So, you’re finally getting the job that you’ve dreamt about for a long time. And now you have to tell your current employer that you’re going to leave. Only one thought about it can be rather frightening. But we ask you now – don’t be afraid. We’re here to help you. Below, we’ll give you some tips on how to tell your employer you’re leaving, how to leave the job on a good note, and stay in touch with your ex-colleagues.
To leave the job – how not to do it.
There are a lot of people willing to leave the job at the peak of their career and sharing this with their boss. Of course, it’s cool, but the reality shows that it’s rather foolish. If you once decide to quit, you should not do it the following ways:
- The typical way is to stop coming to work. Simply stop coming. Don’t say anything to anybody. Turn off your phone and enjoy this moment.
- Making a big scene. It means dramatically taking your stuff and screaming that you’re leaving.
- Uploading a quit video on YouTube: Write a song or record a story where you say all awful things about your employer or colleagues and upload it on YouTube. This way, the whole world will know that you’re going to leave.
- Making a post on social media. Your post about everything that happens in your life on social media. Make a post about your quitting a job, and your employer will know it before you tell him. Be sure he’ll be furious.
- Sharing with all your colleagues. Come to every worker of your company and share the news that you’re leaving. The gossips share quickly, so your boss will soon know it.
- Starting to do the job badly. It means playing games or watching movies instead of doing the job. Or you can simply badly discharge your duties. In other words, it means to do everything to make your employer fire you.
- Writing a letter. Some workers are afraid to tell their boss about their quitting directly. That’s why they prefer to leave a note where they tell about their leaving the job.
- Making a complete explosion. If you have the movie “Office Space” with Jennifer Anniston, you’ll understand what we mean.
Some things that you do not like about your job but never say about it loud.
Some workers do not want to share that they do not like their job. Maybe, they’re constantly arguing with their colleagues. Perhaps, the company does some illegal things. Or the employer makes them work overtime. Or he singles out only one person and does not recognize the others.
This list can be very long. But anyway, we recommend you to hold off on the critics. Don’t say bad things about your previous employer or colleagues. Who knows, maybe, you’ll have to work together again someday.
“I’m leaving” – how to say it correctly?
For some people, to tell the chief about their quitting is really tough. That’s why you need to spend some time preparing. Below, we’ll share some tips on how to get ready for this conversation:
- Be ready to leave the job. Once deciding to go, you should carefully think about what you will say to your chief because he will definitely ask you the reasons. We also advise you not to say anything bad since you’ll probably need the recommendations or something else one day. You should also define your last day at work. Additionally, you need to clean up your gadgets and delete all unnecessary files. Also, clean up your work e-mail and your desk.
- Look for a quiet place for the conversation. This conversation is earnest. That’s why you need a calm place and the right time for it. The best situation is a personal meeting with your boss.
- Share the news that you’re leaving. In this situation, we recommend you to stay calm and don’t be nervous. Always remember what you’re going to say. The reaction can be different – rage, shock, pleasure, or anger. Your chief can also try to make your stay by offering a promotion or higher salary. In any case, you should be ready for different scenarios.
- Make a plan of transition. Before quitting, we advise you to make up a list of the duties and plan how and who can discharge them. This way, you’ll help your substitute to adapt and quickly dive into work.
- Make a letter of resignation. In this document, you should explain why you’re leaving the job. Besides, you need to indicate your last workday. We also advise you to thank you for everything this job has given to you. And in the end, you can express your readiness to help your substitute.
- Quit in dignity. There are cases when the chief asks the worker to quit at once. You should be ready for such a situation. Anyway, you should quit the job in dignity and on a good note.
- Keep in touch with your colleagues. In the future, you can need their help in job searching or other situations.
How to explain why you’re quitting
We’ve already said it, but we’ll repeat – when explaining why you’re leaving, don’t say anything terrible like you hate your chief or your job.
You can have the following legal reasons for leaving the job:
- Organizational restructure issues: Because of restructures and other organizational changes, you can have an enormous workload and job scope.
- Workers’ dismissal. The company decides to fire some workers, and you can be one of the fall guys.
- The employers do everything to make you leave. Sometimes the employers do not like some workers. And they create such conditions to make them go. And they do.
- You cannot work with a new colleague or manager because you hate him.
- You’ve only started to work and soon you want to leave it since there are things that you haven’t expected.
- New step in your career ladder.
- Getting the job of your dream.
- You need to leave your job since you move to other places.
- Getting an education.
- Health issues.
- Looking after your relatives.
- Founding a family.
- Establishing your own business.
The employer’s reaction – how to cope with it?
It’s so hard to predict the employer’s reaction to the news that you’re leaving. To downsize the risk to get confused and be ready for any reaction, we’ll offer you some tips:
- Your chief wishes you to quit at once. It’s not a typical situation, but sometimes it happens. If you feel that you’ll have such a situation, we recommend preparing all organization-owned staff to transition.
- Your employer tries to make you stay. If the company values you, and you know that your chief will try to make you change your mind, we advise you to make a plan. In some cases, you have to leave even knowing that you’ve finally made up your mind. But if you’re ready to discuss the conditions of your staying (like promotions or salary increases), we recommend you test the water before the conversation.
- Your director tries to make you stay for some time. The employers can ask the workers not to leave and stay in the company for a long time. If you’ve decided to leave, then you should clearly identify your last workday. If you can and want to stay for some time, you should discuss it.
So, if you decide to quit, you should do it with dignity. You can be emotional about saying goodbye to the previous period of your life. But you should remember that new exciting adventures are waiting for you. And you should celebrate it.