How to Leave a Job on Good Terms

This piece from MSNBC talks about how people are quitting jobs and burning bridges along the way, something most career experts would advise against doing. Down the article a bit is a small box with several tips to follow on how to leave a job on good terms. Their thoughts:

• Give two weeks’ notice. Both your past and future employer will consider it a plus.

• Explain that you are leaving because of growth opportunities with the new company, not due to dissatisfaction, even if it's not true.

• On your last day, write your boss and colleagues a thank you note via e-mail about how much you enjoyed working with them.

• Offer to train your replacement, and if possible, be available after you leave to answer questions.

• Make sure your work is caught up before you leave and write notes, when relevant, to guide and inform your replacement.

• If you have external customers, collaborate with your boss on how to transition them to your replacement. When telling customers you are leaving, say only good things about the company and your experience there.

• Let them know you only want to leave the job, not the relationships you have built.

In other words, be gracious and don't burn bridges. I wouldn't be a doormat either (for instance, if they asked me to work around the clock for two weeks to finish a project that would normally take two months, I'd politely decline), but within reason be as accommodating as possible.

I know it's tempting, I've been there, but you can't afford to burn bridges no matter what the situation (even if it's something illegal, immoral, etc., simply get out of there asap and move on -- no need to throw a big stink about it unless it needs to be reported to the authorities, and then you can do so anonymously.) It really is a small world and the boss you tell off as you leave your job in Florida may just be the brother-in-law of the HR person you're interviewing with in Texas. Oh, and that brings up another reminder -- no matter how bad the current job is, don't quit until you have a new one.

I've had a few instances where things got pretty bad at a job (because of boss changes, the company doing poorly, politics, etc.) and I've simply had to bite the bullet, put my head down, and slog through it (in one case for over two years.) But in every case I left telling the people I worked with goodbye kindly, I did not bad-mouth anyone, and if I couldn't say anything nice about a person, I simply kept my mouth shut. And on more than one occasion I've had positive outcomes/events in my life from the people that treated me the worst (kind words to mutual acquaintances from them about me and so on.)

Yes, you may feel better by telling someone what you think of them, but you'll end up possibly hurting yourself more than anyone else. So if it makes you feel better, be nice to everyone knowing that your kindness will come back to benefit you. After all, your success will be the sweetest revenge of all. :-)

Comments

[mark]

i totally agree. I did all those things before quitting the job, glad I did that. Because things were not as good as I thought at the new job and have to boomerang to the old company. because of relationships i maintained at my old company, i got a nice raise when i decided to come back

[MC]

This is great advice, and it goes for interns too!

Even if you don't tell off anyone when you leave, be sure to exit gracefully leaving your paperwork in good order, and give your employer time to hire someone you can train to take over.

Don't just suddenly not come to work one day leaving everything you were working on in a mess and call later to say that you've moved across the country and can you get a recommendation letter from me?

Uh, yeah, I'll write a letter, but how can I be very positive?

[Mike Hunt]

Cannot understate how important it is yet many don't follow this rule. The world is a small place and petty actions stand a strong chance of coming back to haunt you.

This fits in with the same rules of always writing thank you notes and never flaming people in writing over email. Doing these things never hurt and often can seriously help you out later.

-Mike