Just because times are hard it doesn’t mean people won’t turn in their resignation letters. It’s true that many will hang on waiting for things to get better so they can go out and look for a new job.
The reasons why some want to resign can be because of distance, not happy, opportunities, stay at home mom or dad, etc.
Whatever the reason may be when you decide to resign, do it gracefully. Some may read this and say why should I?
Well, remember that saying, “Don’t burn your bridges”. You never know when you may have to return to a past job or even ask for references. We believe once we leave that job, we don’t ever have to worry about anything. Well you should. See, you never know when your paths will cross again. There are people who will tell you they have started working in a new job and a few weeks, months, or maybe a year down the road, a past co-worker or manager is working with them again.
Imagine how uncomfortable it would be to work with someone that you may have burned when you left. What if the manager you had once in one job becomes your manager in your new job? Will things go smoothly because when you left your old job, things ended well? Or will you run into difficulties because you left your past employment in a way that was unprofessional?
We all have worked in a job that someone made our life a living hell. It could have been a co-worker or someone in management. Of course, while we were working there, we didn’t say anything and always did our job. We would deal with it until we found a new job. Now what happened once we found a job? There are stories of how people have resigned. Some, as soon as they had a new job, just got up and left. Others would literally tell their manager what they thought of them and most likely, since they were sick of the job, it wasn’t nice.
Granted, some of the exits are quite funny but harmful at the same time. Leaving in this manner makes us look real bad, as an angry, bitter and unreliable person. True, you may have had every right to do what you did but still; in the end we are the ones that look bad. No matter how bad a job you may have, once you find a new job, do things right. This shows them that you are a professional and respectful person. If they have ever made comments about you or presented you to others as the troublemaker and irresponsible, they will no longer believe it.
When you find that new job or decide that it’s time to quit, whatever the reason may be, you should always give two weeks’ notice. Make sure to turn in a professional letter of resignation. In there, even if you don’t really mean it, thank them for the opportunity to work there. Tell them how much you have learned and grown with the company. If you stop and think about it, most likely it’s true. They have given you the opportunity to learn new things that you can use in your next job.
Some employers will ask that you give them a week more, if possible, do it. If you can’t, just let them know it’s not possible but that you will make sure all is in order before you leave. This gives them time to train someone for your position or find someone that you can train. Also, even if they have made your time there a miserable one, don’t sabotage the work. What we don’t realize is that the person that will suffer with the mess we leave is not the manager, it’s the person that will take our place and they have no fault in what happened at your job.
Doing this is not a waste of time; on the contrary it’s for your benefit. Should you again need to find a new job, you know you can get a decent reference from them. Plus, you never know, there may come a time, they will ask you to come back. Or you may walk into an office one day, looking for a new job and there they are, again as a manager or co-worker. Since you left your old position in a positive way, they won’t hesitate to take you back. Its fun to get even but it’s better to do things right. You end up a winner.