I'm Out-a-Here! A Checklist for Leaving Your Job

Changing jobs can be a real heartbreak or a true adventure.

Quitting takes guts, but it occasionally can jump-start a stagnant career. What if your employer expects you to compromise your own ethics? Perhaps you have already read the writing on the wall, as an under-qualified coworker has usurped the promotion you were expecting. How can you take your get-up-and-go and make your move?

Downsizings can be downright discouraging. If you suddenly find yourself written right out of your company's business plan, what can you do?

Whether you received a dreaded pink slip or decided to depart from your employer, a few basic principles apply.

1. If you have initiated your own departure:

Avoid the dramatic exit.

No matter how bad the boss may be, you will gain nothing from simply walking out. Whether you are resigning or retiring, you really benefit no one by making a nasty scene.

Be a professional.

Whatever your field of work may be, everyone will benefit from your exercising a certain level of personal maturity and ethics. When you do make your intended departure known, hand your employer a written letter of resignation. Put this in writing, and retain a copy for your own files and protection.

Offer a two-week's notice.

Make every effort to give your employer the standard two-weeks' notice. (Offer this in your resignation letter.) In most U.S. states, a two-week warning is not legally required, but it is an excellent idea. Although employment-at-will laws clearly indicate that such employees may be free from legal contracts or collective bargaining agreements (as with labor unions), your offer to stay for a short transitional period is a professional courtesy.

Be ready for your employer to ask you to leave immediately, but be willing to stay for a fortnight, if needed. In classified areas, or positions dealing with extremely sensitive information, resigning employees may be escorted directly to their workstations to clear out personal belongings before departing the premises.

Know your obligations.

Check your company's employee or policy manual. The human resources department can probably provide you with a copy, or you may be able to access it through the organization's web-site.

Do your homework, and determine whether you are bound by a non-compete contract, particularly if you hope to carry sales contacts, clients, or other information with you when you go.

Consider your co-workers.

Try to finish any ongoing projects or outstanding assignments before you leave. Don't leave your colleagues with a mess you made!

Offer to assist with the transfer of tasks, from you to your replacement or successor.

Take the time to walk your fellow workers through any unfinished business, if they will be required to complete it after your departure. Document everything carefully, for their clarification and for your own protection.

Don't burn any bridges!

Your considerate treatment of your boss and department may come in handy later, when you seek a job or character reference. Positive contacts for job references are valuable commodities!

Be assured that any potential employer will contact your supervisors from past positions before offering you a job.

Exit interviews are worthwhile.

Human resources or personnel department staff can clue you in about transferal of benefits, retirement accounts, and other important details.

Follow up with legal assistance, if you were treated unfairly or illegally.

It is best to refrain from handling this on your own. An attorney can protect your interests and your reputation, particularly if you gather evidence quietly and carefully before leaving. (The element of surprise can be a determining factor in legal proceedings.)

2. If you have been downsized, fired, or otherwise terminated:

Accept the company's decision, and begin to move on with your career.

Avoid damaging or stealing company property, just because you may think they deserve it. Keep your temper to yourself, and protect your own reputation.

Know your rights.

Employers are free to terminate workers, so long as their doing so does not breach anyone's employment contracts. Your employer is certainly required to pay you for any accrued vacation days and other earned benefits.

Be prepared.

Pursue any and all job leads, referrals, and employment assistance the company may provide. During large-scale downsizings, many companies will offer outplacement services for terminated employees.

Call out your assets.

Compile your resume, collect samples of your work, and update your contact files before you leave. Keep copies of personnel reviews as well, if possible. Go out with your job-seeking arsenal fully loaded!

Don't be afraid to ask for a reference.

Decide to ask your employer for a pre-written letter before you leave. (This will ensure that you know, ahead of time, what your boss has to say about you.)

Exercise your creativity, as you seek a new position.

Post your qualifications on online employment bulletin boards. Check newspaper ads religiously. Contact anyone who may have a lead for you.

File your pride.

Don't be shy about this. After all, it's your career. Remember, in job hunting, you have to be your own advertising agency! You can get out there and promote yourself for a higher position, if you want it!

3. Here's my story:

Fresh out of graduate school, after six months on the job, I was downsized. Within two months, before I had even spent my accrued vacation time, I was working for a Fortune 100 company for twice the pay. How did this happen? How can you make this happen for yourself?

The day my department head called me into his office and sheepishly explained that my position was being eliminated, I marched downstairs and asked the chairman's administrative assistant for an appointment with him. Politely, I asked him for a professional letter of reference. (I had written speeches and other items for him, so we were acquainted.) He readily agreed and offered to have the president and senior vice president write letters for me as well.

I was working for a wannabee, a total wienie, so I didn't even bother to ask my immediate supervisor for a letter. In other circumstances, I might have done so.

I quickly became an over-achiever at job-hunting. Daily, I compiled lists of target employers. I drafted cover letters and included copies of my resume and my reference letters. (This had nothing to do with classified ads of public job postings. I simply selected certain companies and went after them.) Weekly, I telephoned those to whom I had written. Many of them were not hiring. (It just takes one!)

After a few weeks, the call came. Two weeks, three interviews, and one employee physical exam after that, and I was hired. Truly, my earned vacation days from my previous employer were not yet used, so I actually earned double-pay for my first two weeks on the job!

Of course, the job market fluctuates. Certain professions may have more openings than others. However, persistence, research, and creativity may help you to land a job that far outweighs the one you lost!