Two Weeks Notice - The Art of Quitting Your Job Gracefully
September 9, 2008
Quitting your job can be quite a liberating experience. The weight of “all things crappy” in your job is lifted off your shoulders and you feel as though you can finally breath again. Yet, no matter how bad your job seems at the time you leave, it’s wise to quit your job gracefully and not burn your bridges.
My Two Weeks Notice
After almost nine years of working for the same group, I had a long talk with my boss yesterday where I gave my two weeks notice and let him know I was taking a better job for a lower salary. Of course I didn’t word it in that way, he asked about the reasons I was leaving and I was honest yet tactful.
The main reason for exiting cordially is that you never know when you’ll need a job or a reference in the future so it’s smart to keep the relationship you built intact. In my case it was also because I’ve become friends with my boss and many of my co-workers. However from a purely career-centric point of view, leaving gracefully keeps your professional network intact should you need to call on it sometime down the road.
Here are a few things to consider as you leave your job for greener pastures:
Give Two Weeks Notice
In many companies you’re required to give the official notice and go through an exit interview otherwise you forfeit being paid out accrued benefits such as vacation days. Some companies have a policy that you can’t be re-hired in the future if you don’t give proper notice before leaving.
Wrap it Up
It’s really tempting to wash your hands of everything you’ve been working on and cruise through the last two weeks but if you dump a load of work on your co-workers or boss that will be the last thing they remember about you. If you come looking for a job or referral in the future that last bitter memory will likely be the first to pop up.
Transition Responsibility
Let people know where all the bodies are buried. Train your co-workers on necessary tasks and document important processes. If you don’t do this you may be getting phone calls and emails for weeks or months after you leave your job. Plus your co-workers will really appreciate the documentation.
Manage Change
Try and avoid the sinking ship syndrome. When someone leaves a group, especially if they’re in a leadership or key operational role, the people left behind often ask themselves whether they’ll be the last ones left on a sinking ship.
- Why are you leaving?
- What will happen once you’re gone?
- Is the group or company in trouble?
- Will they have to work overtime to make up for your absence?
- Should they start looking for a new job as well?
These thoughts will likely go through people’s heads in a time of change but you can help calm their fears by the way you handle your exit. Announce your departure personally to your core team, the people you work with on a daily basis, so that they hear it from you instead of the rumor mill. Tactfully explain your reasons for leaving, don’t bad mouth the company or other co-workers. Be ready to answer questions about transitioning responsibilities and shifting project work.
Smile On the Way Out
Those poor suckers are still stuck working there and you’re moving on! So smile and be friendly on the way out the door. You can’t help but feel bad for your co-workers as you leave for bigger and better things. If you can quit gracefully and leave as a friend it will be better off for your career in the long run.
These are great tips. We’ve all been there when somone left a group and left projects completely undone and their work was a mess… don’t be that person. Like Ben says, wrap up your projects and transition responsibilities. Great tips.
I did the same - better job at lower salary - and I got to move back home with family
Total agreement here. Give proper notice and stay friendly.
Do not badmouth. If possible, leave a work manual with notes and
‘how-to’s” in it. It’s not only proper but can answer a lot of questions that
you won’t be getting phone calls for later. But do offer to be available to
help train the next person if they will not be coming on board until after you
leave. And after you leave - keep in touch with those friends you’ve made there -
email is my choice of communication - instantly! I treasure and value those
friendships from places I’ve left behind, and 10 years later they are still some of
my dearest friends
I remember the shock of losing a work associate because she just upped and quit - same day notice. This totally changed our opinion of the person because we couldn’t believe she would leave us in such a lurch when it wasn’t an emergency. Don’t burn your bridges! Even if you don’t think you would ever return to that job again, the people you left behind might be part of your networking for a future job or in management at the next job
I wish all professionals would follow this code of conduct. I had an employee quit on me on a holiday weekend in a Biotech manufacturing area. They gave a day’s notice. Ridiculous. I had to get another person to cover on a holiday with no notice. I would always give at least 2 weeks. It’s rare these days to be walked offsite or treated harshly. Job movement is the new reality and everyone understands it’s not a generation or two back when the expectation was loyalty and 35 year employment.
All very good advice.
Many people take the opportunity to spill their guts and say everything they always wanted to say on the way out the door. Very bad strategy.
The world is round - and in most industries, you will run into the same people over and over again throughout your career. Making enemies or bad impressions is the wrong way to go.
Shortly before I left my job in the States to pursue an opportunity overseas I watched a colleague commit near-professional suicide on her way out the door. She had been offered a better job at a more prestigious laboratory, and so she took the opportunity to burn every bridge possible, telling off management and basically being as UN-graceful as she could. Suddenly, she found out that the new job wanted her to interview with one more manager before signing the new contract, and she was stuck without the insurance of her old job. Fortunately for her, the new job came through, but it would definitely lead her to some unnecessary stress. These are great tips, thanks!
Jerry
*Many people take the opportunity to spill their guts and say everything they always wanted to say on the way out the door.*
Is this really true? I know plenty of people who felt miserable, bitter, depressed, and angry when they quit jobs but I don’t know a single person who’s gone out like that.