Then suddenly, your prayers get answered: a dream job falls into your lap. You feel that you now hold the aces. It is payback time – time to give your immediate supervisor and the entire management of your company more than a piece of your mind. You have made up your mind not to give any resignation notice. Even if you give any notice, it will be for the sake of not losing your last salary in lieu of notice and throughout the duration of the notice, you will come to work when you wish, browse the Internet and close whenever you wish.
Hold it! You are about to cheapen yourself and create enemies that you don’t need. Don’t show yourself as petty and unprofessional.
WHY YOU NEED TO LEAVE WITH STYLE
You need to show that you are a professional.
You need to leave a good name and record behind – your new employer may hear of your exit and be wary of you.
You may return to your company in future – you won’t like to feel that you are returning to your vomit when you come back to the company.
Your current boss may move over to your new company as your new boss. You won’t like to feel uneasy if that happens.
Your company may be required to give a reference on you.
In this era of mergers and acquisitions, your new company may be acquired by the old company or an entirely new company may acquire your new company and the old one. Then you find yourself working with the same people that you spoke ill about.
The business terrain is a small world – prospective employers may meet your current employers at events and inquire from them about you.
HOW A NON-PROFESSIONAL EXITS
When a petty person gets a letter of employment, a feeling of power comes into him. He sends in his letter of resignation without informing his immediate supervisor or boss. He starts to crow about his new job all through the company. In his letter of resignation, he complains about how poorly he has been treated, how the company is not a good place to work and how his supervisor is the worst person to work with on earth. His letter of resignation usually states that his resignation is with immediate effect.
Even when he gives a notice of resignation, the notice period becomes a waste. He begins to come to work one or two hours late, does little but surf the net and play computer games. Then he spends two or three hours on break and closes a few minutes before the official closing time.
The same person continuously complains about his present company and praises the company he is about to move over to. He brags about his new salary, benefits, and working conditions. If he has the opportunity of interviewing his replacement, he gives the person the impression that the company is not the place to be.
Someone like this learnt the hard way. His current CEO prevailed upon the CEO of the company he is moving to cancel his employment. He was forced to remain in his current employment. Less than a month later, the company sacked him and he had nowhere to go.
HOW A PROFESSIONAL RESIGNS
Once he receives a new employment offer, he carefully prepares his letter of resignation. In it, he informs the company that he will be disengaging from the company on a stated date. (One month notice is the standard period for most positions except executive positions). He thanks the company for the opportunity it has given him and the value it has added to his career and life. He wishes the company well and signs off.
With the letter in his pocket, he seeks audience with his direct boss. He informs his boss about his decision to resign. When asked why, he does not go complaining about the job, the boss, and his salary, but talks about the need to explore new opportunities in his career path. No matter his grouse with his boss, he does not bring it up now – he lets his boss save face. He thanks his boss for the opportunity of working with him and assures him that he will pay special attention to all the projects he is working on.
If he was known for late-coming, now is the time to be punctual. If he was known to leave on the dot of time, now is the time to add a few extra hours. The bottom line is that this one-month period is the time to let the company know that you are an out-and-out professional.
If he is interviewing his replacement and he is asked why he is leaving, he simply talks about the new job presenting an opportunity to build on the skills he has acquired or says that the new job will give him an opportunity to pursue a dream he had nursed for a long time. He does not crow about his new job when he talks with his colleagues, even when they prompt him.
Before he finally exits, he prepares a well-detailed hand-over note, stating recently completed projects, the ones still in progress and the ones that should be attended to in the near future. He explains his filing system. He lists the major clients/customers and suppliers, their contact details and some things that should be known about them. If there are any codes that he has been using, he explains them. He even leaves his contact details in case his replacement needs any clarification in future.
DON’TS OF RESIGNATION
*Once you send in your resignation letter, don’t be persuaded to stay back.
*If you can, don’t reveal the new place you are moving to anybody in your current company.
*No matter how excited you are about your new offer, don’t brag about it in your current office. Just maintain that it is an opportunity for you.
*No matter how your new employers pressurise you, don’t resign with immediate effect.
Getting a new job, especially at a time of recession, is a wonderful feeling. But a professional does not get carried away by it. We live in a small world where people meet regularly under different circumstances. There is no need to spoil your relationship and career prospects because of pettiness. A true professional should always look at the big picture and future possibilities, no matter the temptation to gloat and wallow in myopa.
By Tomori Kazeem
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