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What made me think to write this post was a call I got from someone I’d worked with in my prior life. This guy is a VP at a software company where I used to be on the board and he was calling to get my advice on the best way to leave his job. He got offered an amazing opportunity at another company and has decided to move on, but wanted to make sure he was going about it the right way. The team is small and a lot depends on him, the CEO has a lot of trust in him, and he has visibility to board level.
My few points of advice were:
- Make sure that you give your current company enough transition time and offer a lot of flexibility about how to handle it. Ask your boss (the CEO in this case) what you can do to make this easier and actually do it.
- Go into this undoubtedly tough discussion with a positive attitude and don’t feel like you need to make excuses about why you’re leaving. Talk about what you’ve liked about working at this company, what you’ve learned and simply say that this opportunity presented itself and it’s a chance to do something you’ve always wanted to try. Don’t get defensive.
- Know ahead of time whether there is anything your boss can say or do to persuade you to stay (e.g. if it’s about money, have a number in mind that would make you stay.) If you’ve already made up your mind to go, make sure to simply say that this is not about money, responsibility, or anything else — just a unique opportunity you want to pursue.
- Give your boss time to process your decision. You’ve thought about this for a while and this is news to him — some degree of negative emotional response is understandable.
I’m not a career expert but I’ve quit enough jobs to have learned these lessons. The first time I quit a job I did most everything wrong. I called my boss to tell her about it (granted, she traveled all the time, but that’s no excuse), I got very upset and defensive on the phone when she got upset about my leaving, and instead of offering to be flexible about transition I’d told her that I was leaving in three weeks, firm. I definitely burned that bridge and it was a mistake.
At my last job I gave them several months of notice. I was worried about doing this because my boss was… let’s just say a somewhat unpredictable guy in terms of how he reacted to unexpected news. There was a risk he would get really upset and ask me to leave ASAP, but I was willing to risk it. It turned out OK, and while the few months that I worked there after giving my notice were at times awkward, I think I did the right thing.
Have you had a positive or negative quitting experience? What do you wish you'd done differently?
Nataly Kogan is the co-founder and CEO of WorkItMom.com, an online community for working moms. For more career tips, to connect with working moms, share advice about balancing work and family, quick recipes, and growing your business, and to read working mom blogs, visit www.WorkItMom.com.
Check out Nataly's recent posts on The Work It, Mom! Blog:
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