12 Steps to Take After Deciding to Quit Your Job
There comes a point in most jobs where you realize it is time to get the heck out of there. Whether it is because you have found another opportunity, are experiencing burnout, feel like you’re being underutilized or mistreated, or had only a finite time to begin with, the twelve steps below will help you leave on good terms and prepare yourself for the next step in your career. These steps assume you have probably not submitted your two-week notice yet, but are sure about your decision to leave in the near future. It does not address finding another job or dealing with any loss of income, but lists things you can only do while you’re still employed at your current company that will make your transition easier.
1. Update your resume with your ideal bullet points now
Add your current employer to the top of your resume and under your company name, list things you want to have on your resume before you leave the company. This is a goal-setting exercise and will clarify what you would still like to accomplish while you are there. (It will also keep you motivated to work hard so your coworkers will not notice your burnout if you are ready to run out the door.) As with all resume bullet points, focus on including numbers and results over just descriptions of routine tasks. A strong bullet point will sound good in the sentence “I deserve a raise because…” It is best to create this ideal resume before you leave so there is still a window of opportunity to strengthen the skills you want for your next gig. Make sure you don’t accidentally send this goal resume out while you job search. Keep it in a different folder with an entirely different doc name.
2. Plan who you will use as a reference
Decide who you will list as references on future job applications and finish developing these relationships now. What qualities do they need to have? If you might need recommendation letters, your references need to be good writers and non-procrastinators. Phone references should have a good phone presence and be courteous about call-backs and knowledgeable about what you did. Don’t list someone higher up who won’t have a clue what your day-to-day tasks were and if you have experience in xyz. Do keep in mind coworkers you worked closely with who may not be a direct supervisor but could talk highly of your work. You do not need to tell these people you will be using them as references yet, but be sure to ask before you submit any outside applications with their name and contact information.
3. Prepare leave behind documentation
Rather than just a verbal run-through of where you are leaving everything, I strongly recommend creating leave behind documentation to put in a shared folder with your other important docs and to distribute to your team. Not only will this remind them what you contributed, it’s a great quick reference for them when they are giving you a positive referral. It also doubles as documentation of where you are leaving everything (important emails, notes, etc.) so nobody can point the finger at you later. Drag your Outlook folders of emails to a shared folder your team can access for clarity. Extra bonus to preparing this documentation? It will help trigger your memory for things to update on your resume.
4. Check your remaining benefits
Now is a good time to see what benefits you should start trying to use up before you lose them when you leave the company. Do you have one more free dental checkup for the year? Remaining allowances for glasses or contacts? Get these appointments scheduled asap. For remaining vacation days, can you get a payout for unused days or do you need to try to use up as many as you can before you leave? If you do not feel comfortable talking to HR, go dig up that benefit packet from your new hire days and go through it again, or call the number on the back of your insurance cards.
5. Update your LinkedIn profile and connect
If you are already connected to your coworkers, do not start overhauling and updating your profile yet until you adjust your feed settings to private. Making major changes to your LinkedIn profile — which is essentially your online resume — can be an indicator that someone is starting to look for another job. You should, however, start connecting with all your colleagues now. These are people you work closely with and your casual pass in the hall and exchange good mornings people. Add the latter sooner rather than later while it seems appropriate and they remember you. The more solid contacts the better as this increases your network size exponentially because all their contacts become your 2nd and 3rd connections (friend of a friend, and friend of a friend of a friend, respectively). Later on down the line, you may be looking at the profile of someone else and discover you have these mutual contacts: a great opener for an introduction. Side Note: If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, you need to create one right now.
6. Send templates and contact information to yourself
For projects you worked on or impressive Word docs or spreadsheets you created, remove all personal and confidential information and email the backbone template to your personal email. This is also a good time to send yourself that contact list with your coworker’s work email addresses and phone numbers. (You might think you’ll remember the contact information for that person you correspond with ten times a day now, but you’d be surprised.) You’ll also need these numbers later for listing your references. If you don’t send it now, you may forget in the craziness of wrapping up projects in your few final days.
7. Draft your two-week notice from home
Emphasis on the from home. For some reason, having your resolve to leave in writing is very satisfying and helps make it seem real (even if you do not plan on turning it in for a while). It also gives you a chance to pick your last day, and decide if it seems reasonable with the appointments you need to fit in, vacation days to use, and final goals to achieve. Drafting a resignation letter also always seems to leave me a little bit reluctant to leave and grateful for the experience, no matter how bad it really was. Even if your boss knows you will be leaving, always submit a resignation letter. It is courteous, professional, and gives you a paragraph to thank your employer. Also, even if your boss says it is not necessary, HR will more than likely come back later and say it is.
8. Start writing personalized ‘Thank You’ cards
It is a really good idea to leave a small, personalized ‘Thank You’ card for your closest coworkers and work friends that you do not see regularly outside of work. Each of these don’t have to be really long, but they should be very heartfelt. That is why I usually write one or two a day max, and give myself ample time to complete these. In addition to the ‘Thank You’ cards, you should send an email to all your core coworkers with a quick goodbye right before you walk out the door for the last time. This should include your personal email address and just a few quick sentences of gratitude. Draft this one from home and email it to your work address because you may get clouded with a mix of emotions and writer’s block if you try to write it in the final moments of your last day.
On Your Last Day
9. Show up early and don’t abuse your lunch
Speaking of your last day, here are a few pointers that sound super obvious and yet I am always surprised when I have seen other coworkers leave and not do them. The title is self explanatory. Just because it is your last day, don’t all of a sudden lose your concept of time and forget the appropriate length for a lunch break. Unless your last lunch break is with your superiors, and they don’t seem to be in any rush, be punctual and professional. How you act in your final “these don’t even matter” hours says a lot about you. People will be watching.
10. Return everything and clean up your space
This one also seems obvious, but I have been surprised by how many people I see resign and leave their work space a disaster. Throw away personal items and food you’re not taking with you and, if your desk may not be immediately used after you leave, put your common office supplies back in the supply closet. Also, clean out your drawers, wipe down all surface areas, and turn your keyboard upside down and bang the gunk out of it. You want everyone who walks by that empty desk to remember you as the clean, courteous and hardworking employee that you were.
11. Shake hands with all your superiors before you leave, and get their business cards
This part is always painful for me. Goodbyes are awkward and never enjoyable, but it is important to resist any urge you have to dart out the door, and to stop and say goodbye to everyone. Some will hug you, some won’t. I will usually just go to hug anyone unless their body language is blatantly telling me not to (e.g. if they don’t stand up or they stand but stay behind their desk). Also, for some male superiors a female may need to initiate this hug as they may be worried about making you uncomfortable. For the big bosses you didn’t know well, shake hands at the least, and grab their business cards if you can.
12. Leave the door open (even if it’s really not)
Saying you are open to future opportunities does not mean you have to say yes! It also shows management you are leaving on good terms and, should a reference call ask if they would hire you again, you have already planted that seed for them to say ‘yes.’
It feels great to walk out that door! As a bonus piece of advice, leave when you say you are and don’t come back to visit for at least a month. A month is long enough for them to miss you and returning for a visit any sooner risks making their sentimental goodbyes look overdone and silly.
Follow these steps, and quitting your job will actually be respectfully resigning from your position. Congrats on maintaining your tact and professionalism, and for your resolve to pursue bigger and better things.
