AUTHOR: David M. Young
You take a deep breath…you have the offer, you have accepted, and you have a start date. So all that is left in the process is to resign and move on. Wait… it is not that simple. For whatever reason, you decided to look for another job. Now that you have one, do yourself a favor and think long term. Where you have been working, whether you like it or not, will be with you for the rest of your career. It will be on your resume, the friends you made will move to other companies, and very likely, you will want to …or better stated, NEED to use this past employer and the people you worked with for a reference. SOOOOO…be professional…don’t burn any bridges…don’t do that thing you always wanted to do but were afraid of the consequences.
Now that you have a new job, leave the old job with class and professionalism. Before you walk in to resign, draw up a formal letter. In the letter, you don’t have to give any reasons. And if you will be negative, then don’t give a reason. But if you can, write a simple letter indicating you are resigning, your desired last day, and thank them for the opportunity to work there and to expand your career. What ever you do, be gracious. This will go in your permanent file and you never know if you may want or need to walk through the same doors again in the future. Your goal is to leave on good terms. Be aware of any employment agreement you may have signed when you started and do not violate any conditions of that agreement in your exit. By this, I mean, don’t go back and copy your hard drive before resigning. If you have had a mobile phone, you may want to get your personal contacts, but don’t violate any professional terms by taking a list of clients, company information, or employee lists. You may want to get personal emails that you have not saved to a personal location. But otherwise, as soon as you resign, be ready to not have access to your data.
Now that you have the formal letter written, schedule time with your immediate supervisor as soon as possible. It is appropriate and expected that generally you give “two weeks” notice. So make sure you are resigning two or more weeks before your start date for your next job. In that conversation, again, don’t air your dirty laundry. Be gracious. Thank them for the opportunity to grow in your career. Let them know you have decided to take a new position and your desired last day. Let them know you want to do whatever you can to help in the transition and your exit. And before you leave, hand your supervisor your letter Companies handle a resignation in many different ways. You may have exit paperwork, you may have to meet with others, you may have an exit interview, and you may also need to follow formal resignation protocol. Whatever it is, be flexible and available. In some cases, you may be “escorted” back to your desk to get your things and that may serve as your last day. So be ready…
But, you should also be ready for your boss/supervisor to not want you to leave. This is when they ask what they can do to keep you. I have seen this create much consternation and confusion for the person who had decided to leave. It may seem counter intuitive, but a “counter-offer” as this is referred to, is never in the best interest of the person who is receiving it. Yes, you may feel like you are being heard and you are getting additional financial benefit. Or you may be offered whatever it was that forced you to look for a role in the first place, but keep in mind, it is now too late. Are there exceptions? There could be…and this is really only on a case by case basis…but a significant majority of the time, this is bad for the person resigning. You should ask yourself why it took you wanting to leave to get the additional compensation or opportunity. For whatever reason, you were not valued enough for this to be provided in the first place. Also, now that you have resigned, the company knows you are willing to leave and you will have a target on your back. If you stay, words like loyalty, commitment, and dedication will not be associated with you when it comes time for performance reviews, bonuses, or other opportunities. You may get a short term benefit, but the company will not be thinking of you for the long term. This counteroffer puts the company in control of your transition instead of you. Most likely it will take time for the company to find your replacement, and anything they can do to reduce the amount of time for a gap in your position will help them. The end result is that no matter how you respond, you will not have the favor of the company.
So, rather than consider, be ready for it, just smile, express your appreciation, and let them know that you have committed to your decision and want to help however you can in the transition. Remember, you are in control. If you future employer has flexibility on your start date, then if asked to be longer than 2 weeks before your last day occurs, be open to that. This is part of building good will. You know you are needed, and you will be looked upon very highly because you went above and beyond when you were wanting to exit. If something like this occurs, make sure to get it in writing, even if it is just a confirmation email to your boss. This will prevent any misunderstandings from occurring and will make sure you and your supervisor are in synch. A respectful refusal of a counter offer and any flexibility you have on assisting in your exit will leave that door open for a future return as well as positive references as you move through your career.
To summarize…document, communicate, and be gracious in your resignation and exit and your long term career will be served well.
The Job 