When it comes to quitting a job, there are two categories of people: the ones that can't wait to do it and the ones that dread the moment of giving this news to their manager. Personally, I think I fit in the later category as I always found it hard to give up a job, no matter how shitty it was. It's not like I had great respect or admiration for all my previous bosses so that I found it hard to leave their company, I mostly pitied my colleagues for remaining there and I felt sorry for parting with them. However, each time I gave up on a job (and I did this quite often in comparison with most people I know, I blame my freelance spirit for this :) ), I learned new things about how to handle the though moment of resigning.
Here are my tips on how to resign dignifully no matter how much or how little time you've spend on it.
In most cases, you'd be working in an environment where you are surrounded by colleagues and where you actually get the chance to talk to your boss face to face. If this is the case, choose the moment when you want to give him the big news wisely. Don't go telling him you quit when he's angry about a difficult customer and just finished scolding one of your colleagues or when he's stressed because he's about to get into a meeting.
If you have a remote job like me, it's trickier as you can't anticipate what your boss is doing by the time you want to talk. Therefore, you should prepare him/her by leaving them a message in which announce that you have important news or you need to discuss about a serious matter. In 80% of the cases, your boss will already sense what's about to happen.
Why is the moment important? Because how long, heated or frustrating your conversation with your boss will be, depends on it. If you don't want to tease an angry bull and face the consequences, you'd better think twice about when it's better to have THE talk.
It's always hard to break up with someone and, when you quit your job, you are doing this. Just like dumping a partner you no longer love, there is always at least a bit of compassion left that makes you feel bad about yourself for what you are doing. And if your boss is a manipulative person or feels betrayed, they might pull every emotional string possible to make you feel bad about your decision. How do you combat this? With logical arguments such as:
All these arguments will put an end to any attempt to convince you by ways of emotional manipulation that your place is in that company and that you should not leave.
When a manager looses an employee, especially a valuable team player, it's a matter of months before he can find someone who can replace that person, or even years. All this process means money and it puts pressure on him and the rest of the team. It is normal for your boss to feel angry because you are giving him a hard time by leaving your job. However, this does not entitle him to start raising his voice, let alone insult you. If your boss does this, don't respond in a similar manner. Keep your cool, be polite and professional. Listen to what he has to say, but remind him that it is your legal right to resign and he has to comply with your decision.
The feeling of regret give raise to remorse and only bad consequences can come out of this. Sometimes, the feeling of remorse might be so strong that it even persuades you to give up your plan and stick around in that company for more time. The thing is that if you already though about quitting, that job is clearly not for you. So, there is no reason you should not venture towards greener pastures.
Your job is not your life, it's just what you do to earn a living. Don't think that the company won't survive without you. Everyone is replaceable in the end.
These are my thoughts about job-quitting. Where do you stand? Have you ever found it difficult to quit a job?
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