Leaving-job-filter - how to hand in my notice and work it like a pro
September 3, 2013 4:01 PM Subscribe
New job almost sorted out, planning on handing my notice in this month. What can I do next to make this period as stress free as possible?
After a couple of months of looking around I should be able to have a new job offer by the end of the month. For multiple reasons this is a good thing and I am looking forwards to the new role. Hooray!
But this means then handing in my notice and working the 2 month notice period at the current place which I am REALLY not looking forwards to at all.
I'm leaving the current place, let's say Z CORP, for a mix of reasons - more money (which is important for personal reasons I don't want to go into with most people), frustrations with the current project I work on and some of the people I work with, wanting to see more of the industry, frustrations with the current direction of the firm overall, and lots of good people that I got on with have left in the last couple of years meaning Z isn't anything like the place it used to be.
I've been at Z for about 6 years and likely to be moving to a direct competitor, although with a very different direction. Also current firm is my first real grown up job which I suspect is playing a part. It is a very small industry and so I have no desire to burn any bridges.
Tangible questions:
-What do I say if any current colleagues ask why I am leaving? Is there a standard generic response that doesn't invite more questions or sound critical of Z?
-How to let people know? I need to let my line manager know (more below) formally and will let those I know closely know in person but what about the others, do I just wait if anyone asks?
-I currently have one line manager who I generally work with every day and one more senior director that generally is my overall manager and has been historically. Performance reviews and that sort of thing are all done jointly but I think I have to tell them this individually. Is that reasonable? And which to tell first?
-And how do I do the formal side? The online examples I've seen go into quite a lot of detail (e.g.) which I don't feel like doing, I'm assuming I can just write a very short letter? (I don't think there are any internal requirements for its content)
-How do I mentally adjust to being 'on the way out' for the notice period? I make a conscious effort to be fully committed and involved at work. But as I understand once you are on notice you don't get invited to any team meetings, you don't get invited on forward plans or any of the interesting ad hoc work we do etc and so you are very much a second class employee. What mindset should I be going for here?
-Any tips for managing the handover of work? Having suffered from bad handovers in the past I've made sure all my current work is as accessible as possible to others and as known about as possible so this should hopefully be ok....
-What things do people typically do on leaving in your firm? Previous recent leavers of Z have all done leaving drinks which I always find distasteful - if they/I are just going to a rival firm like me (as opposed to leaving to have kids, or to pursue their dream career as a balloonist or something) then to me it is not really something for celebration, just a bit sad. Also I don't particularly like being the centre of attention!
Generally any other recommendations of things to read would be very helpful. Most of the articles I can find are more to do with not burning bridges, finding the new job etc which I'm not looking for advice on.
Thank you askmefi-ers!
After a couple of months of looking around I should be able to have a new job offer by the end of the month. For multiple reasons this is a good thing and I am looking forwards to the new role. Hooray!
But this means then handing in my notice and working the 2 month notice period at the current place which I am REALLY not looking forwards to at all.
I'm leaving the current place, let's say Z CORP, for a mix of reasons - more money (which is important for personal reasons I don't want to go into with most people), frustrations with the current project I work on and some of the people I work with, wanting to see more of the industry, frustrations with the current direction of the firm overall, and lots of good people that I got on with have left in the last couple of years meaning Z isn't anything like the place it used to be.
I've been at Z for about 6 years and likely to be moving to a direct competitor, although with a very different direction. Also current firm is my first real grown up job which I suspect is playing a part. It is a very small industry and so I have no desire to burn any bridges.
Tangible questions:
-What do I say if any current colleagues ask why I am leaving? Is there a standard generic response that doesn't invite more questions or sound critical of Z?
-How to let people know? I need to let my line manager know (more below) formally and will let those I know closely know in person but what about the others, do I just wait if anyone asks?
-I currently have one line manager who I generally work with every day and one more senior director that generally is my overall manager and has been historically. Performance reviews and that sort of thing are all done jointly but I think I have to tell them this individually. Is that reasonable? And which to tell first?
-And how do I do the formal side? The online examples I've seen go into quite a lot of detail (e.g.) which I don't feel like doing, I'm assuming I can just write a very short letter? (I don't think there are any internal requirements for its content)
-How do I mentally adjust to being 'on the way out' for the notice period? I make a conscious effort to be fully committed and involved at work. But as I understand once you are on notice you don't get invited to any team meetings, you don't get invited on forward plans or any of the interesting ad hoc work we do etc and so you are very much a second class employee. What mindset should I be going for here?
-Any tips for managing the handover of work? Having suffered from bad handovers in the past I've made sure all my current work is as accessible as possible to others and as known about as possible so this should hopefully be ok....
-What things do people typically do on leaving in your firm? Previous recent leavers of Z have all done leaving drinks which I always find distasteful - if they/I are just going to a rival firm like me (as opposed to leaving to have kids, or to pursue their dream career as a balloonist or something) then to me it is not really something for celebration, just a bit sad. Also I don't particularly like being the centre of attention!
Generally any other recommendations of things to read would be very helpful. Most of the articles I can find are more to do with not burning bridges, finding the new job etc which I'm not looking for advice on.
Thank you askmefi-ers!
I'm assuming I can just write a very short letter?
You should resign verbally to your boss and Big Boss and follow up the same day with a written letter, extremely brief ("I hereby tender my resignation to Z Corp and offer my 8 weeks of contractual notice starting today.") to HR. If there is no HR, then give your written notice to your immediate boss.
What do I say if any current colleagues ask why I am leaving?
"I have some opportunities in my new role at X Corp I'm really looking forward to."
as I understand once you are on notice you don't get invited to any team meetings, you don't get invited on forward plans or any of the interesting ad hoc work we do etc and so you are very much a second class employee. What mindset should I be going for here?
The mindset that you have two months of paid time to play Tetris all day.
previous recent leavers of Z have all done leaving drinks which I always find distasteful - if they/I are just going to a rival firm like me (as opposed to leaving to have kids, or to pursue their dream career as a balloonist or something) then to me it is not really something for celebration, just a bit sad.
You are misunderstanding this ritual. It's not a celebration of the leaver's new role, it's a farewell. It is your colleague's way of saying goodbye.
Also I don't particularly like being the centre of attention!
Suck it up for two or three hours. You say you don't want to burn bridges, so do not refuse the leaving do.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:27 PM on September 3, 2013 [2 favorites]
You should resign verbally to your boss and Big Boss and follow up the same day with a written letter, extremely brief ("I hereby tender my resignation to Z Corp and offer my 8 weeks of contractual notice starting today.") to HR. If there is no HR, then give your written notice to your immediate boss.
What do I say if any current colleagues ask why I am leaving?
"I have some opportunities in my new role at X Corp I'm really looking forward to."
as I understand once you are on notice you don't get invited to any team meetings, you don't get invited on forward plans or any of the interesting ad hoc work we do etc and so you are very much a second class employee. What mindset should I be going for here?
The mindset that you have two months of paid time to play Tetris all day.
previous recent leavers of Z have all done leaving drinks which I always find distasteful - if they/I are just going to a rival firm like me (as opposed to leaving to have kids, or to pursue their dream career as a balloonist or something) then to me it is not really something for celebration, just a bit sad.
You are misunderstanding this ritual. It's not a celebration of the leaver's new role, it's a farewell. It is your colleague's way of saying goodbye.
Also I don't particularly like being the centre of attention!
Suck it up for two or three hours. You say you don't want to burn bridges, so do not refuse the leaving do.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:27 PM on September 3, 2013 [2 favorites]
OK, this will be vastly different, but here's how I've quite things.
First job I had to quit they "secretly" were interviewing my replacement at a preschool. They weren't very good about hiding that fact so I figured out what was going on the 2nd or 3rd day of that. Told them I'd be finishing the week and that was it. They were also prepared to fire me once they'd decided on someone.
Next one I was hired as seasonal for a retail job. Specifically to work 1 weekend and then get called back 2-3 months later. I quit Sunday after the department manager left. Just told the guy in charge (who I'm friends with because of mutual friends) that I'd finish that shift and do whatever they needed but I won't be coming back. Things will be interesting tomorrow when I don't show up if someone didn't believe me...
There's also one I hope to be doing in the near future with a caterer. Thankfully things there are really only done a week in advance so there can't be too much prior planning. What I plan on doing is the first day after an event talking to the chef and telling him that another opportunity knocked and I can't pass it up. Which is true. And that I'll happily work the next event or two depending on when the other place wants/allows me to start.
When I've quit I told colleagues the truth about why I was leaving. Short hours, needing to take care of my family, and the ones that I liked/trusted more got more detail.
I did all of mine verbally. I just checked, the retail job still lets me sign into the website where I can check my hours. Since it's retail and I know for a fact that they're having extra people there so they would have people to train me on activating stuff I know it won't hurt their labor power.
I'm not doing anything formally. People know. I sort of gave them a warning before the 3 weeks of not being scheduled, saying that I was starting up with this caterer. They knew I didn't have many hours and that I was coming from F&B so it shouldn't be a surprise. That being said, and maybe this is something petty that will bite me in the ass, I don't feel like they deserved a letter or anything. But part of that is because I've mostly been in an industry that will just not schedule someone instead of firing them because then technically the person quit.
On my last retail day I just did my job. Everything was normal, they even let me have keys to stuff on the shelf. Things might have been different if people knew. But probably not since I was already the bottom of their food chain. Actually, they did a better job of keeping me there than they usually would have.
I have no knowledge to really pass on. The guy who taught me is still there. He can teach someone else. And will do it because they won't be able to send him home.
I've never really seen anyone leave without getting fired. The kids at the preschool drew pictures for me, but the other teachers pretty much didn't do anything. I actually appreciated that the retail job let me finish my shift and stay as late as possible, which amounted to staying until I'd done everything I was allowed to do if I hadn't been leaving after that shift.
If this were a US based thing I'd say to be ready to just be told to leave once they got the resignation. I'm not sure the UK culture on this at all. But I'd suggest that you have something to do to fill the time if they want you to stay but don't have enough work for you to do all day. But also to get the work done that they do give you.
posted by theichibun at 5:25 PM on September 3, 2013
First job I had to quit they "secretly" were interviewing my replacement at a preschool. They weren't very good about hiding that fact so I figured out what was going on the 2nd or 3rd day of that. Told them I'd be finishing the week and that was it. They were also prepared to fire me once they'd decided on someone.
Next one I was hired as seasonal for a retail job. Specifically to work 1 weekend and then get called back 2-3 months later. I quit Sunday after the department manager left. Just told the guy in charge (who I'm friends with because of mutual friends) that I'd finish that shift and do whatever they needed but I won't be coming back. Things will be interesting tomorrow when I don't show up if someone didn't believe me...
There's also one I hope to be doing in the near future with a caterer. Thankfully things there are really only done a week in advance so there can't be too much prior planning. What I plan on doing is the first day after an event talking to the chef and telling him that another opportunity knocked and I can't pass it up. Which is true. And that I'll happily work the next event or two depending on when the other place wants/allows me to start.
When I've quit I told colleagues the truth about why I was leaving. Short hours, needing to take care of my family, and the ones that I liked/trusted more got more detail.
I did all of mine verbally. I just checked, the retail job still lets me sign into the website where I can check my hours. Since it's retail and I know for a fact that they're having extra people there so they would have people to train me on activating stuff I know it won't hurt their labor power.
I'm not doing anything formally. People know. I sort of gave them a warning before the 3 weeks of not being scheduled, saying that I was starting up with this caterer. They knew I didn't have many hours and that I was coming from F&B so it shouldn't be a surprise. That being said, and maybe this is something petty that will bite me in the ass, I don't feel like they deserved a letter or anything. But part of that is because I've mostly been in an industry that will just not schedule someone instead of firing them because then technically the person quit.
On my last retail day I just did my job. Everything was normal, they even let me have keys to stuff on the shelf. Things might have been different if people knew. But probably not since I was already the bottom of their food chain. Actually, they did a better job of keeping me there than they usually would have.
I have no knowledge to really pass on. The guy who taught me is still there. He can teach someone else. And will do it because they won't be able to send him home.
I've never really seen anyone leave without getting fired. The kids at the preschool drew pictures for me, but the other teachers pretty much didn't do anything. I actually appreciated that the retail job let me finish my shift and stay as late as possible, which amounted to staying until I'd done everything I was allowed to do if I hadn't been leaving after that shift.
If this were a US based thing I'd say to be ready to just be told to leave once they got the resignation. I'm not sure the UK culture on this at all. But I'd suggest that you have something to do to fill the time if they want you to stay but don't have enough work for you to do all day. But also to get the work done that they do give you.
posted by theichibun at 5:25 PM on September 3, 2013
If you are leaving for a competitor, be prepared for them to ask you to leave immediately upon receiving your notice. I assume that the UK difference means that they might have to keep you employed until the 8 weeks is up, but that just means that they have to keep paying you, it doesn't mean that they have to let you keep coming into the building.
I wouldn't box up your personal items or anything (too obvious) but have them in a state where you could just throw them into a box with security watching.
When you tell your boss, have a printed and signed letter to hand to him after you tell him orally. The letter should be really short. "I have accepted another job opportunity and will be leaving Z Corp on X date." Have an e-version that you can email to him and HR immediately after the meeting as well. Don't mention going to Y competitor unless they ask. If they ask, be truthful.
Don't think of the "leaving do" as you being the center of attention/bragging. Think of it as all of your officemates getting together to mark the end of an era. Maybe you'll get some lasting friendships out of this.
If people ask if you are leaving, tell the truth. If people why you are leaving, tell the truth, but only in terms of how excited you are for the new opportunity. Don't tell anyone anything negative about your current job/project/coworkers. Even if HR gives you a formal exit interview and they ask for candid feedback.
As far as handover/transition, if they let you work your 8 weeks, tell your boss that your next task will be to develop a "transition plan". Make a list of things you do/know, try to come up with people (or at least managers) who would be responsible for each thing after you're gone. Make sure that everyone on your list (and their managers) knows and signs off on their new duties, and then start to schedule time to check off each transition item with each person. There will probably be some push back, and depending on how cross-functional your work is, some teams aren't going to be happy ended up with some aspects of it, but at least you will have documentation saying what needs to be done, and they will be on a time crunch to make sure it happens.
posted by sparklemotion at 6:20 PM on September 3, 2013
I wouldn't box up your personal items or anything (too obvious) but have them in a state where you could just throw them into a box with security watching.
When you tell your boss, have a printed and signed letter to hand to him after you tell him orally. The letter should be really short. "I have accepted another job opportunity and will be leaving Z Corp on X date." Have an e-version that you can email to him and HR immediately after the meeting as well. Don't mention going to Y competitor unless they ask. If they ask, be truthful.
Don't think of the "leaving do" as you being the center of attention/bragging. Think of it as all of your officemates getting together to mark the end of an era. Maybe you'll get some lasting friendships out of this.
If people ask if you are leaving, tell the truth. If people why you are leaving, tell the truth, but only in terms of how excited you are for the new opportunity. Don't tell anyone anything negative about your current job/project/coworkers. Even if HR gives you a formal exit interview and they ask for candid feedback.
As far as handover/transition, if they let you work your 8 weeks, tell your boss that your next task will be to develop a "transition plan". Make a list of things you do/know, try to come up with people (or at least managers) who would be responsible for each thing after you're gone. Make sure that everyone on your list (and their managers) knows and signs off on their new duties, and then start to schedule time to check off each transition item with each person. There will probably be some push back, and depending on how cross-functional your work is, some teams aren't going to be happy ended up with some aspects of it, but at least you will have documentation saying what needs to be done, and they will be on a time crunch to make sure it happens.
posted by sparklemotion at 6:20 PM on September 3, 2013
How I would approach it:
1- Be positive. It's just business, no hard feelings, you will be happy to spend your notice period doing anything that they will find helpful.
2- I would personally be a bit coy about where I am moving to. I guess that depends on the culture of the industry. It seems less disruptive to just say you are moving on to something else. I might even make up a phony story about having to move to a different area, or needing to find a job closer to where you live. Either way, to me the professional thing would be to frame the move like it is something that you are doing out of a personal compulsion, rather than give the impression you were looking to upgrade. Something like "I like the work I do, but this is an opportunity I just couldn't pass up."
3- I would generally keep my mouth shut about any problems I had with the company. However, if there are specific issues that you've already discussed with the company with no resolution, I would have no problem telling them that they played a part in my decision. Polite, professional honesty is not burning bridges.
posted by gjc at 2:25 AM on September 4, 2013
1- Be positive. It's just business, no hard feelings, you will be happy to spend your notice period doing anything that they will find helpful.
2- I would personally be a bit coy about where I am moving to. I guess that depends on the culture of the industry. It seems less disruptive to just say you are moving on to something else. I might even make up a phony story about having to move to a different area, or needing to find a job closer to where you live. Either way, to me the professional thing would be to frame the move like it is something that you are doing out of a personal compulsion, rather than give the impression you were looking to upgrade. Something like "I like the work I do, but this is an opportunity I just couldn't pass up."
3- I would generally keep my mouth shut about any problems I had with the company. However, if there are specific issues that you've already discussed with the company with no resolution, I would have no problem telling them that they played a part in my decision. Polite, professional honesty is not burning bridges.
posted by gjc at 2:25 AM on September 4, 2013
They have to pay you your notice period in the UK. If they want you to leave immediately, they will make a payment in lieu instead. Or they can leave you on the payroll and tell you not to come in. I haven't personally seen either happen to non-senior employees.
A very short letter resigning is appropriate and expected. I handed mine to my line manager. You could address yours to both people and give them each a copy.
Suck it up and have leaving drinks. If you are staying in the same industry you really don't want to burn bridges.
The standard reason for leaving is 'new opportunities'. That's fine.
posted by plonkee at 4:14 AM on September 4, 2013
A very short letter resigning is appropriate and expected. I handed mine to my line manager. You could address yours to both people and give them each a copy.
Suck it up and have leaving drinks. If you are staying in the same industry you really don't want to burn bridges.
The standard reason for leaving is 'new opportunities'. That's fine.
posted by plonkee at 4:14 AM on September 4, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by brainmouse at 4:04 PM on September 3, 2013