While it might be unnerving to meet with your soon-to-be previous employer and you may be tempted to decline, don’t turn down the invitation. Since you are leaving the position, you have nothing to lose and plenty to gain! It helps to be prepared to fully maximize the opportunity and end the employment relationship in a positive note.

If the interview was initiated by the employer, then they set the agenda. Be ready to answer questions such as:

Your reasons for leaving (if you resigned)
Your feedback, both positive and negative, in terms of:
- Duties and challenges of the position
- Working relationships with colleagues and managers
What skills and qualifications does the position require
Offer suggestions for the new hire that will replace you
Your availability to support the new hire

Do your best to answer the questions as honestly, constructively and as tactfully as you can. Employers who conduct exit interviews genuinely want to learn from your experience, so don’t be shy about offering helpful feedback. Your opinions might benefit the colleagues you are leaving behind.

At the end of the interview, make sure to thank your employer for the opportunity to give your feedback and for any you received in return. Offer your gratitude for the employment experience.

What you can gain from an Exit Interview

Many employees dislike exit interviews, describing the experience as awkward or uncomfortable and without any benefit for the employee who is leaving. However, you may be surprised how useful exit interviews can be.

1. Reference Letters and Networking Contacts:

Assuming that the job ended on relatively collegial terms, exit interviews are a chance to secure a strong reference. It’s a simple as asking who would be available to provide a reference for you.

Keep in touch with your colleagues and supervisors, especially those who you want to keep as networking contacts. Make sure you connect on Linkedin. Job hunting is an unpredictable process and you never know when you may learn about a new employment opportunity from former supervisor or co-worker.

2. Evaluating your Skills:

Before the interview ends, make sure to ask for time to address a few questions of your own – things you really want know about. Consider asking for:

Feedback about your performance on the job
Your strengths and weaknesses
Advice about professional development that might be useful for you

If the job ended on negative terms and you’re still dealing with anger and resentment, it may not be a good idea to participate in an exit interview. Expressing your anger with an employer will only end your chances of a reference and may ruin your professional reputation. If you have a legal or human rights cause with your employer, discuss it with your union, lawyer or the Ministry of Labour; don’t handle it on your own at the exit interview.

While first impressions are powerful, so are final, lasting impressions. Ending a job on a positive and constructive note will benefit both you and the company well into the future.

April 30, 2018 4 Comments

References required! How to gather references that’ll help you get your next job

You know you have successfully passed the interview stage when the employer finally asks for references. It’s an exciting moment. And it’s a little frightening, as well, because at this point you no longer have influence over the job application; you are dependent on other people being available, willing and able to talk about you convincingly.

Employers’ expectations regarding references aren’t necessarily consistent (just like every other aspect of the hiring process). Sometimes, employers ask for them at the end of a good interview, sometimes they call for the reference list after the interview, and other times they don’t want them at all. Sometimes, employers ask for references up front, in the job posting.

So what is a job seeker to do? [Read more…]

September 15, 2014 Leave a Comment

Resume Writing Basics – Step 5: Completing Your Resume

This is the final post in my ongoing Resume Writing Basics series, which included the following:

an overview of the basics of resume writing, including an outline of the information to be included in a resume
a detailed description of the formatting needed to create an easy-to-read resume
tips for writing a Profile Summary that catches employers’ attention
a guide for outlining an impressive Employment History

All that remains is to list your education and training, and volunteer experience, if relevant. Most resumes also end off with a mention of references.

List your education and training

Most employers are impressed by the candidate’s education, regardless of whether it is directly related to the job, so it is always worthwhile to include your highest education, as well as any other degrees of certifications. The best format: the degree, the school and its location (e.g. Bachelor of Art, Ryerson University, Toronto).

It is generally not necessary to include dates, as these just give the employer too much information about your approximate age. However, if you just recently graduated and you want to explain the employer what you have been doing in the last few years, add dates and consider bringing the section up higher up in the resume, above the Employment History.

In addition to all your degrees, it may be useful to list any relevant courses or certification you might have obtained. This might include any on-the-job training, as well. List only courses that are relevant to your work.

Don’t leave off volunteer work

Employers tend to be impressed by involvement in community activities, so it’s well worth including it in the resume.

You can add it, using the same format recommended for Employment History under a separate heading, or you may include the volunteer jobs in your employment history. If you add your volunteer roles to your jobs, make sure to clearly indicate the volunteer jobs clearly as such.

Mention (but don’t include) your references

It is generally recommended that candidates do not include references in or with their resume. So, by way of reassuring the employer that you do have references and will share them when the right time comes (i.e. at the interview), you can add a line at the end that states something to the that “References are Available Upon Request” (One of my clients even cheekily stated that “Enthusiastic References are Available Upon Request”).

Final note..

For resume samples, there are some good online resources such as The Balance’s Sample Resumes, Monster.ca and WorkBloom. Keep in mind though, that resumes differ by industry, country and sector. This means that job seekers should thoroughly research the best resume formats by consulting with employers and employees who work in their target jobs, before finalizing the resume.

June 23, 2014 Leave a Comment

How Employers Identify the Best Person for the Job (and what job seekers can do to be that person)

A few weeks ago, I posted an article on LinkedIn, titled What do Employers Really Want in a Candidate? which seemed to really catch the attention of job seekers and employers alike. It described some of the unexpected skills which large employers such as Google and Apple value in candidates. The skills were surprisingly “soft”, focusing on personality traits and behaviours (which are generally more difficult to assess and identify), rather than the traditional (more measurable) “hard” skills such as technical abilities and knowledge.

These included:

the ability to learn as you go
taking initiative when appropriate
humility and self-criticalness
confidence
ownership / responsibility
collaborativeness
adaptability
friendliness
enthusiasm
helpfulness

In the responses to my article, a number of job seekers asked how they could convince potential employers that they have the requisite soft skills. A few employers also commented, wondering what they could do to identify these in candidates. The discussion was so robust that I thought I’d share some of the ideas in this follow-up post.

Identifying and evaluating personal attributes is not an easy task. For employers, the concern is whether candidates are being honest about their abilities, or whether – in their desperation to find work – candidates are telling employers whatever they think the employer would like to hear. Candidates on the other hand, worry about how to ensure that employers will be able to discover their soft skills and whether their skills will be genuinely valued.

Drawn from the comments to my original post, here are recommendations to help employers identify candidates who can bring the best personal attributes to a job, as well as tips to help job seekers communicate those skills to employers:

1. A well thought through and detailed job posting which clearly describes the preferences, values and priorities of the employer, both in terms of hard and soft skills is an important first step. It allows candidates to self-select based on the qualifications listed in the posting, as well as to begin thinking what they might want to share with employers. While some employers express reluctance to list the soft skills (calling them “obvious”), candidates and recruiters seem to appreciate this insight into corporate culture and values.

[Job seekers: take careful note of the wording, priorities and even the order in which the qualifications are listed in the posting. Make sure that your resume and cover letter address the listed qualifications very specifically. Start thinking of examples of your work that demonstrate the priority skills.]

2. Resumes are the first opportunity for candidates to share their vision of themselves in their own words. However, a number of employers and recruiters remarked that the computerized Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), which are commonly used to scan resumes for keywords, often do not include the soft skills, and cautioned employers to rethink their methods of sorting through applicants if they want to identify these types of personal skills.

[Job seekers: think carefully through your soft skills and identify 3-5 skills about which you feel most confident; make sure to include them on your resume, both in your profile summary as well as in descriptions of your duties and examples of achievements in your various jobs.]

3. A personal referral from a well-respected colleague or employee is probably the most effective way for employers to learn more about the personality and soft skills of a candidate. The simple act of referral comes with an implicit recommendation for the candidate’s personal as well as technical skills.

[Job seekers: network actively, especially with people who already know your work and character. Remember that referrals are meaningless (and unlikely) if they come from people who don’t know you well enough to attest to your character. Take opportunities such as volunteering to showcase your abilities to people from whom you could get referrals and recommendations later.]

4. Thoughtful Interviews, which encourage candidates to share specific and concrete examples from their work history to demonstrate their skills, are the most effective way for employers to get to know candidates better and to assess their soft skills. A number of employers and recruiters recommended that interviewers ask open-ended behavioural type questions such as: “What is it that you can count on from yourself to always get you through tough situations, no matter what? Can you give us an example of when this worked for you?” or, “What irritates you about yourself?” to encourage candidates to be more open.

Also, the ways in which candidates handle the interview is also very telling about their attitude and personality, including their punctuality, how they handle difficult questions, their ability to solve problems in the interview, whether they are able to be self-critical and or able to accept feedback.

[Job seekers: think through how you would answer behavioural questions, including questions about your weaknesses and strengths. Remember to identify examples from your work history that demonstrate your strengths, especially those that refer to your soft personal skills, such as the ones listed here. Practice telling the stories that demonstrate those skills. Also, remember that how you behave during an interview speaks louder than words: demonstrate your friendliness, your ability to be self-critical yet confident, your enthusiasm. Finally, consider asking employers which skills and attributes they value in a candidate, and ask for feedback about how well you fit with their expectations.]

5. Reference checks can be an opportunity for employers to ask questions about the attitude and personality of the candidate. Questions about the candidate’s relationships on the job, their teamwork style, as well as a description of their weaknesses are particularly useful to help clarify soft skills.

[Job seekers: choose your referees carefully and communicate with them once you have provided their names to potential employers. Make sure they understand which skills and personality traits are important to you and the employer, and — if possible — help them identify examples from your work that demonstrate your personal strengths. Also, gather LinkedIn Recommendations which speak about your personality — ask the people who are recommending you to mention your soft skills].

Ultimately, an ideal hiring process would encourage mutual openness and dialog to enable employers to see beyond resumes and keywords into candidates’ authentic character and values. Many of us, both job seekers and employers, are encouraged to see that companies such as Apple and Google are beginning to do just that. Let’s hope this trend continues to grow and be adopted by more companies of all sizes and industries.