How to Quit Your Job With Grace

I remember watching the news a few years ago and seeing a clip of a reporter dropping the f-bomb and quitting her job while on-air. It was hilarious and horrible all at the same time. Unfortunately, it might be something you have thought about if you’ve ever had a not-so-great-job experience – telling everyone what you really think of them while walking through the exit doors of your workplace on your last day.

But I’m telling you – don’t do it! Resist all urge. If you have to, write out your disdain on paper and throw it in the trash afterwards. Cleanse yourself of resentment instead of committing career suicide. Leave your job with grace!

As of January 2018, there are 5,758 credit unions in the U.S., according to CUNA. Take a quick glance at the “People News” section on the CU Times website, and you’ll see that credit unions often hire employees from other credit unions. So if you didn’t already learn this from attending the CUNA Governmental Affairs Conference (or another popular industry conference), the credit union industry is small and social. People talk, and reputations – good or bad – are spread easily.

Heck, every industry can get small if you’ve been in it long enough. Six degrees of separation generally holds true in life in general, and there are even fewer degrees of separation in the credit union industry. So what I’m saying is, your reputation follows you. And while a YouTube-worthy exit may seem entertaining in the short-term, it will likely ruin your career in the long run.

Oftentimes, future employers will not only call your listed references, they’ll call your previous employer too. If you left on bad terms, this information may be transmitted to your future employer and prevent you from getting what could potentially be your dream job.

I speak from experience in providing this advice. While I’ve never done anything so grand as what I noted above, early on in my career (very early on) I did get in some heated conversations with my boss before quitting my job without having a new one. While the decision saved my mental health, I often reflect back on my 25-year-old self and wish I would have handled the situation with more grace. Biting your tongue can preserve your reputation and save you from regret.

I now have the chance to right my wrongs. After nearly seven years with the company I’ve been working for full-time, I’ll be leaving to embark on a new job with a different company. Fortunately, nothing about my departure is going to be dramatic. I love my company, my team lead is great and the departure is actually bittersweet. When I told human resources about my impending departure, we joked about how my company is known for its boomerang employees – basically employees that leave and eventually make their way back to the company. The door is being left open for me, which I appreciate. It means that all those years of hard work and relationship building paid off!

So, if you’re leaving your job, consider these tips to ensure a smooth transition and see that you’re remembered – in a good way of course.

• Give your employer two weeks’ notice.
• Tell your boss you’re leaving before telling anyone else. Like I said, news can travel fast and you wouldn’t want your boss to find out from someone else. I speak from experience on this!
• Tell your boss in person, but also send a formal letter of resignation to human resources.
• Oftentimes, there are tasks you complete in your job that others may not be accustomed to doing or may not know how to do. Create standard operating procedure documents that provide step-by-step instructions on how to complete these tasks.
• Once you’ve informed your boss you’re leaving, inform other co-workers that you’re leaving too and tell them who they should go to should they need anything in the future. I once had a co-worker who didn’t tell anyone except her immediate team that she was leaving. After she left, everyone went looking for her and many things fell through the cracks, which we then had to figure out how to resolve.
• Thoroughly clean out your desk for the next person.
• Set up an exit interview. If your departure is due to a less-than-stellar job or boss, provide constructive feedback during your exit interview. This is the time to formerly and constructively air grievances that could potentially benefit the people who join the organization after you. Avoid gossip and back-biting – instead, state the issues that exist and give feedback on how to potentially correct those issues. Stating a problem without offering a solution is just complaining.
• If you’re interested in maintaining professional relationships with people you’ve worked with after your departure, send out an email to those you want to stay in contact with and provide your personal contact information. Oftentimes those contacts prove useful in the future.
• Avoid talking poorly about your former employer or former co-workers at your next job.

I hope these tips help ensure a smooth transition to your next career move!

Tahira Hayes is a correspondent-at-large for CU Times. She can be reached at thayes@cutimes.com.