There comes a time in everyone’s career when they are faced with the decision of leaving their place of employment in pursuit of new opportunities. Whether you are transitioning to a new company, or simply leaving your current one to take a break before you step into your next role, it is crucial that you handle it professionally at every step.
What you do in your last few weeks can dictate that what kind of impression is left to your former employer, supervisor, or manager and how you will be remembered in long run. Follow these simple and easy tips to ensure you remain professional and the transition moves smoothly and easily for all parties involved.
Hand in your resignation
The first step, being the most obvious one and most important nonetheless, is to hand in your resignation. Some people just don’t show up for work the next day without telling anyone when the decide that they don’t want to go back to work anymore. This is extremely unprofessional and irresponsible as your current employer is simply left in the cold with no idea what has happened. This ruins any chance of you ever going back and working with this company if you later have second thoughts about your decision. Furthermore, if you work in a niche industry, word spreads quickly and you’ve just ruined your reputation to more than just one company. Even if word doesn’t get out, you have diminished any chance of receiving any sort of reference from this your employer towards your next opportunity.
The best way to go about this is to draft a resignation letter and set up a time to discuss in-person with your direct manager to tell them your intention to resign.
Telling the right people
Now that we’ve determined you need to tell your current employer your intent to resign, it is important that you’re telling the right people. You typically want to tell the person who you are directly reporting to, either a manager or supervisor, and they should be the first to know. A very important thing to note is to not tell anyone else in the company or industry of your resignation news before your direct manager or supervisor. It will look extremely unprofessional if your direct manager or supervisor hears this news from someone else other than yourself.
Giving as much notice as possible
If you have decided to resign from your current positions in your company, consider what kind of a position you are leaving and the amount of work that someone else and the company must pick up as a result. The length of notice you give depends on your role, hierarchy, and position in your company. A common amount notice that people have adopted to when leaving a position is 2 weeks. However, companies may need you for a longer period due to the difficulty of finding a replacement for your position and the workload that the company is facing. Regardless of what your experience has been working with your employer, you want to remain professional all the way to the end and leave them in a good spot. Discuss with them the transition plan and come to an agreement on what a reasonable notice period would be for the company to redistribute your work and responsibilities, as well as training someone else to take over your position.
Have something lined up before you make any moves (For Eager Job Seekers)
(Bonus Tip) For those eager job seekers, be sure to apply to new jobs or reach out to recruitment specialists (like Expand Reach) once the thought of resigning from your position pops into mind. Once you hand in your resignation and give your notice, you’ve got two to three weeks’ time before you are out of a job. By doing so, once your current employment has ended, you either have a head start in your job search and well underway with interviews, or you may already have landed another job opportunity and have something lined up in your favor. This eliminates any large gaps or delay in your job history when transitioning from one job to the next.
Keep productive and go out with grace
Just because you know you are leaving doesn’t mean you have a free ride or you’re on vacation until the last day. What you do after you provide your notice will reflect on your entire time being employed at your current company. No matter how long you have been there and all the great work that you’ve done with the company, what people tend to remember most is the last few weeks and not the first few years. Keep the same level of professionalism as you have given throughout the term of your employment.
Exit Interview/Counteroffer
In most cases an exit interview will be scheduled for a formal send off from your company. It is important to take this seriously and be honest on the reasoning for your departure. Even if your experience was not pleasant or you had issues, translating your thoughts in a calm tone can drastically change the environment of the conversation.
A counteroffer might be presented to you, and it is always important to be prepared for this. A helpful tip is to list out all the reasons for leaving. If the counteroffer doesn’t resolve or improve on these reasons, then pursuing another opportunity might be the right choice for you. In most cases, companies are reacting to your act of resignation and most counteroffers are simply an increase in salary. For most people, to get up the courage to quit their position and step out of their comfort zone, they are looking for more than just money.
Go out with Grace
As with any relationship, there is a lot of learning and growing when you work for a company. No matter what those lessons are, good or bad, you should always thank your current employer for the opportunity to work with them and being able to grow in your career during your time there.
Leaving a job is never easy and the last thing you as you’re preparing yourself for what’s next is to have an awkward and difficult transition process with your current employer. By following these tips, it will make the entire process much easier for everyone involved!
Contact us today to speak with one of our Recruitment Specialists and let us help you find new opportunities for the next step in your career!