Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Resignation questions
Hi,
After much soul-searching, I know my current job is not for me. That puts it mildly, actually. I'm to the point where I don't even know if I can keep this job until I get another one. My husband said he would support my decision to leave, because he knows I've reached the point of no return in this particular career (I no longer have any drive to stay in it, and tend to feel like I've already wasted too much time in a going-nowhere environment).
I still don't know if I will leave before I find another job. I may suck it up and stay. But ... if I leave, I have a lot of angst about turning in my resignation. I've only resigned from one other "real" job and it turned out fine; I knew my boss at that job loved the hiring/interview process and he always seemed to enjoy the opportunity to bring in new people. My current boss hates it. He has a staff full of people who have worked for him for 20 years. Two of us have been there less than two years, and he's told us repeatedly how lucky he is to have found us. I think he wants to believe we'll stay forever -- or, at least, until he retires. Ugh.
I hate to disappoint people. I hate to deliver news they don't want to hear. I want to emphasize that while I do really appreciate the opportunity they offered, the place/the commute is not for me. I want something totally different. I fear that if my boss knows I'm leaving without another offer on the table, he may suggest I stay until I find something else. And that's certainly a practical consideration, but I'm not sure I want to be talked out of anything.
1. Has anyone felt like this. If so, how did you handle it?
2. What's the easiest, fastest, least painful way to resign? I guess I've always imagined that if I hated my job, the resignation would be the easy part. But, at the moment, I get painfully nervous just thinking about having that conversation with my boss.
Thanks!
Re: Resignation questions
Don't overthink this, and don't make it personal. It's not working out, and you're leaving. Don't get caught up in your worries and end up doing/saying more than you should.
It's as easy as this: schedule a time with your boss, and tell him you're leaving. If he asks why, tell him this isn't a good fit for you. Period. You don't have to go into the fact that you don't have another job lined up (if you don't), you don't have to tell him about the commute, or the work environment, or any of that stuff. It's not a good fit, you've decided to leave. That's it. You don't owe anyone a further explanation.
Tell him you have a letter of resignation ready to give to HR, and have that letter ready. Again, it doesn't need to be detailed or personal. All of mine have been, "This is to inform you that my last day as [position] at [company] will be [final date]." The letter is just paperwork for HR to have to show your dates of employment.
Be absolutely certain you don't want to stay, then just rip of the Band-Aid and do it.
Our little Irish rose came to us on March 5, 2010
Don't drink the water.
Disclaimer: I am not an MD. Please don't PM me with pregnancy-related questions. Ask your doctor.
PP has the right idea. I'm getting ready to tender mine, though only once I have a job lined up, as it's a LOT easier to get a new job when you already have one. That being said, do whatcha gotta do. Luckily, I'm relocating due to DH's career, so I do have an excuse that saves any hurt feelings.
I did find a website that gave sample letters of resignation, if you're having trouble wording that. I certainly wouldn't use some of them (like the "funny" one stating you've been using company time to search for a new job), but ones like the two weeks notice one seem helpful, so long as you adjust it to your situation.
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/resignationletters/a/resignationlet.htm
My friend who resigned from my current place of employment did have to do an exit interview though, and I heard that was pretty awkward. She lived through it though, and you will too
Good luck!
Ditto pps.
You can agree to help train the new person, like a longer than two week notice period, if you are ok with that. Just be sure to include an end date though, like two weeks after the new hire starts or June 30 whichever comes first.
Also, depending on the environment, be prepared for the exact opposite--they ask you to leave immediately.