The Best Way to Quit Your Job
If heading to the office fills you with dread, you’ve probably contemplated quitting your job. But should you really do it? If so, when? How?
Read on for tips on the best way to quit your job.
Assess your reasons.
Experts agree that the following are good reasons for leaving a job:
– You have a bad boss and can’t adapt to his or her management style.- You’ve reported workplace bullying and no manager has stepped in to help you.
– The finances of your company are unstable.
– You’re ready to retire from the workforce.
– You suffer from so much work stress that it’s affecting your health.
– You’re changing careers and looking to explore a new field.
– The company asks you to do work that is illegal or unethical.
– You need a higher salary than your company is willing to pay you.
– You need more time than your job affords to care for a family member.
– If there is “not an opportunity to move into a more challenging position within that organization,” move on, says Jim Weinstein, a career consultant based in Washington, D.C.
– You’re miserable, and your attempts to change your circumstances — and your outlook — haven’t worked. “If you’re going to work every day and hate it, that’s a good indication for trying to find a way to transition to something more meaningful,” says Dr. Philip Pizzo, director of the Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute at Stanford University.
Decide when to quit your job.
Conventional wisdom suggests people should not quit their jobs after less than a year. But job fluidity is increasingly normal, Weinstein says, so workers shouldn’t stay in bad situations longer than they have to.
After a few months, “if the job isn’t a fit, they should get out of there,” agrees Peg Hendershot, executive director of Career Vision, a career research and counseling nonprofit in Illinois.
But if your job is a decently good fit and you’re able to use it to develop skills, network and make meaningful contributions, don’t jump ship too hastily, Hendershot cautions, saying workers in that situation “shouldn’t leave until they’ve got some reasonable plan in place.”
For most people, that means waiting until they receive an offer for a new job that better matches their goals and meets their needs. For those unable to successfully job search while employed, the alternative is waiting until they have enough money saved up to cover their expenses while they apply to new positions. After all, it’s hard to survive on no income.
Other factors that may affect your timing include annual bonuses, health insurance and your company’s 401(k) matching and vesting policies, which often require employees to work a certain number of years.
Give enough advance notice.
Keep in mind that it’s common courtesy to give two weeks’ notice before leaving a job in order to finish any outstanding work and possibly even train a replacement.
“You don’t want to leave projects you may have been responsible for in limbo and incomplete,” Weinstein says.
Giving more advance notice may endear you to your boss. But it may also put you at risk for going without pay for longer than you anticipated, because some companies fire employees immediately after they announce their intentions to resign, according to Alison Green, career advice columnist for the Ask a Manager blog and U.S. News contributor.
Tell your boss.
Whether you’re fearing or eagerly anticipating the moment you tell your boss that you’re quitting, keep in mind that “manners and courtesy go a long way,” Hendershot says.
Meet with your boss in person if possible. Thank him or her for the opportunities you’ve had at the company, explain that you’re resigning and offer to provide any help you can before your last day. You may also need to write a polite, formal resignation letter to submit to the company.
Even if you can barely muster concern about your boss’s opinion of you, “you want to be sure you don’t burn bridges,” Weinstein says. “You never know when people are going to come back into your life. The most important thing in career success, tied with talent, is connections and relationships.”
Anticipate a counteroffer.
Prepare for the possibility that your company will try to entice you to stay by making you a counteroffer. It could come in the form of a salary increase or a new role.
“You want to know ahead of time, if I’m making more money or they offered me a different position, would I stay?” Hendershot says.If the answer is definitely “no,” decline the counteroffer graciously. But think seriously about it first, and don’t turn it down just because you would feel guilty declining an offer you already sought and obtained from another company.
“If the shoe were on the other foot and the organization had some kind of unexpected development, like [they] lost a contract, I don’t think they’d feel guilty about taking steps to protect themselves,” Weinstein says. “If it is truly in your best interest to stay where you are because you got an attractive counteroffer, do it.”
Provide constructive feedback.
When you quit, or during your exit interview, you may be asked to provide reasons why you’re leaving the company. You’re not required to go into detail.
But if you have good relationships at the office and you want to maintain them, “it would be a mistake to say, ‘Hey I’m leaving,’ [with] no explanation involved,” Weinstein says.
So instead of clamming up, workers should reflect on their experiences and “always find positives to leave behind, things that they liked about the company, the people, that are concrete,” Hendershot says.
Then, look forward to your next step. “Identify the pluses of the position you’re moving to, what it is that attracted you,” Hendershot says. “Whatever it is, it does help inform the company you’re exiting of an area they may not be addressing fully, and it may help the next person. It also gives closure to what’s going on.”
Tie up loose ends.
Before you head out the door, get all the information you need from your current employer. Figure out:
– How to roll your current 401(k) over into the new account you’ll open at your next job
– Whether your unused vacation and sick days will be paid out to you in a lump sum
– Whom in the company you should contact if you have any questions in the future
Other important steps to take include:
– Save all the files and contact information you’ll need in the future. – Clear your computer of all personal files and empty your voicemail inbox.
– Inform your contacts that you’ll be starting a new position and explain how they can reach you.
– Inform your co-workers how they can contact you in the future.
Finish strong.
Because your boss and co-workers will soon be part of your network, it’s important to make a good final impression on them.
“To the degree you can,” Weinstein says, ensure your “work is going to be completed responsibly.” And if you won’t have time to wrap up all your projects, give your boss plenty of notice.
“That’s going to leave a very positive impression,” Weinstein says. And no matter how you felt during your tenure at the company, “at least you’re going out on a high note.”
More from U.S. News
10 Reasons to Quit Your Job Already
Are You Too Comfortable at Your Job?
How to Quit Your Job originally appeared on usnews.com
