Make Up Your Mind
Before you submit your resignation, you must be clearly committed to leaving.
Have you already pursued all avenues for advancement within your firm? Before accepting another job, give your present job a fair chance. Visit with your boss and other key personnel to learn where your career stands and what plans are in place for you. Give your firm every consideration. This will help you commit to your new opportunity once you decide to leave.
Keep Resignations Short, Simple and Positive
Leave your employer on a positive note. You're moving on does not have to be a time for long faces. After all, you have just won an opportunity to advance, an opportunity for which you owe your employer sincere thanks. Thank your colleagues, too, for their help in preparing you to move onward and upward. Naturally, you will be missed if you have given your best to the job you are leaving, and you will be especially missed by those inconvenienced by your leaving! Let them know that you intend to assist them in whatever ways you can. By showing your boss and firm due respect, you encourage future support you may need someday.
Keep conversation simple and concise when you resign. The more you say, the more questions you may have to answer. Avoid lengthy discussion with your old employer about your new opportunity. Because your boss is losing a valued employee, he or she may express negative opinions about your new firm or position which will only confuse you. You may find yourself having to justify your personal goals and decisions, or absorb personal frustration. If you're dealing with volatile or vindictive personalities, it may be best to avoid telling anyone where you will be going.
Typically, your resignation means a lot of work for your old employer. Someone will be left with the burden of replacing you and dealing with the loss of department productivity due to your vacancy. Chances are your boss will be caught off guard with your resignation, and will not be able to listen clearly to your explanations anyway because of concerns with the department's new predicament. One can never gauge the reaction of a boss when a key employee resigns, but it is always to your advantage to keep the atmosphere positive and supportive.
If you feel you may end up having to function in an uncooperative atmosphere, you may want to resign right after your work day so that you are no longer on company time and in control of your own. If you must have a discussion with your employer, try to schedule it for the following morning when everyone can have the opportunity to face the situation objectively. If during the meeting you have to defend yourself, or if things begin to get out of control, motion for another meeting at a more appropriate time.
The Oral Resignation
This is usually the more difficult type of resignation because it may place you in the compromising position of having to explain your good decision. Words are very powerful, and are particularly charged during this time. Be careful what you say. It is common for your old boss to probe you for information that may have led up to your decision. Bosses often want to know who or what is the reason for you're leaving, or if you have any suggestions to offer which can help make the organization more effective. If you have had a close relationship with your boss, you may feel obligated to share your heart in confidence.
Don't fall for this trap! Use your head and discuss personal and heartfelt matters outside the office. Remember this boss is still your boss. Whatever you say will be viewed as biased, and may eventually be used against you. At this point you are no longer considered a team player, nor are you considered to have the company's best interest at heart. Too often individuals get hurt by comments that are either misinterpreted, or exaggerated. Constructive criticism is no longer your responsibility, and carries with it a high cost that could affect your good references.
It is always best instead to sing the praises of the firm and those you worked with. Determine beforehand several positive aspects of your workplace, and mention them liberally (even if they were only the great lunches and humorous stories told over coffee). You want to be perceived as someone who was positive and moving forward with your old job. People will remember you best by your last impression. Make it your best performance.
The Written Resignation
The easiest resignation is a written one where you have time to effectively prepare what you wish to communicate. A written resignation reinforces the fact that you are really leaving and not simply threatening in order to renegotiate your position. Also, there is something permanent about the written word which often circumvents interrogation.
Under no circumstance should you state any dissatisfaction with the firm or individuals. Not only is it good manners to stress the positive when leaving, but what you put down will remain in your file long after individuals and circumstances that may have caused you dissatisfaction are gone. You never know when your future paths may cross again.
Remember to keep things short, simple and positive.
The Counteroffer
Surveys show that eight out of ten employees who accept counteroffers don't complete the following year with their employer.
Why shun counteroffers? Because the factors that caused you to consider an outside move generally remain in force. Besides, your current employer may lose trust in your loyalty. Accepting a counteroffer may permanently damage your reputation with your would be employer. It may conclude that you were merely using them to gain leverage and you weren't interested in being a candidate. Never underestimate the value of your perceived integrity in this situation.
The best response to a counteroffer is to listen politely, perhaps even sleep on it, but decline. If your current firm denied you advancement before you secured an outside offer, it will probably thwart you next time you feel ready to advance.
Leave on the Right Note
Before leaving the firm, take time to speak with each of your support staff, peers, executive personnel, and others with whom you've worked. Clear up any unsettled business with people and projects. Be sensitive to their reactions and keep your conversations positive and constructive. Some people may naturally express their own discontent and may try and get you to agree with them. Don't. Instead, express your appreciation and tell your colleagues you'll miss them. A little time spent nurturing relationships before leaving for your new job will go a long way to build support for your future.
Also keep in mind that it is professional courtesy to give your employer ample time to transition you out of the firm, typically two to four weeks. However, you should try to get out as soon as possible to avoid recurring attempts by others for you to tell your story, and to avoid having to deal with the frustrations and pressures at the job as the firm adjusts to your leaving.
