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Quitting your job, the right way. . .

February 5, 2007

There comes a time in most employment relationships when it is time to move on.  Gone are the days of lifetime employment.  Unless you get fired you will need to quit.  My suggestion?  Do it with class.  Sit down with your manager and let him know that you are leaving and offer a minimum of two weeks notice.  Regardless of how much you would like to slam down your resignation letter on his desk and walk out, consider that it is likely that your next job won’t be your last and that future employers might want to talk to your current boss.  If you handle it right it is very likely that your current boss will provide positive references for the rest of your career.  Handle it wrong and at best you won’t be able to get a reference and worst you might get a negative reference.  On the other hand, I highly recommend employers providing a minimum of two weeks notice to employees regardless of the reason for termination.  Get a release in exchange for the severence payment of course. 

Penelope Trunk suggests the following:

  • Go before things get bad. Lynne Prodger recently left her accounting job. “I’ve been really good about quitting jobs amicably," she says. “I realized I was hitting a point where I was going to start acting out." Like Prodger, you need to know yourself and be honest about how you’re feeling on the job so you don’t let your emotions get out of hand.
  • Make a good first step. “The very first person that you should tell you’re leaving is your boss," says Alexandra Levit , author of “They Don’t Teach Corporate in College." “Your boss will be insulted to hear it from someone else." Also, get your story right the first time and tell the same, optimistic plan to everyone. Prodger, for example, explained that she wanted to give freelancing a try, which shows positive vision for her career.
  • Leave the door open a crack. If you’ve done good work, there is no reason you couldn’t come back later, when things for you and for the company might have changed. Especially as you begin to specialize in your career and lay down roots, the pool of possible companies gets smaller. So don’t close any doors definitively.
  • Beware of the exit interview. “If you trash the company during an exit interview, it will follow you everywhere. In fact, don’t even bother to do one," says David Perry , a recruiter and author of “Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters." “Just leave on good terms and let them know you had a wonderful time." Even if you didn’t.
  • Resignation letter. Try to get out of it if you can. But if you really need to write one for legal reasons, make it short and gracious. You are not the president of the United States. The world does not need a public record of why you quit or what your aspirations are. Just a simple end date and a thank you will be fine.
  • Trust that the company can continue without you. “People think the world is going to end if they quit their job," says Prodger. “In my last job, everyone who quit thought everything would go wrong, but it’s easily fixed and everyone’s replaceable."
  • Set yourself up for a good reference. Perry is adamant that any negative parting will haunt your job hunts forever. “You want to be sure the trail you leave is a positive one," he says. And although the law discourages past employers from dissing you to future employers, Perry says a recruiter can circumvent this hurdle. “I have never, in my 20 years of recruiting, had someone not answer questions about references."
  • Manage the in-between time carefully. “Burn no bridges," warns Brendon Connelly , author of the popular blog Slacker Manager. Sometimes quitting a job is as loaded as dumping a lover. “I have quit a few jobs and there has been tension because it’s always been for something else," says Connelly. “You need to lay the groundwork ahead of time for the transition." Tie up loose ends at the old job and get your files organized to pass on to someone else. “You don’t want to give the old people the shaft."

Written by Alexander Muse · Filed Under Blog 

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