The little boy in the video is just trying to follow his dad’s direction to hug the little girl who was kind enough to have him over for a play date. The little girl is not having it. It might not seem obvious that this video has anything in common for what happens when you’re quitting your job, but there are several things both instances have in common. We’re going to explain what you shouldn’t do when you’re leaving your job.
Don’t make vague promises
You are likely going to get an “aww” or “we don’t want you to leave” when you announce your departure. Then your colleagues are going to say things like, “at least we can still have lunch,” and you say something like, “definitely, we’ll definitely have lunch.” Do you have lunch with one another now when you’re working in the same office? If the answer is no, it’s going to take even more effort to get on each other’s calendar when you’re not sitting 10-100 feet away from each other. If you’re serious about having lunch, offer up your calendar right when you’re talking about it. Put something on each other’s calendar for two weeks to a month after you start your new job, and do your best to make it happen. This way, you avoid becoming the old colleague who promised to stay in touch, but didn’t.
Don’t promise to get your old colleagues a job at your new company
Your departure might also open the floodgates for current colleagues to “confide” in you about how much they dislike their current jobs. They may be hoping that you feel bad enough for them that you offer to do your best to bring them over to your new company once you’re settled. This one is tough. You want to do what you can for your co-workers, after all, what they’re telling you is part of the reason you’re leaving. However, if you current employer catches wind that you’re recruiting other employees to go with you, even if they want to leave on their own, it can jeopardize getting a good reference from your manager in the future. If all your manager remembers about you was you giving two weeks notice and taking five team members with you, your manager is likely going to have less attractive things to say about you than the reference he or she would have given you prior to your recruiting spree. How do you successfully deal with all of your new “friends” who would like to jump ship? Talk about the other opportunities you applied to, encourage your unhappy co-workers to do the same. Explain that you will be happy to stay in touch, and if they’re still unhappy next quarter, there might be other opportunities that aren’t available now. Just don’t give in to your instinct to want to help so much that you promise to get them an interview with your new manager. Don’t over promise and put yourself in a situation where you’re almost sure to under-deliver.
Don’t dump your work on other people
Yes, you’re leaving. But that doesn’t mean that you get to throw up your hands, walk over to your colleagues with all your work, and put yourself on cruise control for your last two weeks at the company. While this sounds like a dreamy way to get paid for doing nothing, you’re also sending your co-workers the message that you really don’t want to be here, you don’t care that your departure is causing them more work, and you’d rather just be on vacation. Which brings us to point number four.
Don’t go on vacation
If you decide to give your two weeks notice and in the next breath announce that you’re going to South America for two weeks, your boss is unlikely to be real happy with you. There are circumstances that don’t apply here, like you and your boss have had open conversations about your departure and you’ve been actively preparing for it together, or you work in an industry that doesn’t allow you to stay after you give your notice, and whether you’re leaving on vacation or just won’t be coming to work tomorrow, it’s company policy that you’re not coming back after you quit. However, in most other circumstances, an employee quitting means that a manager or boss has to re-work budgets, roles, responsibilities, and has to come up with a plan for getting your replacement trained. The two weeks notice that an employee is encouraged to give rarely gives a manager enough time to get the job posted and the first round of interviews scheduled, much less anything else required to replace the departing employee. If you know your manager is going to have a tough time replacing you, and you have the ability to give more than two weeks, your current manager will likely remember you for your consideration and loyalty. -This isn’t always possible, and most managers understand this, but it’s definitely appreciated.
Don’t give an angry exit interview
Not every organization believes in asking its departing employees to participate in an exit interview, but if yours does, do not use it as an opportunity to tell HR or your manager every thought you’ve ever had. When asked what would have made your job easier, or if there was anything they could do to get you to stay, be honest, but don’t be vindictive. Sounding angry or insulting your soon-to-be former co-workers and boss will only reflect poorly on you. The last thing you want to do is say something so stinging or critical that the person conducting the exit interview utters “good riddance” as you walk back to your desk. If you pick one or two things that are continually aggravating and will cause others in your department to leave and give proactive solutions on how you would fix them, you’re giving the exit interviewer actionable feedback to improve the experience of your co-workers moving forward. Of course, it’s up to them as to how your feedback is handled and applied within the organization, but you can leave the exit interview feeling like at least you tried to make a positive impact.
Don’t go overboard at your “going away” party
If you are lucky enough to have a “going away” party thrown for you by your co-workers, it’s not the time to drink everything in sight. It’s also not the time to tell the person you had a crush on in your office about your feelings, or tell your boss what you really think about him or her. It’s best to appear grateful, be social, and spend your last few hours together as co-workers reminiscing and having a good time. Don’t let it get awkward by saying a whole lot of things you’ll wish you hadn’t said in the morning.
Don’t call your boss, your job, or your co-workers stupid
Saying things like, “I can’t believe I put up with this for X years,” or “It’s no wonder I’m leaving, I’m the smartest one in the room,” will only get your co-workers to rush you toward the exit more quickly. It can be hard to bite your tongue and abide by the old mantra, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” However, the last memory you want one of your co-workers to have of you is when you told him or her how stupid they were for staying at the company. Yikes.
Don’t utter the words “I can’t wait to (fill in the blank) at my new job”
Chances are, your co-workers are already jealous that you get to have a new adventure, even if they like their jobs. There’s something to the idea that the grass is always greener, and some part of them likely wishes they were headed to a different pasture with you. So when you say things like, “I’m so excited that I’m never going to have to use this old copier again,” and “No more touring the parking lot for 30 minutes to find a spot for me,” it just makes it more real that you’re leaving, and reminding your co-workers of the reasons they wish they could go with you.
Don’t change your mind
There will likely be an outpouring of “we’ll miss you,” and “don’t leave us,” and “what are we going to do without you?” Those are all wonderful sentiments, but that is what those are, sentiments. None of those kind words will change the reasons you’re leaving or improve the circumstances in your job. In spite of the good wishes, and appreciation of your talent, do not decide that the grass is not greener, and that you want your old job back. If you decide to stay, you’ll have to have a difficult conversation with your new company during which they’ll ask you why you’re staying, and you should have a more substantial answer than, “my co-workers really like me, they really really like me.” Additionally, your current boss or leadership may wonder about your decision making abilities and commitment moving forward. You can get labeled as “the boy who cried wolf,” and that never ends well. When you announce that you’re leaving, do so with confidence, appreciate the well wishes, and make your move.
Don’t get sticky fingers
You may experience the desire to take a memento from your workplace. Make sure it’s manager approved. If not, you might find that security is ushering you out on your last day instead of your favorite co-workers.
If you avoid doing these ten things when you’re leaving one job for another, you’ll likely be remembered by your colleagues for all the great things you did while you were their co-worker. Just remember, these are the people that are part of your industry, and will likely find their way back into your work life in some way in the future. You want to do everything you can to insure when you have to work with them again that they have nothing but great things to say about you, and if they’re going to be working with you again, they’ll look forward to it.