So far I had 3 interviews lasting 7 hours with 3 directors. All went very well but it now seems they don’t havea job for me anytime soon and were delaying things and delaying things to keep me hanging on so whem the job becomes available they have said they would offer it to me but without any time scale.
Today I forced the matter and said is there a job now as I have been out of work for 4 months and want to get back to work, I have done enough round the hosue and with family etc and they said no, not yet so I have said forget it I cannot wait forever.
They have said they will be in touch when whatever it is they are doing comes to fruition but cannot say when that is, A little disappointed because if they had just been honest and said we probably won’t avae anything until Xmas time I would have said no problem call me nearer the time and we can see if I am interested.
I do have a few things in the pan but nothing concrete, it’s not like I have to go back to work right now but I never would have thought that being home a lot is not an ideal and can be frustrating and boring at times and I really need to work for myself more than anything.
I’ve been looking for a new job recently, and I may soon be in the position to get one. However, I realize that I haven’t quit a job since I’ve had any significant responsibility. I’ve been laid off, I’ve had contracts expire, and I’ve been present when a company has gone under, etc. But not quit.
So, does anybody have any general advice for how I should handle it? I’m not really interested in using it as leverage for salary negotiations, so I guess it’s mostly just a question of how much notice I should give?
Also, is there anything that it would be prudent (and legal!) to take with me when I leave?
2 weeks is standard, barring unusual situations (e.g., a toxic workplace you think might make your life hell–maybe a little less–or a position where you’ll need to distribute a ton of responsibilities/roles, or even where you’d be expected to help select/train your replacement, could warrant more).
For some lighthearted fun, I present our our last two resignations. One guy who was slowly going insane from the hellish culture here gave 2 weeks to the minute via a napkin-scrawled note, then proceeded to flame (and possibly blaze) out for the entire duration, closing it out by showing up to a staff meeting in swimming trunks, a tank, and boat shoes with an entire box of Cheetoh’s single-serving bags to distribute. On the flipside, our Development Manager gave us 3 weeks’ notice to help close out all the deals/conversations she has ongoing and start parceling out relationships to other staff members to maintain until we can bring on her replacement. Of course, since she’s chosen to do this at exactly the same time that we’re supposed to start finalizing our corporate donations and grants for next year’s cohort/activities, it virtually guarantees we’ll come up even shorter than our most dismal projections laid out. . . YAY!
I came back from two weeks of baby bonding to give my two weeks notice at my last job. The four people who left before me in the preceding year (out of a 6 person department) all went out on medical leave for three months and never came back. Now THAT was a pain in the ass. Couldn’t replace them, couldn’t fire them, just had to wait and see if they were coming back and fill the dept with consultants.
Two weeks is fine unless there’s something job-specific that would dictate more. Be prepared for them to decline the option and walk you out the same day. It’s not too common, but does happen.
Write a resignation letter. Deliver it to your boss in person. Don’t get fancy. Just say that you’re resigning and giving two weeks notice, with end date as of X/Y/Z.
They may ask you to do an exit interview. If there’s a way to politely decline, do so. If you do go through it, don’t say anything negative about anyone or anything, no matter how you really feel. There is zero upside for you in talking. Just smile and say things are fine, you’re just looking to move on.
Basically, be polite, firm, and leave it at that. You’re looking to get out with minimal fuss or drama.
I’ll second this part for sure - no matter how hard it is, just be positive and avoid drama. ZERO UPSIDE! Depending on your industry, the world can be a very small place and it’s always best to avoid burning any kind of bridges when possible.
Thirded. I’m reaching the point in my career (I’m almost 40!) where having 15+ years of mostly-friendly relationships with former colleagues and clients suddenly means I know somebody at nearly every major IT employer in my state. I didn’t set out to build a useful network, but dang if it isn’t handy nowadays.
In your resignation letter, express that you are sorry to leave and eager to assist in a smooth transition out and in helping train a replacement. Some employers have a policy of not having anyone disaffected around and march people they suspect might be disaffected to the door immediately. Stating right up front that you are eager to have a smooth transition-out period might help avoid that treatment. It also wouldn’t hurt to unobtrusively remove any personal items from your desk and put them in your car prior to handing in the resignation, just in case the employer is a fan of removing people from the premises immediately.
Another thing I’d suggest is, simultaneously to personally delivering the signed copy of the resignation letter, one should also email a copy/scan to the relevant supervisor while CC’ing in both HR and BCC’ing a personal (non employer) email address. I’ve heard a few stories of shady employers who made untrue claims about a person’s end date or not following proper resignation protocol to avoid trying to pay out benefits due upon separation. Having your own copies of the correspondence sent can help to prevent shenanigans later. Probably won’t happen to anyone who works for a reputable employer, but better safe than sorry.
Thanks for all the tips, everyone! My instinct is to be pretty wide open about this sort of thing. I wouldn’t have said anything bad out of spite, but I still might have ruffled some feathers with honest criticism, which may not be a good idea. They’re mostly things that everybody already knows, anyways.
Assuming everything goes through, I’ll put up some additional details about my job search process when it’s all said and done.
Also: employment-based health care is pants. Universal / single payer can’t come soon enough.
Also take stuff that is yours (that hard back Dictionary that everyone borrows etc) home now, but do it subtle. That way you won’t have to rely on some non-caring drone not making sure all your stuff is given back to you when you are marched out by security.
I got back from the summer camp job almost exactly a month ago and hadn’t been able to put anything else together until now. I’d been going through a couple of interviews at a college for a job that would’ve been great. Apparently I was one of their finalists but in the end they went with someone else so today I took a job starting Tuesday as an aid at a local high school. The pay is pretty bad, but at this point I’ll take it. I start Tuesday and if everything works out will be hired out for the rest of the school year. I’ll be a subcontractor so can forget about benefits or anything, which is a bit of a pain since I have to go on the insurance exchange in January. Once the school year ends the summer camp would take me back for a second year and I liked working with them so at least there’s that.
Really it’s not so bad. After the past year of having no job last longer than six weeks, I’m looking forward to having some degree of financial stability if not quite total independence. The high school job will also help me decide if I want to teach since that’s one career I’m looking at. I’m starting to think that higher ed. (student events, res. life that sort of thing) could be better. I’m looking at the next few months as time to figure some of this stuff out.
And thanks to everyone here. It’s really helped having this place to put this kind of thing down and hear others’ experiences and advice. I’ve enjoyed becoming more active at qt3 in general over the past year.
I love how you’re taking your BSG character’s weakness to heart - keep moving, Ot, keep moving! Congrats on finding something, even if it’s not your ideal job or workplace. Never know what might turn up.
Ok, so today’s my last day at my current job, as I’ve accepted an offer at a new company.
I’ve been in my current position for just over 5 years, and for a variety of reasons, I’ve only enjoyed about 2 of them. I was looking in earnest for a new job for about 18 months. Just as a sense of the numbers, I had countless phone interviews, and in-person interviews with more than 12 companies - significantly more that 12 sessions overall, as some required multiple sessions with the same company (including several that required out-of-state travel). I had a couple of things fall through at the last minute, which was very frustrating, but I think that if a couple of coin flips had gone the other way, my search time may have been significantly lower. People have claimed that my field was one of the healthier ones, but it was still a pretty tedious slog.
I should note that I am trying to change industries a bit, which may have hurt my chances (the industry I’m currently in has relatively very few options, and I’m not really all that interested in pursuing them). But even given that, I had fairly consistent interest in my resume and phone interviews, but a lot of talks ended there. By the end of the search, I absolutely hated interviewing, and was supremely frustrated with it all as a waste of time. It really is a numbers game and just requires constant churning through to make it out to the other side. I was very lucky in that I was always searching while I still had a job, but it was incredibly disheartening and frustrating even in those near-ideal circumstances.
On the upside, I am very excited about my new position. It’s in a field I’m very happy to be getting into, and will use some tech that I’m very glad to be learning. I’m glad to be leaving, but it’s going to be very weird to sit down at a new desk in a new office after this amount of time. Hopefully it will be a long time before I need to search again.
