How to keep my reputation intact?

Anonymous — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:59:21 -0800

How do I preserve my professional reputation after a rough parting with an abusive boss? Heeding the advice of the hivemind, I quit my job after my boss started yelling at me, calling me stupid in public, and generally berating me to the point that other people started asking me questions about why she was so mad at me. Now I'm worried that she will start to poison the well. My boss has a reputation for being supportive, open and growth oriented. Really, she takes anyone who works outside her beliefs and tears them to shreds, until they leave. When I started working for her, I heard the first part. Now that I'm quitting, I get a lot of 'she sure is brilliant, but she's impossible to work with/the devil/controlling' etc

However, we work in a small, connected industry in our city. I'm concerned that she will paint me as a diva, a negative person or a poisoner (all things I've been accused of). Even though I'm leaving in a few days, she hasn't told any of our clients that I'm going - now I'm worried that they will think that I quit abruptly and am being unprofessional. These are people I am likely to work with in the future, somewhere along the line.

So, how do I do damage control, keep her from talking behind my back and generally throwing a wrench in the works?

How do I gracefully quit this job?

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 15:48:56 -0800

I need help with formatting a resignation letter. It's a bit complicated. I work for a major medication corporation as an IT geek. I've been working here for a few months, after graduating from school this past year. It's a good job with a good pay, far higher than other companies offered me, but it's almost time for me to leave.

I've always wanted to have my own business, and I've finally hit upon an opportunity that I've grabbed that will let me make about 2/3 of what I'm making now, with only 1/2 of the work (officially). Unofficially, I'll be working a few hours a week, and the rest will be free for me. It's an IT contract with an old client of mine, and very lucrative and an awesome opportunity. Between that, my other IT work and a writing business that I'm starting to be overwhelmed with work in, I'm finally in a position to quit my job and make as much and more money than I'm making working my current 8-5.

So, Hive Mind, tell me, how do I write a letter to these nice people who gave me this job? It was a real blessing, and I would have been out on the street if not for it. But I'm through with it. I want my last day to be on or close to January 1st, and I want to draft a letter to give to them in a couple of weeks to prepare for that date. My trouble is that I've only worked here for a few months, we're going through performance reviews/next year's goals and I do, to tell the truth, feel a little bit bad for being here for such a short time and then leaving. But it is a big place, and though the IT department doesn't have a huge turnover, the place as a whole does, I'm sure.

What do I say? Do I tell them thank you for the job? Do I tell them about my businesses? Do I ask them to keep me in mind if they have any contract work they need done? This is my first *real* job, and my first resignation letter I'll be writing, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

(Note: Please don't suggest I stay here any longer. I really hate working for a company, I can't stand working under unnatural light and looking at a grey cube all day and I've worked my arse off the past few months every spare moment I've had to make myself opportunities to get out of here, and I'm not staying any longer than I have to. I *love* working for myself and I'm so excited about doing it. I just need help figuring out how to write a resignation with these slightly odd circumstances in mind.)

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How to keep my reputation intact?

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