At first blush, quitting a job sounds easy. One might follow the iconic advice of ’70s country singer Johnny Paycheck and walk into the boss’s office and declare: “Take This Job and Shove It!” This, of course, would be a mistake.
Leaving a job the right way can not only smooth over hard feelings and resentments, but it can also set a tone that will help you thrive in your next role. Furthermore, on a karmic level, the old Hollywood adage also applies to all fields: “Be nice to people on your way up, because you’ll meet them again on your way down.”
Avoid these nine pitfalls and you will be well-remembered at your old position and respected at your new one:
— Don’t act rashly.
— Don’t fail to give proper notice.
— Don’t fail to secure personal information.
— Don’t fail to summarize lessons learned and document accomplishments.
— Don’t update your LinkedIn profile too soon.
— Don’t fail to understand your noncompetition rules.
— Don’t fail to send thank-you notes to your colleagues and managers.
— Don’t fail to participate in an exit interview – but keep it professional.
— Don’t fail to stay in touch with your old company.
Don’t Act Rashly
We all know not to make important decisions in the heat of the moment, but do we always follow that advice? No matter how mad or frustrated, it is difficult to imagine a scenario where a rage quit is the way to exit. In addition, quitting without another job lined up can be risky and misguided. Instead, carefully plan your exit as part of your job search. Take at least a night or, more likely, a week to think through the advisability of a change. Sometimes a humiliation or negative circumstance that seems intolerable one day will seem small by comparison a day or week later.
[See: 16 Low-Stress Jobs.]
Don’t Fail to Give Proper Notice
Quitting without notice leaves the company in a difficult position and may affect your relationship with them years later when seeking a networking connection or job reference. The two-week notice is the accepted practice in most American organizations, but employees should seek to offer whatever length can best serve the needs of the company. In many cases, employers remain in denial about the loss of an employee and don’t even focus on the replacement and retraining of a new person until the post is empty. It can be courteous to negotiate with your new employer a day or two off to return to the old organization to help orient or train your replacement. While the new employer may not grant such a request, it will likely leave a positive impression that you care that much about your old team and leadership.
Don’t Fail to Secure Personal Information
Subject to the IT security policies of your company, the law and common sense, be sure to secure any personal information you may need when you leave the company. Don’t assume that you’ll be able to return to your desk or laptop after you give your notice. Make sure you have removed any personal correspondence or files and copy your personal address book to the cloud or a flash drive. Do not take customer lists or any proprietary data. Even if you never intend to use such information against your old employer, the mere fact that you took it might land you into legal trouble at worst or reputational damage at best.
Don’t Fail to Summarize Lessons Learned and Document Accomplishments
Before you move on to your new job, take the time to document your specific accomplishments and lessons learned from the experience. Some of these may be bullet points on your resume already, but it is important to drill down to summarize and articulate what you learned and how you grew. In future interviews and networking conversations, you will be describing who you are in part from what you have done in the past. Get your facts straight before you leave the current gig and memories get hazy.
Don’t Update Your LinkedIn Profile Too Soon
Some employees are so eager to start a new position that they post the change on professional social media before they inform their current organization. That is discourteous for obvious reasons. Wait until the night before you start your new position or after you leave the present one. Do, however, invite your soon-to-be-former teammates to connect with you on LinkedIn if you have not done so already.
Don’t Fail to Understand Your Noncompetition Rules
Even before you start to look for a new assignment, be sure to understand any noncompetition restrictions on what you may not be allowed to do. Don’t rely on watercooler talk in lieu of real legal advice. It is true that in many states an overly broad noncompetition agreement is likely not enforceable under most circumstances, but you will want to check that with competent legal sources.
Don’t Fail to Send Thank-You Notes to Your Colleagues and Managers
Before you go, leave handwritten notes or emails for your colleagues, managers and mentors. Thank them for their guidance, support and friendship. Be specific and cite what you learned for each. Sincere lines like “I can’t say I will miss seeing your red pen marks all over my drafts, but I have to thank you for teaching me so much about self-editing and attention to detail” go a long way to maintaining personal and professional relationships.
Don’t Fail to Participate in an Exit Interview — but Keep It Professional
If your organization conducts formal exit interviews, do not avoid participation. Prepare candid, constructive criticism as appropriate, but stay professional and do not give the impression of being a malcontent. It is best to position your new role as a “pull” to that opportunity rather than a “push” away from the current one. Follow the golden rule of what you would want to know if you were a supervisor and someone left your team. Avoid at all costs the temptation to “settle scores” with a nemesis or clique.
[SEE: The 25 Best Jobs of 2019]
Don’t Fail to Stay in Touch With Your Old Company
Staying in touch with former colleagues is a great way to built and sustain your professional network. You never know when you’ll need access to information, expertise or people for a current or future project. Make a date for a follow-up lunch or breakfast soon after you settle into the new role. Likewise, keep former supervisors abreast of your progress. Absence can make the heart grow fonder, and you may find yourself the recipient of a “we want you back” offer at higher levels of responsibility and compensation.
Leaving a job can be easy or hard depending on the circumstances. In all scenarios, however, there is a right and wrong way to do it. Follow these tips and you will find yourself well-regarded in your old organization even as you build a respectable reputation for professionalism and competence in your new professional home.
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Things to Not Do When Quitting Your Job originally appeared on usnews.com
