8 min readOleksii Sribnyi
Exit interview questions that get honest answers
"Better opportunity" is the answer you get when you ask why someone is leaving.
These 29 questions get the real reason, and what to fix before the next person starts.
You ask why someone is leaving and hear something polite. Then the next person leaves for the same reason, and it's a surprise again.
Specific questions get specific answers. Pick the groups below that fit the role. With SendMyVoice, you send them as a link and hear each answer out loud.
The resignation letter
Dear Sam,
Please accept this letter as notice of my resignation. I've accepted an opportunity that is a better fit for my next step.
Thank you for everything. I've learned a lot here.
Priya
The exit interview answer
1. What made you start looking for something new?
I asked twice about moving to senior and got “next cycle” both times. Then the new job offered it on the first call. If there'd been a date, I'd have waited.
Why they're leaving
Start here. The reason in the resignation letter is usually the polite one.
- 1
What made you start looking for something new?
Gets the real reason, which is rarely the one in the letter.
- 2
When did you first think about leaving?
A date points to an event: a reorg, a missed promotion, a new manager.
- 3
What does the new role offer that this one didn't?
Names the gap in concrete terms: a title, pay, remote days or a different kind of work.
- 4
What would have made you stay?
Ask it outright. Most people have a clear answer.
The role and the work
Whether the job matched what you hired for, and where the time went.
- 5
Was the job what you expected when you joined?
Shows whether the job ad and the interviews described the work honestly.
- 6
Which parts of the work did you enjoy most?
Tells you what to keep in the role when you hire again.
- 7
What took up your time without being worth it?
Finds the meetings, reports and approvals nobody would miss.
- 8
Was your workload about right, too light or too heavy?
A workload problem in one role often means the same problem in the roles next to it.
Their manager and the team
Ask about the way work was managed, not about the manager as a person.
- 9
How was the way your work was managed?
Day to day and long term are often different answers.
- 10
What could your manager have done differently?
Framed as a change, so the answer is something a manager can act on.
- 11
Did you get feedback often enough to be useful?
Separates no feedback at all from feedback that only came at review time.
- 12
How did you get on with the team?
A vague "it was time to move on" often means a team problem.
Growth and pay
Easier to ask once the resignation is in. Ask plainly.
- 13
Did you see a path forward here?
If the answer is no, ask what the next step should have looked like.
- 14
Did you get the training and support you needed?
Points at gaps you can close for the people who are staying.
- 15
How did you feel about your pay and benefits?
Tells you whether pay was the reason or only part of it.
- 16
Were raises and promotions decided in a way that made sense to you?
Asks about the process, which is easier to talk about than their own salary.
Tools and process
Small, fixable things that wear people down over a year.
- 17
Which tool or process got in your way most?
Gets concrete fixes, and some of them cost very little.
- 18
What did you have to ask about again and again?
Points at missing documentation or an unclear owner.
- 19
What did you work around to get things done?
Workarounds show the process people really use, not the one on paper.
What to keep
An exit interview isn't only a list of problems. Find out what worked.
- 20
What did you like most about working here?
Tells you what to protect, not only what to fix.
- 21
What should we tell candidates about working here?
Your hiring pitch, from someone with nothing left to gain.
- 22
Who helped you most while you were here?
Names people worth thanking, and worth keeping.
Fixes for the next person
Nobody knows this job better right now. Get it down before the last day.
- 23
What should we fix before the next person starts in your role?
Practical and specific. Often the most useful answer of the whole interview.
- 24
What do you know that isn't written down anywhere?
Gets the handover list before it walks out the door.
- 25
What would you change in the job description?
Helps you hire for the job as it is, not as it was planned.
- 26
What should the next person's first month look like?
An onboarding plan from someone who did the job.
Coming back and recommending
End here. It tells you what you'll be known for as an employer.
- 27
Would you come back one day? What would need to change?
The second half is the useful part.
- 28
Would you recommend working here to a friend? Why or why not?
The reason matters more than the yes or no.
- 29
Is there anything else you'd like to tell us?
Leaves room for the thing you didn't think to ask.
Questions to leave out
Some questions get a polite non-answer. You only get one exit interview, so don't spend it on these.
- “Was it your manager?” It hands over an answer, and a yes feels like an accusation.
- “Could we offer anything to change your mind?” That's a counteroffer. Have that talk separately.
- “How much is the new job paying?” Too personal. Ask how the pay here felt instead.
- “Didn't we give you plenty of chances to grow?” It asks for agreement, so you learn nothing.
- “Who else is thinking of leaving?” Nobody wants to talk about colleagues. It spoils the rest of the interview.
- “Did you enjoy working here?” You'll hear yes. Ask what was best instead.
The exit interview template leaves all of these out.
When to do it
The last day is goodbyes and handing back a laptop. Nobody has time to think. Wait a month, and nobody replies.
Send it in the last week. A SendMyVoice link can be answered that evening or a few days later, whenever suits.
How to get honest answers
Across a desk, people say what's easy to say. You hear the safe version and fix the wrong thing.
- Pick who asks. Not the person's own manager. HR or someone from another team hears more.
- Say if it's named or anonymous. Then stick to it.
- Say who reads it. People hold back when they don't know.
- Don't argue. Say thanks and move on.
With SendMyVoice, each person gets a private link. For anonymous answers, use one public link and don't ask for a name.
What to do with the answers
Exit notes end up in a folder nobody opens. The same problem keeps costing you good people.
- Read by question. Five answers to “What made you start looking?” show a pattern one can't.
- Look again each quarter. One person leaving over a reorg is a story. Four is a reason.
- Share themes, not names.
- Fix one thing and say so. The people who stay will notice.
SendMyVoice shows everyone's answer to one question side by side. You can also ask a question across all of them, like “How many mention promotions?”
Send it as a voice form
A form with text boxes gets one careful line. A meeting gets the polite version.
A SendMyVoice voice form is a link with your questions. The person answers out loud, when ready, with no app or account. You get each answer as a recording and a transcript.
Free: 3 questions, answers up to 1 minute, 10 answers a month. Pro, $6 a month: 20 questions, answers up to 5 minutes, 200 answers a month, and answers sent to a Google Sheet or Notion. Any plan can download answers as Excel or CSV.
Start from the exit interview template. It has six questions from this list.
Step 1 of 6
What made you start looking for something new?
Tap to record. Up to 2 min.
Start from a template
Exit interview
Six questions for someone who is leaving, answered in their own words.
- 1What made you start looking for something new?
- 2What would have made you stay?
- 3How was the way your work was managed?
Customer interview
Five questions on why a customer bought, without booking a call.
- 1What were you trying to get done when you started looking?
- 2What did you try before us, and why didn't it stick?
- 3What nearly stopped you from buying?
Feedback form
Three open questions. Fits the free plan.
- 1What worked well?
- 2What was slow, confusing or annoying?
- 3If we changed one thing first, what should it be?
Questions
What questions should you ask in an exit interview?
Why they started looking, what would have made them stay, how their work was managed, and what to fix for the next person. Open questions get reasons. Ratings don't.
How many questions should an exit interview have?
Six to ten in a conversation. Three to six on a form. Pick the groups that matter most for this role.
Should exit interviews be anonymous?
Named answers let you follow up. Anonymous answers can be franker, but in a small team the details often give the person away. Say which one it is.
Who should do the exit interview?
Someone outside the person's own team, like HR or a manager from another team. It's easier to be honest with someone who wasn't your boss.
What do you do with exit interview answers?
Read everyone's answer to the same question, look for reasons that repeat, and share the themes without names. Fix one thing and say you did.
Hear why people leave, in their words
Free plan, no credit card. No account to answer.