Quitting your job

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Jobs come and go. You may work several jobs in your life time and you want to try and leave those jobs on good terms. When you decide it's time to quit your current job, there are things you need to check before you go through with it.

Think it through

First and foremost, you need to think through your decision to quit, and determine what factors are influencing your decision to leave. Why do you want to leave your current job? Have you found a better job with more responsibilities or things more in line with what you want to do, is it because of illness or injury, or have you've become frustrated with your job, company, or co-workers?

Resolve any problems

If there's something that's driving you away or preventing you from working, consider talking to your manger about it. The situation may be able to be resolved without you having to quit. You might be able to adopt flexible working hours or work remotely. If the problem has gone beyond frustration and into discrimination, harassment or abuse, you should definitely speak to someone about it, such as your manger or the HR department. If your manager is the one causing the problem, and there isn't anyone else you can talk to, then leaving may be your final option. There's no reason to put up with discrimination, harassment, or abuse at work.

Whatever your reason for leaving, the key thing is that you've thought through your decision and believe it to be the right thing to do.

Where's your next job?

When you leave your job for reasons beyond your control, such as illness, injury or problems at work, you may have no plans for the future. But if this is something you've been planning to do for a while, having another job lined up that you can transition into will prevent spending time unemployed. Be sure that you've received a confirmation of the job offer before you quit. All information coming from your new employer may indicate that you've got the job, you may have even been promised it. But until you receive a formal confirmation, nothing is guaranteed. Don't risk becoming unemployed by quitting before everything if finalised.

Give notice

Once you've got everything sort, it's time to inform your boss that you'll be quitting. How you handle your resignation is important, because as I said you want to leave on good terms. If you disliked some aspect of the job, it may be tempting to act out a scene from a movie where you storm into your boss's office and quit in a dramatic fashion. But what are you going to do when it comes time for a reference, or if an interviewer contacts your previous place of employment to find out about you? Just because you don't have them listed as a reference doesn't mean they won't contact them. Having a reputation as someone that loses their temper and blows up, can follow you between jobs. So leave the dramatic scenes to actors, and be civil when you resign.

Quitting your job probably won't be a decision you'll make in the spur of the moment, It's something that will build over time. But if you suddenly do decide that it's time to go, you should still give your employer notice. It's the professional thing to do and you won't be burning your bridges by leaving your employer or co-workers hanging, without anyone to replace you.

To make your resignation go smoothly, have a plan of what you're going to say in case questions are asked, or offers are made in an attempt by your boss to make you change your mind. If you're a good employee, they may not want to lose you and so might be willing to give you a pay rise or other benefits. This could be great if you like the job but are leaving for more money. However, if you're leaving because of problems at work with your co-workers, the work you're doing, or the way you have to do it, remember these reasons before you accept the offer. You wanted to leave, so don't get talked into staying unless it's something you want to do. Will the raise be enough to put up with the conditions that made you want to leave in the first place? Or, do you think you'll be in the same position a year down the track, disliking the job and wanting to leave?

Quitting a job doesn't have to be big deal, just as long as you handle it properly.

Would you like to comment on this article?

Name:
Location:
Comments:
	Please type the red letters and numbers into the red box above. This is to protect our system from SPAM and viruses.

Previous Comments

There are no comments for this blog post as yet. If you have recently commented then please be patient while your comment is reviewed by our staff.