What To Expect When You’re Expecting…To Resign — 10 Tips For Quitters
The Great Resignation is upon us! As someone who added to the statistics and recently switched jobs, I thought it might be helpful to walk…
The Great Resignation is upon us! As someone who added to the statistics and recently switched jobs, I thought it might be helpful to walk through ten of the “Do’s” of resigning.
The discomfort in planning your final days may be enough to prevent you from leaving, but chin up, you got this.
Do understand why you want to leave
You will be asked this a million times, especially as you’re interviewing elsewhere, so be sure to understand the real reason you’re leaving.
Better opportunities? Poor leadership? No career advancement? Better pay?
Understanding why you want to leave will help throughout the resignation process, so spend some time being introspective.
Do read through your employee handbook on how to appropriately resign
RTFM. Think of this as a cover your butt clause. When you began your employment, you likely signed a document that contractual binds you to the company until either side terminates your employment.
Reading the manual may shed light on appropriate length of transition, possible loss of assets, and what you need to return on your final day.
It will also likely give insight into any non-compete or non-solicitation statements that could result in legal documents if not followed.
Do your homework and make sure you understand what the company expects.
If there is no handbook, well, YOLO, let’s get this train rolling.
Do resign face-to-face
You don’t have to do this, but for me, it’s the right thing to do. Schedule 15 minutes to talk directly to your boss in person or on [insert video communication tool] if you’re remote. Face-to-face moves through any follow-up questions much faster and will tighten the feedback loop.
Do give a full two weeks notice
Giving at least two weeks allows your company to pick your brain a few last times and make sure they have things covered.
In some cases you may be a lame duck for the last week, but it’s common courtesy, especially if you are a subject matter expert or have projects to transition.
The conversation doesn’t need to be long, the following will work just fine: “BOSS, I wanted to let you know that I’m officially putting in my two weeks notice. I’ve given this a lot of thought and it is the right decision for me.”
Do know whether you are open to a counteroffer
In some cases, your company may want to extend a counteroffer after you give your notice. Be ready to either stand your ground or entertain the offer. The counter is one of the primary reasons to understand why you are leaving in the first place.
Some questions to consider regarding counteroffers:
Ideally, you voiced your displeasure prior to your notice, so why is the counter only coming now?
More money can help for a while, but will you still be happy in three months?
Are all the positives of your next gig washed away with a counteroffer?
Are all the negatives fixed by some extra cash?
Do you have new growth opportunities?
It’s possible the answers above are yes, so be prepared for a counter and understand if it’s something you truly want.
Do put together a transition plan
Depending on your role within the company, this could be multiple pages or a sticky note. It can be as thorough as a ten page document or as simple as ten lines that point to who is taking over “Project -> Person.”
Point is, if you’ve been at the company for more than 30 days, there’s likely some knowledge transfer you should assist with. Having a transition plan together when you hand in your resignation makes things easier on your boss and teammates.
Do write a formal resignation and send it to your boss and HR
Once you’ve said it out loud to the powers that be, cross your t’s and dot your i’s with a formal resignation. Email, PDF, or a physical document — submit your resignation as soon as you’ve had the conversation. Feel free to use this template:
mm/dd/yyyy
Dear BOSS,
Please accept this letter as formal notification that I am resigning from my position as POSITION with COMPANY. My last day will be LAST DAY.
As discussed in person, I have a transition document put together to assist with the transfer of responsibilities over the next two weeks. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help during the transition.
Thanks again, I wish you and COMPANY nothing but success in the coming years.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
Do run your conversation bullets past your boss
Unless you want to set every bridge on fire on the way out, it’s not productive to trash talk or air dirty laundry in your final two weeks. Create some talking points and run them by your boss so when asked, “why are you leaving,” you have company-approved reasons. If nothing else, it helps keep the message consistent and can put a damper on rumors or miscommunication causing a stir.
Do transition all projects and people
If you followed the above steps, you created a transition plan already, but be sure it includes all of your clients, projects, and direct reports (if you have any).
Check with your boss, or do the rounds yourself to identify the new point person that is taking over. It is also helpful to hold transition meetings to ensure both sides can ask questions while you still exist.
Do check if there’s anything you can do to be helpful
Hopefully, there’s no bad blood and you appreciate the time you spent at your company. If that’s the case, be sure to see if there is anything further you can do to assist your team in your final weeks. If not, keep an eye out as transitions are happening. If you are asked for more documentation, be sure to temper expectations so you don’t leave something half complete before heading out.
Final Thoughts
Once it’s out there, it’s out there. You may not be able to predict how your boss and team will respond, but you can walk into your conversations prepared.
Unless this is a Bridge Over the River Kwai situation, you will want to keep your bridges intact and continue helping until the very end so your bridges stay sturdy into the future.
I’ll follow up in the next few weeks with a “Dont’s” post, outlining a few other parts of resigning.