You have got a new job! Well done. Now, don’t spoil it all by making a hash of your exit from where you are now. I know, you are excited. It’s hard to stay focused on the old gig, when everything is ‘oh so cool’ about the new one.
But remember, the ‘old gig’ was the ‘new gig’ not so long ago, and how you behave on your way out will affect your brand, your references and your future employability. Trust me on that.
It’s true that often you get shown the door as soon as you resign. Also true, some employers behave appallingly to exiting staff. But no matter. You be the better person, leaving with every loose end tied up, and your head held high.
“The Savage Truth 15 Rules of Resignation” will give you the road map to do just that;
- Give fair notice. Sure, your offer letter of 5 years ago says you need only give 2 weeks notice. But you were a trainee then, and now a Team Leader. You know you will cause your employer huge issues if you leave at such short notice. Don’t do it. Provide enough time for them to get their business covered. It’s the professional thing to do.
- Do the deed gracefully. The actual resignation, I mean. Plan how you will do it. Set a formal meeting. Be polite. Accentuate the positives. Be firm, but humble. Show appreciation. Thank your boss.
- Don’t blab. To everyone else, I mean. Either before you resign, or after. Until your boss agrees a communication plan. In my experience, 90% of “resignees” fail right here. Just have to tell everyone about ‘my great new job’. It’s selfish. Destructive. You need to be collaborative in helping convey the message at the right time, in the right way, to the right people.
- Offer to train a replacement. And mean it. And do it. Well.
- Smooth handover of clients and candidates. Co-operate in a handover of your current orders, your clients and your hot talent. If you are leaving those clients for good, it’s the right thing to do by them, and by your employer who gave you the chance to build those relationships in the first place. But even if you plan to work with those clients from somewhere else, they don’t belong to you, so do the ethical thing and brief a successor. Then, when the time is right, restraints honoured, compete like hell!
- Share the inside stuff. You know what I mean. The little nuggets. Like your computer password. Or which contact within a client really makes the decisions. Or special fee arrangements you have in place.
- Don’t de-stabalise. Resist the temptation to vent, to criticise, to undermine and to pour negativity, like a trail of dog-poo around the office, “because you know better and you are leaving”. It’s not a good look, and it makes you look ridiculous. Really.
- Don’t slack off. This is critical. If you ‘go walkabout’, start being lazy, come in late, avoid your admin and generally make it clear you have ‘checked out’, everyone will see that and everyone who counts will remember it. Forever. And that is going to hurt you one day. Count on it.
- Take no cheap shots. At your boss. Your colleagues. The business. Anything. It’s weak. And petty. And very “prattish”
- The exit interview. Cooperate. Don’t be a smart-arse by refusing to participate. Be thoughtful and constructive. Resist the temptation to preach or criticise.
- Don’t flirt with counter-offer discussions if you have no intentions of staying. Pursuing that conversation, just so you can enjoy having your ego stroked, is a form of masturbation. And doing that in public is just not nice.
- Wrap it up. Close as many of your working orders and other projects as you can. I had a woman once who left the business with her record-ever quarter. She left with her head held high, and we paid her bonus gladly. 12 months later when her new job turned out to be a dud, we hired her back.
- When you are on your way out, thank everyone who helped you on your way up. It will mean a lot to them if you do, and they will remember it if you don’t. And not in a good way.
- Say goodbye properly to everybody. Personally, not by email from your phone when you are out the door. Shake hands. Offer kisses. Swap contact details. Keep doors open.
- Stay an ambassador after you have gone. Don’t deride your former company or colleagues. Amazing how many people do that. It’s such an unpleasant trait. Never reflects well on you. Never. Ever. So why do it?
Having run and owned businesses for 25 years, I guess I have been on the receiving end of a huge number of resignations. And it stuns me how destructive, to themselves, some people can be. Petty and vindictive. Or just lazy and sloppy. And yet, so many times, six months later, when their dream job did not turn out so well, they want to come back. Or they need a reference. Hmmm…
I have hired back literally dozens of ex-employees who behaved impeccably on the way out. In those cases the door is always open. But many more have sullied their exit, behaving appallingly and burning customers and colleagues along the way.
And to them, the door is closed, forever.
Don’t be a dick. Resign with grace.
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Your last line says it all Greg – Cracked me up !
It was going to be my heading Jan.. but my 23 year old daughter advised me against it!
Entertaining a counter-offer without intending to follow through with it = masturbation!!!
GOLD!
Rude and crude as always. As recruiters we are constantly trying to protect and uphold our image and reputation, seems counter-productive to have leaders in the industry communicationing in such a crass manner. Of course the message is powerful and relevant, by why say “f##k off” when “go away” will convey the same message in family friendly language.
But hey, any publicity is good publicity now-a-days, right?
Thanks Anthony. Your point is valid and there is always a risk of offending people, which I regret by the way. However, as anyone who knows me will attest, this is how I would say it if we are sitting across a table, this is how I would say it if I was speaking to a room of 500 people and this is how I say it in writing. By the way I don’t believe I did say f##k off in this blog so not sure why you raise that, but on balance I am delighted that you found the message “powerful and relevant”- which is what i am shooting for, mostly.
Great topic Greg!
Professional grace is important during resignation and indeed adds value all along the hire to retire line but is often sadly under rated. There are those that misunderstand and believe that professional grace and a competitive spirit cannot coexist and yet as you have (as ever) articulately put, a lack of professional grace eventually burns bridges and fades future opportunities.
Very well put Alison. I like that very much “Professional grace and a competitive spirit CAN co-exist”. Thanks for the post and I hope you are well and thriving..Greg
Hi Greg,
I thought back to the fews times we’ve sat around a table with a beer in hand and talking.. and yes, your blog does sound exactly like how you talk. Good to see you’ve kept true to yourself. And I totally hate that you are right….
This is some really good, big boy/girl advice that many people can’t handle. Thanks for the talk!
Right on the mark once again Greg. I served a 6 week notice with my employer in the UK and attended numerous client and contractor meetings through to my very last day. Left them with an agreement in place for 6 contractors on a 12 month assignment. Needless to say I’ve always had lunch with ex bosses every time I’ve been back to the UK. Be in it for the long term and you’ll always reap future rewards/opportunities.
All very, very true Greg!!
I really enjoy your blogs, always generates discussion points. keep up the good work!
I tried all of these steps at my last job at Burger King, I got some very strange looks.
I like your direct style, Greg, in all of your Savage Truth blogs.
This one is particularly good and I would like to copy and paste it for forwarding on to our placements. It’s great advice.
Is that OK with you, please? We’ll credit you each time, of course.
Thanks Roger, please feel free to distribute the blog as you see fit. All I ask is that you attribute the articles to the source…me
Which you have said you will do. Really glad you find it useful. Regards Greg
Sorry Greg, but if my last boss was an utter “dick” I am going to tell everyone who asks exactly how I felt about him, and name specific examples as to why. If he or she was a really inspiring and competent leader I will also tell everyone who asks, and name specific examples as to why.
I am fortunate to have some really excellent bosses in my career as well as 2 dreadful ones who I can only describe using swear words. I have learned what makes a great leader in the recruitment business and, even more importantly, what makes an atrocious one.
Thank you Greg. Will do.
First class advice! Practice and preach it!!
John Bird Career Coach and Trainer – on LinkedIn
Great topic and article. Oftentimes when colleagues/coworkers make the decision to move on, they sometimes pack their professionalism along with their personal belongings; well in advance of the exit interview.
Hi Greg,
Great read and very valid principles. What are your thoughts though on bosses who treat you like shit despite following these principles? Easy to say “Always take the high ground”, but in real life that comes across quite unrealistic and a bit like hero worship.
Cheers.
Hi Ned, my advice is based on the ideal situation where both parties behave well, I suppose. Of course each situation is unique and you may not be allowed to do all these things, be given the time..or have the inclination, based on how you are treated by the employer. Still, even if an employer behave poorly, the best approach is to rise above it and not sink to a tit for tat approach. Cheers Greg. I plan to write a blog aimed at employers on this same topic soon
Excellent article for employers and those soon-to-be-ex employees. Some employers, as you point out, make it tough to have some class-they actually turn bitter, personalize it, etc. Or get controlling in an effort to seem to have some power. For instance, I have worked for brokerage and recruiting firms where it was impossible to give notice-the owner being worried about leads being taken, primarily. Never mind that some places deserve to be left and have rules in play about not soliticiting any house leads for two years, etc. – in these situations, it is literally every (wo)man for himself. I think the worst employees exit without grace-often to make more money or for a better title. These greed and vanity motivated types deserve to learn about burned bridges. In summary, I think your article is much needed as good people lose good people and good people sometimes need to move on and in the anxiety of how to do it-make a mess.
I resigned from a job once because of my ‘leader’ (yes I agree with your more recent article) and I had to tell people because my management didn’t bother to announce it. Just confirmed for me why I left in the first place. Didn’t make it easy for me to be gracious about leaving although I like to think I was.
I’m about to resign and this is gold for me.
As there is no class that teaches resigning, I have been a jackass in past and it has been hurtful to my life and career. I will never repeat those mistakes again.
Close/Open door theory soooooo true!
Nice article but it contradict with what you mentioned in your article ‘’People don’t leave Companies, they leave leadership. You mentioned about talking to HR about the higher management and that it is coz of their poor communication & leadership skills they are quitting.
You have mentioned in this article that you recruited dozens of employee’s back who behaved impeccably. .At first place why company was not able to retain the good employees and why should an employee has to say all goodie goodie things about the management at the time of exit when it is coz of the management they are leaving the company. Why not show them mirror as you mentioned.
Neha, dealing with people is a nuanced, inexact science…in fact its not a science at all..its an art. People leave companies mostly as I say because of dissatisfaction with the leadership..but sometimes its also true they get “pulled” to what they perceive are “better jobs”. Often though, it turns out that the grass is NOT greener on the other side. As long as an employee has exited with grace and good faith, I don’t “penalise” someone for thinking there is a better role somewhere else.If after a while it does not pan out,or circumstances change, and everything else stacks up, I will hire them back. Companies grow and evolve. people grow and evolve. In many cases these “prodigal” employees have been my most loyal and longest serving staff members
There is no contradiction here. Just an attempt to provide some generic advice. There is no “one size fits ” all when it comes to ANY relationship.. even an employer/employee one