Exit interviews: leave with a smile or spill the beans? Reader J wonders whether she should complain about her rude and dismissive boss when quitting, and I can't wait to hear what the readers say:

I will be giving my notice to quit my current job within the next couple of weeks, and I'm struggling with how much to say. On the one hand, I don't want to burn any bridges. I have good relationships with almost everyone I work with, and I want to preserve those relationships.

On the other hand, there is one partner who I work for that is disrespectful, rude and dismissive, and he is the main reason I'm leaving.

Are people generally honest about that type of thing when they quit and do you recommend that I say something? Or do most people stick with a stock line – e.g., I learned a lot here but I got a great new opportunity.

We got into exit interviews a bit when we talked about how to resign gracefully, but I'm curious what the hivemind is on this one: Should you tell employers the reason you're quitting?

My Advice on How Much to Say In Your Exit Interview

I'm going to stick with my gut here and say you should resign with a smile and keep your lips sealed regarding any bad working situations.

My guess is you're not going to accomplish anything by sharing them, and you may tarnish your own reputation by saying something. If the hiring office (or whoever administers your exit interview) knows about Person X's attitude, then you're not telling them anything new. And if they don't know about Person X's attitude, they will most likely chalk it up to a “personality conflict,” and leave it at that.

Realistically, from a senior management perspective, they probably don't care about Person X's attitude — as long as Person X can bring in clients/money/do their job well, they don't really care how they treats their underlings.

Furthermore, by mentioning negatives at your exit interview you may come off as a whiner. I say, leave with a smile, with as much goodwill as you can. You never know what you may want from the firm in the future (good recommendations, connections — perhaps even from Person X).

Readers, what do you think — have you mentioned bad experiences in your exit interviews? How were you received?

Psst… some of our latest discussions on quitting…

• How Often Do You Fantasize About Quitting?
• Exit Interviews: Leave With a Smile
• Disengaging Instead of Quitting (vs. Leaning Out vs. Work-Life Balance)
• Are You Part of the “Great Resignation”?
• How to Write a Resignation Letter

Updated images (handshake) via Stencil. Original image (sunset): Quitting time (lomo variant), originally uploaded to Flickr by greg.turner.)

This post was originally written in 2011, but updated substantially as indicated.

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If you could pick any office, which would you choose? What factors would help you choose the best office? Reader C wonders…

I'm thrilled to have accepted a new job! I'm an attorney in my late 20s making a lateral move to a mid-size boutique firm after five years with my current shop. Of all the things on my to do list, one is really stumping me.

In discussion with the office manager of my new firm-to-be, we arranged a day for me to come by in a week to deal with paperwork, etc. before I start. She told me I could pick my office that day, so it could be set up for me. I said, “Great!” Then I hung up the phone and thought, “What?”

Other than the obviously draw of bigger + more light — what should I think about or ask when I get to choose my own office? As a luxury I didn't have at my first job out of law school, it feels like an opportunity that might (but not necessarily will) be seen as a strategic choice. There will be associates both senior and junior to me, and I'd hate to unwittingly end up in territory typically reserved for interns (especially because I look so young). Am I overthinking this?

Aaah, the pressure — I feel for you, Reader C. We've talked about whether location or size matters for offices, as well as how to decorate your first office, and what to keep in your desk, but we haven't explicitly talked about this. Some considerations:

• Who will you be working with, and where are they located? You may not know the answer to this (or the answer may be, “everyone!”), in which case, skip to the next question. If, however, you have a specific practice area or niche, there may be at least one or two likely people who you'll be working with all the time. I would suggest discreetly finding out where their offices are before you go. This gives you more information; the next part of the question is whether you want to be near them, or far from them. Speaking as an introvert who hates to be bugged in the middle of a thought, I'd rather be a half a hallway away from someone I work with often rather than right next door — but being on another floor would feel like I was “hiding” in my office.
• If you want to make partner at the firm, who will advance your career? Finding sponsors and mentors is only part of the game — the other part is making a name for yourself with the actual decision makers. At my old firm there was a very small Executive Committee that ultimately made hiring/firing decisions, even though there were 70+ partners. If I were trying to make partner, I'd try to choose an office somewhere visible to a member of that committee, and use it as an easy way to get to know him or her.

Of course, visibility has its pluses and its minuses — if you are punctuality challenged and tend to arrive late, or hope to leave on the “early” side a lot (even if you plan to work from home), you may want an office in a less visible location (and then just try to make yourself visible and known to the Powers That Be otherwise in the course of your day).

After factoring in these job considerations, I'd ask myself the major questions — which direction does the building face; do you want morning or afternoon light; does one office smell (or is it located somewhere potentially smelly, such as near the kitchen); can you immediately tell that one office is located next to a screamer — and so forth. If you see five offices and one of them is much, much bigger than the rest and vacant, I would wonder what the catch was, to be honest. Finally, I'd ask myself what I needed to reuse pieces of existing decor I already owned — if you have a huge painting, you need a large blank wall. If you have a couch, you need a long wall not near a filing cabinet — etc., etc.

Readers, how about you — if you could choose any office, which would you choose? What factors would you consider?

Pictured: New office, originally uploaded to Flickr by Michael Kumm.   

Sales of note for 7.19.24

• Nordstrom – The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is now open to everybody! Here are all of our picks, and here are reader favorites.
• Ann Taylor – Semi-annual sale, extra 50% off markdowns + 20% off everything!
• Banana Republic Factory – 40-60% off everything, take an extra 20% off your purchase
• Eloquii – 50% off select styles
• Everlane – Up to 70% off
• J.Crew – End of Season Sale, extra 50% off sale styles
• J.Crew Factory – 40-60% off everything
• Lo & Sons – Summer sale, up to 50% off
• Madewell – End of season sale, up to 70% off with code.
• M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide. (Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is the biggest sitewide discount I've ever seen…)
• Rothy's – Lots of great finds in the “final few” section
• Talbots – Semi-annual red door sale, extra 40% off markdowns

Some of our latest posts here at Corporette…

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

• Is there a mantra or slogan that will help me combat imposter syndrome?
• AITA for not moving to the middle seat to be closer to my husband on a recent flight?
• What are your latest favorite nonfiction books for fans of Mary Beard?
• I'm so annoyed by people who look at their smart watches instead of paying attention to our conversation…
• Let's have a secrets thread…
• I need tips on managing employees in BigLaw who have to leave for daycare pickup…
• I'm thinking of leaning out to spend more time with my family – how can I find the perfect job for that?

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