Leaving a job can be stressful and you do not want to burn bridges, even if you do not like the company you work for. When you start to have more bad days at work than good ones, maybe it is time for you to look at new career options. If you want to leave your job but don’t know where to start, here are some tips for leaving a job on good terms.
Come Up With a Plan for What's Next
The first thing you should do when you are considering leaving your current job to search for a new one is to come up with a plan for what is next. The best time to start looking at new jobs is while you still have one. Some questions to ask yourself before finding a new job are why you don’t like the job you currently are working. Do you not like the company culture? Your boss? The hours? Location? Pay? All of these things will be important when you are going to look for a new job so that you don’t end up in the same situation not liking your job again. A great place to start looking for employment opportunities in Minnesota is with ExpressChan employment agency. The first thing you can do is to explore your options before you decide to leave your current job.
Write a Resignation Letter
A resignation letter is an official document that you will give to HR that states you plan to leave the company along with some other information. Writing a resignation letter is a good idea in addition to having the conversation with your boss because it often times is used to speak on the positive experiences you have had with the company, rather than express your disinterest with the company.
The things that you will want to include in your resignation letter are:
- Your Name
- Your Position
- Your Address
- Your Contact Info
- Date of the Last Day on the Job
- Your Boss’s Name (or HR person’s name)
- Your Boss’s Title
- Organizations Name
- Organizations Address
- Expression of Gratitude
- Well Wishes in the Future
A resignation letter is a great way to leave a company on a professional and positive note while also providing official documentation of your leaving the company.
Have a Conversation With Your Boss
In addition to writing a resignation letter to your boss (or HR), the next step is to have the conversation with your boss. They are going to want to know why you are leaving and pull from any of the positive experiences you have had to do their job better. This should be a mostly positive and respectful conversation rather than a place to express everything you did not like about working at the company. They may want to know about some of the details you did not like but remain professional and respectful as to not burn bridges with your ex-boss. At some organizations this may be a more formal exit interview, or just a simple conversation. Regardless, this is an important part of leaving an organization on a positive note.
Give at Least Two Weeks Notice
Walking out on your current job without enough notice is one of the worst ways to leave a job and will almost certainly burn bridges with other employees and even other companies in the industry/area. The standard practice for giving notice that you are leaving the job is two weeks, although some companies may have certain policies regarding a notice to quit the job. It will be appreciated to give them enough time to find a replacement, or delegate work to other employees in your absence. The exception to this is if you are in an abusive work environment, or there is illegal activity of some sort going on, where you will want to separate yourself from it sooner than later at the cost of possibly burning a bridge.
Deliver Meaningful Goodybes to Co-Workersx
In the same way that you delivered a meaningful goodbye to your boss pulling from positive experiences, you will want to do the same with your co-workers. Keeping positive and professional relationships can be valuable down the road and leaving on a good note is important to keep that relationship. You may work with a former co-worker at some point down the road, or even have them as a boss. Regardless, having good connections in your industry is overall greatly beneficial and co-workers are not people you want to burn bridges with unless you must.
Our team at ExpressPros Minnesota are staffing and employment experts dedicated to helping you find your next job, or employee. Contact us today by calling us at 952-448-3653, or emailing us at [email protected].
2679 W 78 St., Chanhassen, MN
11011 61st St NE., Suite 125, Albertville, MN
