Leaving a Position Webster University I Career Planning & Development Center

Prepare to Leave

Update Your Resume and Records

While you have access, take note of any key data points, accomplishments, and performance reviews. It makes it easier to enhance your resume and have strong examples for interview questions.

Document any information needed for your professional development like continuing education credits for a license.

Determine information you want to review or save for your professional portfolio. Abide by any employer, industry, and legal guidelines for sensitive or proprietary information.

Understand Human Resources Policies

As you’re preparing to leave your role, know that there typically will be processes in place through Human Resources (HR). Review relevant policies before resigning and consult with HR as needed during your transition.

Health Insurance

• Converse with your HR representative to understand when any health insurance coverage will elapse.
• If you have a gap in coverage before your insurance policy at the new position will start, ask about any options to pay for extended coverage or guidance on finding alternative policies.

Retirement Benefits

• Understand the impact of leaving your employer for any retirement accounts and processes for updating, closing, or transferring those accounts as needed.

Paycheck

• Know when you will receive your final paycheck.

Vacation/Personal Time/Sick Leave

• Companies may have a policy for paying out accrued time off. Many companies will not allow your last day of work to be a vacation day so be mindful of any similar policies.

Contact Information

• Make sure your contact information on file is accurate for future communication. Your employer may need to contact you after you’ve left such as providing you with tax related documents at the end of the year.

Other Compensation

• If your decision to leave your role was not voluntary (e.g., firing, layoff, contract expiring, position being eliminated) or could be classified as constructive dismissal, learn about any other compensation options. The company may offer some kind of severance package for laid off employees or you may be eligible for some kind of unemployment benefits from your state.

Provide Notice

Most employment is “at will” in the US meaning that you can leave your position or be fired for most reasons without notice outside of discriminatory reasons.

While providing notice of your expected last day of work is not required in these instances, it is the polite and professional path to take. It allows the employer time to start the hiring process for your replacement and have a more seamless transition of work responsibilities.

Two weeks is the typical time frame provided to employers before your last day of work. For certain roles, it may be beneficial to provide a longer notice of your final day of work than the two-week period. For instance, an executive may want to remain on until a replacement has been identified or a counselor may need additional time to inform their clients and properly refer them to other counselors before leaving their role.

Note that some employment is by contract or subject to union regulations. You may need to abide by those terms and be aware of any penalties for breaking them. For instance, there may be a financial penalty or you may have a license suspended for breaking a contract.

Make sure that you have everything in order to leave when you share the news of your resignation. There are some organizations that will not accept a notice period and will cut off your access to work resources immediately after resigning. This is especially true for positions that have access to sensitive data where there is a higher liability risk.

Communicate Your Decision

When to Share

Decide when to share the news of your resignation and be mindful of your actions before sharing the news. Setting your LinkedIn profile to “open to work” and taking all of your personal items home from your office for instance may be an indication to others that you are leaving before you’ve made an official announcement.

It is often best to wait until you have your next opportunity lined up. Verbal offers may fall though for various reasons such as an issue arising from a background or reference check. Consider waiting until the job offer is officially accepted in writing and you have passed any pre-employment checks.

There’s never a good time to quit a job, but be mindful of your timing. Sharing the information with your supervisor right before they’re presenting at an important client meeting wouldn’t be ideal. You can schedule a meeting or find a time to speak with them that would allow them more time to respond.

Who to Notify

Depending on your role, there are typically a variety of individuals you will want to notify after your decision has been finalized.

• Supervisor(s)
• Human Resources
• Direct Reports
• Colleagues
• Collaborators
• Clients

Your main supervisor should be notified first in most instances. This is a sign of respect and ensures more effective communication with others. Your supervisor may have preferences for how you disseminate your news as well as details they want to work out first such as who will be taking on key aspects of your role before your replacement is hired. If you share the news with others before speaking with your supervisor, you run the risk of your supervisor finding out from gossip or having to field questions you don’t have answers for.

How to Share

It’s best to have an in-person conversation with your supervisor. That may not always be feasible though. A virtual meeting, phone call, or email can also be professional options. You want to avoid unclear or less formal methods of communication like texting, leaving a note, or simply not showing up for work.

For notifying others, you may have individual conversations, share at a meeting, or email. This can vary based on how much your resignation will impact their role, your working relationship with them, and any preferences of your supervisor.

It’s common to have an out-of-office message on your company email and voicemail with your last day of work and alternative contact for questions after news has been widely shared. This ensures that others know how they can get their question resolved even after you’ve left your position.

What to Share

Include the following in your initial conversation/resignation letter to your supervisor:

• State your notice period and expected last day of work.
• Be gracious and thank them for something such as their mentorship, support for your professional development, the opportunity to build experience in a specific area, etc.
• Any brief information you would like to include about your next role or career phase (e.g., retirement, becoming a stay-at-home parent).
• Potential time to discuss your transition more.

Individuals will inquire as to why you’re leaving and what your next role is. Decide what you want to share and the appropriate level of detail. You need to say something in response, but you don’t need to provide a exact details of your next step or share your full reasoning. It may be easier to share less company-specific reasons for leaving like an opportunity to move closer to your family or advance your career by starting a full-time graduate program.

Keep things positive and don't overshare. Though the real reason for your departure may be due to your frustration with the lack of any raises or promotions, you could simply share that your new position offers you the opportunity to gain management experience and you’re excited to take on that challenge.

Don’t burn bridges or vent all your frustrations on your way out. It is helpful to ensure you have good references from all of your positions.

Exit Interviews

An HR representative may ask to conduct an exit interview which is a chance for you to share information about your experience working at the company and your decision for leaving. This information can be used to potentially improve the workplace or identify trends among employees who are leaving.

Exit interviews are typically voluntary and you can politely decline if you wish. Be aware that your feedback may be shared in some form with others in leadership. You can ask about how your exit interview responses will be used, but it’s usually best to not take an approach of radical honesty or say anything you wouldn’t be comfortable having your name attached to.

If you have feedback to share, keep it constructive and objective. For instance, “my manager was terrible” is not a particularly helpful comment as it is both broad and subjective. Focusing on observable behaviors is a better approach like “My manager sometimes had issues regulating their emotions when upset and would yell at staff in meetings. It made for an uncomfortable working environment and took the focus off the relevant task.”

It can be most helpful to provide information about the overarching issue, specific examples, and any possible solutions such as “My manager was great at bringing in new clients and projects. I found it challenging though to balance new projects and expectations for prioritizing those without adversely impacting timelines for existing clients. When we onboarded ABC Company, it ended up causing delays and some frustration for several other clients. I think using a more comprehensive system to track existing projects would make it easier to set realistic expectations and share accurate information with new clients.”

Leaving Procedures

Projects & Responsibilities

Assess your on-going projects and responsibilities with your supervisor. Determine what you can complete before your last day of work. If work is on-going and needs to be passed on, consider when the workflow should shift, who will be taking on those responsibilities, and how that transition might look. Some supervisors and workplaces will have better succession plans in places than others. It’s ultimately up to them to make those decisions, but providing your input and advice can help smooth that transition.

Allot time to create or update documentation as needed for your role. Leave clear instructions for others about how to access important information. You may need to provide some training to others.

If you have future meetings or events on your calendar, communicate with those stakeholders and share other points of contact as appropriate.

Professional Development

For any upcoming professional development, learn about your organization’s policy and get guidance from them on the best steps to take. As an example, you might be currently enrolled in a graduate program that your employer is paying tuition for or have registered for an upcoming conference. You may have financial obligations as a result of leaving your position like reimbursing them the tuition fees or needing to take additional steps like canceling your registration so the company can receive a refund.

Technology

Follow company and IT policies regarding technology use and transition. Keep track of any changes you need to initiate for platform use and sharing critical files with other staff. As applicable, leave an out of office email and voicemail with a new point of contact in case others try to reach out to you soon after you’ve left.

If your work email is the contact for other work-related activities like a professional association membership, make sure your email is updated or your account closed as needed.

Office Property and Physical Items

Understand and follow the policies for leaving any company property with the relevant offices or contacts. For instance, you may need to turn in your keys or ID badge to the security office and return your work laptop to IT.

If you have a company purchasing card, be sure to return that, make sure existing charges are processed, and follow any other appropriate procedures.

Remove any personal items from your office.

Maintain Your Professional Reputation

Finish strong at your current position and keep your professional reputation in mind. Don’t leave your colleagues or supervisor with a poor final impression by leaving your work in disarray or refusing to assist with reasonable requests. You may have your issues with your coworkers, supervisors, or workplace culture, but still do your best to leave your work organized, provide documentation and instructions for your role, and train others as needed.

Down the road, you may want to return to your workplace in a different capacity, work with a former colleague, or have a positive reference for that position. Leaving in a positive way will leave that door open for you in the future.

When you start in a new role, don’t badmouth your previous employer or colleagues. It can start you off with a negative impression for your new colleagues. Word may get around especially if you are working in a smaller industry or in the same region.

Stay Connected

It can be helpful to maintain your network and leave lines of communication open. You never know how your paths may converge in the future, what future opportunities may come up, or how you could help former colleagues to achieve their goals. Connect with folks on LinkedIn that you worked with frequently or had a good working relationship with. You may want to share a personal email address or phone number with some contacts for future inquiries or if they’ve agreed to serve as positive references for you. Having a strong network can be essential to success in any career field.