How to Resign Without Burning Bridges

How to Resign Without Burning Bridges

Are you good at goodbyes? Not all of us are. And even when you are, the awkward conversations still are inevitable when you decide to resign from your job.

So, you cannot wait to see the expression on the faces of crude colleagues you will be leaving behind, or them merely knowing that you will be working for the competitor, or another reputable company.

 

That you have successfully made your way out, and now are licensed to do as little as nothing since you have already tendered your resignation letter.

Understand that someone in the team leaving soon means additional workload for the supervisor or lead. Your boss will have to find a replacement, especially when you are asking for an immediate resignation. This puts pressure on them, given that your tasks require training, which will then take some time.

Before your replacement gets a grasp of the projects they are suppose to manage, jobs you leave will have to be distributed to the rest of your teammates, or worse, it will be shouldered by your supervisor.

Remember, even when your boss or say your team made your life miserable, there’s no way you should burn bridges with them. Leave with grace.

Provide at least two weeks notice. Even when the offer is so tempting and your soon-to-be boss is in a hurry, avoid just leaving.

Consider your boss and colleagues. And if anything else, the relationship you’ve built with these people. While you cannot extend your stay, at least be kind enough to allow them do necessary preparations as you depart.

This should be the case if you have been on your job for more than a year. But if you have been there for less than six months, then a week’s notice may be enough.

With this, help make the transition easier for everyone at work.

As courtesy, do not edit your resume nor look for potential employers while you are at work. Lunch breaks also do not count as excuse.

Never use your office email address when communicating with future employers. Use your personal accounts, and your own phone number as well when scheduling or following-up interviews.  Print employment requirements at your home, or at least at a printing shop. Not at your office.

If you must assist consolidate or update files, do so before you leave. When people around see your effort of leaving in good terms then they might be supportive of your decision to switch to another company. Even if that means they will have to adjust in the next few months.

This will even make your colleagues, even your bosses, thankful that you are not leaving them hanging.

Talk to others who left how they were treated during their final days at work.

As you begin counting down the days before you walk into your new workplace, note that the atmosphere may be quite cold or silent. But no matter how other’s treatment is toward you, never bash anyone. Or how a person’s attitude has influenced your decision to apply for another job.

It is inevitable for your colleagues to gossip a little about you when you leave. Then again, this is already out of your control.

The exit interview is still not the time to speak of animosity toward the company and the people you have worked with. Keep it professional. You would not want people from the human resources department think negatively of you.

Remember, we’re living in a small world. These people know someone from other companies and share how arrogant or unpleasant you have been after you have been resigned. That’s not going to be favorable for you.

Author Bio:

Nettie Gray finds it harder to leave in a close-knit company, like the essay writing service firm she used to work for. People are not just work colleagues, they’re family.