This is a two part series. Part one is the non-financial side of planning an exit from your job. Part two is the financial side.
Exiting gracefully is an art. Don’t look to me for a graceful exit. I have quit in fits and starts. Pique. Spite. Exhaustion. They’ve all played parts in my departures from jobs. This time, I was determined to do it right.
I felt being from a small team, I needed to do right by my manager, whom I had recruited to be my boss. I didn’t want to leave a mountain of work behind for my co-worker, whom we handpicked to join us from our old company. (All three of us are old co-workers.) I would not leave without a month’s notice. It just wouldn’t be fair to leave with only 2 weeks’ notice. Every office is different. Rarely do you owe more than 2 weeks. It all depends. Due to the nature of documenting and transitioning all of my duties, a month probably wasn’t even enough, but it worked out for us.
The inadvertent upside of staying till January was that my boss gets headcount in the 2008 budget so he can replace me. There were rumors that I wouldn’t be replaced, but everyone is certain that my job is essential enough to fill it. But I do recommend thinking a little strategically about when you leave and what you can negotiate with your new employer (if you have one).
I also made a point of thanking my director in person for all that he did for me while my father was ill in 2006. This guy works in a different location and happened to be in DC for some end-of-year meetings. He had gone to bat for me in front of management and got me a 4 10-hour day schedule to let me return home every weekend. As a courtesy to him, I resigned in person and expressed my gratitude for his generosity with my schedule and the latitude he gave me to get projects done. Everyone appreciates autonomy at work. I sure do.
Sometimes, it’s hard to stay focused when you’re departure date is far off. I know there were days when it was tough. But stay a high-performer right until you leave. I was still working till the bitter end on things because I left after the 1st of the month and there was a ton of stuff that triggers on the 1st of the month. I fretted over it getting fixed. I got a few calls and emails about it and did what I could from memory to help. You should remain open to giving a little help to your old team for the work you did. Not so much that it interferes with your new job or creates some ethical conflict, but enough that everyone still thinks well of you after you are gone.
The exit interview was kind of crazy for me. There was a written questionnaire and face to face interview. I had something sensitive to say, but after talking with a few co-workers, I found out that the paper questionnaire gets sent around to my direct manager and director. I decided to leave the sensitive issue off the paper record, but discuss it with the HR person. Ethically, I could not leave my company knowing there was a larger problem brewing so I told the HR person what was going on and its possible future impact. She seemed to have some idea about it, so I was relieved. Some people say don’t say anything negative in the exit interview. Some people, when frustrated, candidly throw the gloves off and tell it like it is in a truly raw fashion. Strive to stay somewhere in between. That’s the best thing I can tell you to do.
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Leaving a company well can be a challenge. Thanks for providing insight on the steps you took to make it a positive departure.
When I left my position in DC, I did the same thing. Actually, I told them in November I needed to leave and my last day ended up being in mid-January. We were in the middle of a major project deadline and I knew that 1. they’d need lots of time to find a replacement, and more importantly, 2. that at that point in the project, it would be impossible to bring in someone new, get them up to speed, and still meet all the deadlines. As for the exit interview — I was very honest because there were some serious interpersonal concerns in working with my boss that I felt negatively impacted the whole team and wanted them to have the opportunity to make changes if possible. It wasn’t bad mouthing, just honest reflection on how to make things better for those who were still there. I still use my old boss as a positive reference, so I know that if anything was relayed back to her, it didn’t impact her opinion of my work or skills.
The job I took after that, I did not leave in an anywhere near acceptable manner. In fact, I’m still a bit amazed that I actually had the nerve to just quit the day after closing on our house (when I didn’t need the job anymore) without any notice. But, again, I busted butt knowing I was going to do that, and scrambled to tie all my loose ends that day before walking upstairs to let i be known. Did that extra effort make it okay? Not at all, but it was all that what I was able to do at the time. Sometimes thats the best you can give, though hopefully that is never the case.
I think that showing concern for the company even as you leave demonstrates a lot of integrity. Many people would have said “It’s their problem now.”
Great post, and very topical for our family. My wife and I are considering quitting/relocating our jobs due to the local market and learning more about our respective companies (each equally disappointing from our expectations). We’re struggling to determine if a move is worthwhile.
You’re absolutely right that working hard until the end and not burning bridges, although peraps tiresome, can be better for you in the long term. You never know if you might be working with or across the table from former colleagues.