How to tell your boss you're leaving your graduate job for another?

Judith_W

I personally wouldn't mention the company. You never know if they get some mail addressed to 'OP's Line Manager'...

getmore4less

The one time you do consider mentioning the company is to get put on garden leave.


Don't forget they alo owe acrued but untaken holidays.
They can get you to use them in your notice if they abide by the rules.

KingJohn_2

getmore4less wrote: »

The one time you do consider mentioning the company is to get put on garden leave.


Don't forget they alo owe acrued but untaken holidays.
They can get you to use them in your notice if they abide by the rules.

Hi thanks for your reply.

What do you mean by 'get put on garden leave' if I mention the company ?

getmore4less

Garden leave is where you get paid to sit at home.

often used by companies when yo uare leaving to go to a competitor.


Resigning is always hard the first time, you will get used to it.

freshair_2

Hi,

I learnt some very good things last year when I left my previous job.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO HAVE YOUR NEW ROLE CONFIRMED IN WRITING!

1. Always go to HR/MD in person to let them know, they always appreciate this more.
2. Always state in writing very briefly that you wish to terminate employment
3. NEVER burn your bridges, the grass isn't necessarily greener on the otherside, although I was fortunate that mine is, but you may want to go back.


Because of the way I handled my resignation i.e. very professionally, I have never had any issue with my previous company and infact still hold a working relationship with them, and have a several trade association do's been sat on a table with my old company, sharing drinks etc with them.

If you remian in the same industry / area of work it can be very difficult to gain respect from other organisations if they are aware that you have not been 'nice' when leaving (have seen this happen).

More importantly the old adeage of 'its not what you know, it's who you know' is a very fine one to remember you may need those people for something at a later date.

Hope this helps, it is a very scary thing to do regardless of age, role etc and you will regardless of how you feel about your personal role feel like you are letting the company down, but better to let them down than yourself.

Good luck, and enjoy your new job :j

getmore4less

Good points above.

remember when you start out you need to think that the people you thought were not that good could well be the ones offering you jobs in 20 years time

Savvy_Sue

freshair wrote: »

1. Always go to HR/MD in person to let them know, they always appreciate this more.

Surely that depends on the organisation, and your place within it?

Sure, when I worked in organisations large enough to have a full HR dept, I would copy the letter to my manager to them (in case my manager didn't forward it promptly ...) but I would never ever have gone above my manager with my letter of resignation. And unless the MD or equivalent knows who you are, they are not going to appreciate your personal resignation ...

jfh7gwa

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

but I would never ever have gone above my manager with my letter of resignation. And unless the MD or equivalent knows who you are, they are not going to appreciate your personal resignation ...

Exactly. If I'd done this in my first graduate job, the MD would have turned around and asked me who I was exactly, and why I hadn't gone through the correct line management channels:rotfl:

I really think the OP is over-thinking this, and has a distorted view of what's expected or the norm regarding workplace attitudes towards resignations, moving on... NO company I've worked for in the last 20 years has had expectations of lifelong service! In fact my current HR dept assistant has said they count a good headhunting investment as someone who stays for 4 - 5 years with the company (that's for senior staff), for those lower down like me it's probably more like "if they stay for 2+years that's a solid work history".

Plus add into this that some industries have an even higher turnover rate for perfectly good reasons (project work, like my DH works in - like arts contracts or IT projects which generally have a defined start/end point)... OP needs to smarten up on the world of work sharpish, I think, otherwise there are some very painful lessons to be learnt over the next few years. E.g. mentioning your boss you're leaving in a few months well before your official notice period? Just takes 1 instance of when the boss turns around and finds a way to sack you in bitterness before that time to teach people a few of life's hard lessons.

KingJohn_2

jfh7gwa wrote: »

Exactly. If I'd done this in my first graduate job, the MD would have turned around and asked me who I was exactly, and why I hadn't gone through the correct line management channels:rotfl:

I really think the OP is over-thinking this, and has a distorted view of what's expected or the norm regarding workplace attitudes towards resignations, moving on... NO company I've worked for in the last 20 years has had expectations of lifelong service! In fact my current HR dept assistant has said they count a good headhunting investment as someone who stays for 4 - 5 years with the company (that's for senior staff), for those lower down like me it's probably more like "if they stay for 2+years that's a solid work history".

Plus add into this that some industries have an even higher turnover rate for perfectly good reasons (project work, like my DH works in - like arts contracts or IT projects which generally have a defined start/end point)... OP needs to smarten up on the world of work sharpish, I think, otherwise there are some very painful lessons to be learnt over the next few years. E.g. mentioning your boss you're leaving in a few months well before your official notice period? Just takes 1 instance of when the boss turns around and finds a way to sack you in bitterness before that time to teach people a few of life's hard lessons.

Thanks for the reply.

Perhaps i am over thinking it, but as has been mentioned, I want to be as professional as possible about it.. you don't know when you might have involvement with colleagues in the future. As it happens I am moving industries completely so hopefully this wont happen but in this ever shrinking world you never know.

the reason why I say my current role is a 'job for life' is just because it is made out to be that, no one leaves especially not grads, a lot of people have been here their whole careers, thats all. It just makes it feel a bit more awkward to break the news.

I suppose I will just have to man up though!

It's the first time I have resigned from a professional post on my own accord so a good experience none the less.

I asked if I should give advance notice because I wanted to ask if people thought it was a viable option- if it was the right thing to do or too risky. It seems the latter so I will just give the minimum notice.

Many thanks for your advice

KingJohn_2

Would you advise submitting my formal written notice to the central HR department before informing my line manager verbally, or vice-versa?

Thanks!