Resigning from work - advice

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Positively Negative

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Hey guys,
ok so i am definetely resigning mid month .I know my managers etc will be dissapointed in my decision especially since we are about to launch a large project very soon.I would just like some advice or tips on what the best way you guys have resigned before. I will obviously leave a formal letter on my sobb's desk but should i rather speak to him/her about my decision before i hand in the letter.i have made my decision and its final. i am sure they will do counter offers etc but i just cannot deal with this place anymore.My decision will probably come as a shock because i never complain or make any issues in the office either. It is time for a change.... please give me any tips from your previous resignations.thank you :o
 
I've been a manager of people in the past. All you really want it to know as a manager is what is going on so you can react to it. Surprises are the worst.

My advice would be to setup a meeting to talk about it as soon as possible. State your intended resignation date and hand the letter in after the meeting. You can word it along the lines of '..I resign as at this date <insert date> ...'

Do you work for a established company or a small business? It may effect how they end up paying you for your notice period vs not paying you. While the law may require them to pay it it doesn't stop some businesses from giving you a hard time.
 
Most companies do not give counter offers as it never works, as it just keeps you for a few months longer before you anway go.

But when it comes to resigning, just type the letter / email, privately discuss it with your manager and then give/send it. Just remember that if they do not accept it, it only means your allowed to retract it - does not mean your not allowed to leave.

But if they accept the resignation, then neither of you may retract it - should you both agree to retract it, then legally you need to get a new work contract.
 
Have the letter printed, but dont just dump it.
Its best to sit down, chat about it, give constructive criticism about the company that they could perhaps use for the future, why u are leaving etc etc. If you are 100% certain, make sure they know this!
Leaving a company feels like a massive thing, but managers are used to staff turnover, if they are upset its actually a good sign!!
try leave on as best terms as possible, reference letters are a must
 
tau1z said:
....try leave on as best terms as possible, reference letters are a must
Click to expand...

1000% agree. Keeping networks for the future is really important. I just started deal with a customer that was a colleague more than 10 years ago. He's now a CIO at a huge company.
 
Schedule a meeting with your manager and discuss your resignation with him. He'll probably try to convince you to stay, perhaps make a counter offer as you say, and obviously find out why you want to resign. Then you'll go on to discussing time frames and handovers.

Its a pity you let it get to this point though - you should have been honest with them when you were unhappy and give them a chance to fix it.
 
I recommend you leave on the best terms (with your Mgr) possible. Never burn your bridges - you never know when you may need the good relationships you have hopefully have built up in your current job. And good luck in any new venture - change is often for the better.
 
Hmm. I'd do both at the same time. i.e. walking in the bosses office w/ a letter start explaining (emphasize multiple times no hard feelings) and then drop the letter at the end as a mere formality.

I'd also focus on getting a good reference & phrase things very carefully when it comes to the reason (i.e. "I just need a change" as opposed to X,Y & Z is wrong with my job atm). Make it clear that its not about the money & politely decline the counter offer.

You should also ignore everything I said because I have no clue what I'm talking about. :)
 
I resigned almost a year ago.
Best move I made...

I wasnt very suttle about it. Explained why I was doing it... all the reasons I said were rectified about 3 months after I left.
But im better off now :)
 
cbrunsdonza said:
Most companies do not give counter offers as it never works, as it just keeps you for a few months longer before you anway go.

But when it comes to resigning, just type the letter / email, privately discuss it with your manager and then give/send it. Just remember that if they do not accept it, it only means your allowed to retract it - does not mean your not allowed to leave.

But if they accept the resignation, then neither of you may retract it - should you both agree to retract it, then legally you need to get a new work contract.
Click to expand...

thanks for the advice.i will setup a meeting with my supervisor.
how can they not accept my resignation? all i know is i MUST give 30 days notice.i have no idea how or WHY they would want to keep a disgruntled employee.after they hear what i have to say they will clearly know i am f@#$@# unhappy working here :(
 
Can only echo what has already been said... Set up an appointment with your direct superior as a matter of urgency. Lay your cards on the table & be polite and unambiguous in all you say. Be frank though, as your manager should (if he's worth the title) appreciate any feedback if specific issues he can control gave rise to your decision. Leave the letter, with your intended last working day noted, at the end of the meeting.
 
Did it a few months ago. Obviously manager disappointed and kinda made counter offer but said I didn't want one but it's business and they have to get over it and move on.
 
Positively Negative said:
how can they not accept my resignation?(
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They can't refuse to accept a resignation .... but they may try to talk you out of it. Stick to the LOA you signed (and they signed) and you can leave immediately the notice period is up. Many companies will ask you to leave immediately (particularly if there is bad blood between employee / employer) as you could do more harm to the business than good (if you were malicious) in working out the notice period. But if the employee/employer relationship is hunky dory, then the employer has the right to insist you work out your notice period if they so wish. If they do ask you to leave (i.e. at employer's insistence) then they are still legally obligated to pay you out the notice period as per the employment contract
 
Ancalagon said:
Schedule a meeting with your manager and discuss your resignation with him. He'll probably try to convince you to stay, perhaps make a counter offer as you say, and obviously find out why you want to resign. Then you'll go on to discussing time frames and handovers.

Its a pity you let it get to this point though - you should have been honest with them when you were unhappy and give them a chance to fix it.
Click to expand...

have you ever worked in IT SUPPORT... ? every week is a non stop fight and complaining.management know the amount of sheet we go through but as long as they have someone fixing the pc or answering the phones they honestly don't care.they will now at least as i am an important asset to the team.the fact is they KNOW we have issues in here and most if not all employees are desperately unhappy here...it should not be rocket science to pick up that your employees arent happy.so yeah.... f@#$ them to be perfectly honest.i will not burn any bridges though....
 
Positively Negative said:
have you ever worked in IT SUPPORT... ? every week is a non stop fight and complaining.management know the amount of sheet we go through but as long as they have someone fixing the pc or answering the phones they honestly don't care.they will now at least as i am an important asset to the team.the fact is they KNOW we have issues in here and most if not all employees are desperately unhappy here...it should not be rocket science to pick up that your employees arent happy.so yeah.... f@#$ them to be perfectly honest.i will not burn any bridges though....
Click to expand...

Sadly, I work in development support so I do share a part of your pain.

Have you got a new job lined up?
 
why not accept a counter offer ? i'm just curios to know
 
Schedule a meeting with the manager. Tell him/her you are resigning and give them the letter at the end of that meeting.
 
ryu said:
why not accept a counter offer ? i'm just curios to know
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It's a loyalty & trust thing. If you accept and continue with them it will always be in their minds that you wanted to leave for whatever reasons or could potentially still be considering it and leave after say six months with a higher salary using that as a bargaining chip with future employers. If you already accepted the other position it reflects badly on you for now doing a 180 on them and they can probably guess why, this in turn could limit your future prospects as you are not seen as serious and be ignored. Also the industry is small and everybody knows everybody else more than likely in your particular field so news gets around.

Someone else could probably explain it better than I can.
 
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