What is the best way to quit your job? Any advice?

[66 Sat]

I saw this years ago. I tell a lot of people about it and follow it myself.

 

[1STMP]

Letter of resignation.
"I hereby tender my resignation. My
Last day will be (two weeks from date
of letter).
Respectfully, (so and so).
You owe them nothing more.
Short, sweet, and simple.

 

[Ron H]

saw this years ago

That column has much great advice; but will give some debate to #5. When co-workers get laid off and those still remaining are ‘coached’ to pull together to keep things going to do the work they did to keep the company running, so as to maybe avoid more lay-offs, that’s a difficult predicament. At least some learning curve to figure out what still can and can’t be done, or innovation to handle it.

Meanwhile it was a bitch. Da boss wasn’t about to offer help on what work can’t be accomplished cuz he still wanted it ALL done.

 

[66 Sat]

I agree 100% Ron. Staying late is fine if it's short term to meet a deadline but not if it's the norm.

Also, some people stay late because they are  scared to be the first to leave. They're all looking around waiting to see who will go first, then after someone leaves they all start going within the next 5 minutes.
That's bullshit. If your boss will sack you for leaving on time then he's a dick.
I've always walked out boldly right on time, confident I've worked hard during my shift.

 

[Runcharger]

I've stayed late lots of times. When I agree with a company I'm going to do a job I'm g.d. well going to do it. I'm not out to impress anybody however I have enough respect for myself to keep my word and walk around with dignity and self respect. If I think I am being taken advantage of then I will talk about it with my boss and then decide to stay or not. There's too many pussies in the workforce these days that have no work ethic and don't have the nuts to stick with something until it is done.

 

[beanhead]

I probably alluded to it in an earlier post, but.....
Unless you really think you'll need to go back someday?? Do what you gotta do. Tell them "I'm leaving" and that's it. Maybe a day's notice. Pack your **** and get on.
The "2-week notice" thing is spineless 1960s 'worker bee' thinking.
And, it's been my experience that if you were that valuable of an employee to begin with they'll take you back even if you left under "less than ideal" conditions.

Again, if they were given the directive to let YOU go, they wouldn't give you an ounce of warning....even if you'd just uprooted your family to a new town, new schools, etc.
"Sorry to have to tell you, but...."


...."It's not personal Sonny, it's strictly business..."
That's the "code" businesses use toward employees, IMO you're a sucker if you don't abide by it as well.

 

[Ron H]

boss will sack you for leaving on time then he's a dick

Longer story given some of my crap experiences I’ve posted about. But there’s no shortage of **** bosses. One of them (long former) being on my despised list, was a great kisser of ***. Should have won an award. His answer to any problems was to call a branch meeting. Well, all those 70 people’s jobs were addressing claims, litigation, and field engineering services (was manager of the latter). Some of them lived 2+ hours away as they only had to come in once a week for Monday meetings. Would have to call these people out in the field to come in, cancelling their calls.

He’d have these meetings and accomplish NOTHING. Half the time employees didn’t understand the agenda. Some would come to me post-meeting asking wtf did it require a meeting? I figured it was about his reassurance of being the head guy to assemble everyone at his will and HIS idea of doing something. Bunch of these people were mothers with small kids, school pickups, etc. Then da f-wad would do it again while I’d get more pissed saying what’s the agenda, the reason? Just include it in next Monday’s branch meeting. Most were smart enough to leave work when their day was up; but some would stay late to try to get some work done due to time lost for meeting. Yeah, some were nervous thinking they should stay, not getting to their schedule. I’d tell them go home, this isn’t your hassle, it is someone else trying to make their problem your problem.

 

[Wojo68]

Give the boss your two week notice. If he asks why tell him. The first guy sounds like an intolerable douchebag that needs his pants punched in. The second guy is a tinfoil hat wearing retard. He asked.

 

[Black_Sheep]

Letter of resignation.
"I hereby tender my resignation. My
Last day will be (two weeks from date
of letter).
Respectfully, (so and so).
You owe them nothing more.
Short, sweet, and simple.

This, keep it simple. When you do give notice, be prepared to be immediately escorted off the premises...

 

[biomedtechguy]

I just saw this thread and finished page 1, and I'll just throw this out because it's at the forefront of my thoughts.
Before I get to it, good advice on page one.
Give notice, keep the whole process simple.
Ok, so I worked as an "intern" for GE Healthcare right out of Trade School where I got my AAS biomed tech degree. I wanted to go to work with the man and his company that I had done a few hours a week work for while I was in school, as part of my degree qualifications I had to find an internship in the field. As it turned out, I was able to work for him AFTER I got fired or "not invited to go to regular employment status" with GE once my 6 months "trial" as an intern ran out.
Ok..here's the good part, I only wish I could have executed my plan:
Most of the people I worked with at GE were backstabbing cowards, with no relationship skills. Their only concern was climbing the corporate ladder, and they would use the daggers they buried in backs as the rungs. These corporate WHORES would prostitute their mothers to get a promotion.
There was this one guy in particular, he looked 15 years older than he was, and smoked like a broken down Ford. He was eavesdropping on a call I was on with my wife, talking about a property in Florida we had seen. We were driving from Louisiana to Florida every few weekends to house hunt, as we intended to move there, on either the Crystal River or Homosassa River so we could go scuba diving with the manatees, boat, and fish, and all the other things to do in that beautiful area of still free America.
Anyway, this RAT TURD couldn't wait to run tell my big boss about me intending to move, even though I specifically asked him NOT TO, and although I had intended to ask about a position in the area in Florida we were moving to.
I wanted to use silicone (so it could easily be removed w/out damage) and attach a toy stuffed RAT to his workbench on my last day! I didn't really need a referral from GE as I was going to work with the owner and his business that I had done part time work for in school. The ONLY reason why I didn't get my RAT attachment done is because they let me go too suddenly to have the rat toy with me that day.
It turned out GREAT for me because after 3 years with the privately owned company, I had learned enough to start my own 1 man business. That was 8 years ago and I'm still in business.

 

[moparedtn]

Interesting topic, don't recall seeing this thread before - and like anyone else my age, I got stories too.
Suffice to say, I've worked for corporations and I've worked for new, mom-pop companies too.
I've built service departments over and over again and left all of them prosperous - but I
needed to leave each time nonetheless.
I've held every position possible in my field - and stepped up for the additional chores as needs
arose, usually without additional compensation (or even gratitude most of the time).
It's just the way I'm built - I got one gear, apparently.
I was the workaholic who got all into the "team" rah rah bullshit and put what turned into
way too much effort into whatever the gig was - only to be shafted in the end, every damn time.

What's the old saying? "Unless you're the lead dog, the view never changes". True Dat.

This last gig I just left was a perfect example of three+ years of my taking on whatever needed
doing in addition to my own duties, because it needed doing (and because of a messed up, 70+
year old company still run by self-important heirs/family members of the founder).
In the end, zero respect, zero raises or reviews and a whole lot of employees mired in malaise,
so when another company came calling with big salary increases (and people I know) -
well, my burned-out arse needed to get off the merry go round anyways, so....

Gave them a nicely worded two week notice, which they promptly declined and made it "instant".
Not unexpected, but disappointing - I needed to show the next person the ropes, responsibly.
In a "right to work" state like TN, they can do that apparently.
I've heard from a couple folks there since; the vast majority, including all those who benefitted from
my efforts, remained silent even in the end.
Fluck 'em.
Wife reminds me it was a paycheck, so there's that I guess....just not terribly satisfying.

The new gig? First day is today and you're damn right I'm nervous as hell.
My experience is that of abusive corporations, after all. I'm hopeful of better this time - but I ain't
all bright-eyed and bushy tailed this time, either.
They'll get an honest effort......until they've warranted more from me.

 

[biomedtechguy]

It's unfortunate to hear about the backstabbing corporate culture you encountered, but it's inspiring to see how you turned things around for yourself.

Thank you.
This is the second one man business I have built, the former being Audio/Video and Home Theater, low voltage wiring, and so on. From 2003 to around the end of 2009. After my first year, Katrina hit, and although I was doing OK in that first year, the damage caused by Katrina turned into amazing widespread opportunities for people to get wiring done in their homes that already needed sheetrock replaced, and new flat-screen TVs, surround sound systems, and so on.
I was so busy I did hire people to work with me on a job by job basis, and I imagine I could have expanded my business, but I prefer to be hands on, and I had two of the Theater Rooms I did (one was mine) PUBLISHED in a magazine that featured 4 rooms in total. My parents had the article on my room matted and framed, and it's hanging on the wall in my current Theater Room, which I believe is even nicer than the one in the magazine.

 

[patrick66]

I had my own trailer business while I was still on active duty, and kept that going after my military retirement began. I sold car haulers, utility trailers, and specialty rigs for a total of seven years. Until a big-*** tornado blew that all up! I've been employed continuously from the time I started a seed sales business at age 13, then car-detailing, then a ton of other things during my teen years, figuring out where in life I was going to go. Work, work, work until the present.

I like my job. Had it this go-around for almost 10 years; nearly 13 with the company, total. I'm ready to retire. No real chance for promoting out of what I do. I don't want to work until I'm dead in a cube. After my Alaska cruise back in May, and my class reunion in Colorado in July, I've decided there is life outside this building and, well, it's time. And in the Spring sometime, I will do just that. I might start a business with my sons to keep busy and have that side-gig going, but working full-time for someone else will end soon.

I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Dave6T4]

Best of luck, Ed, with your new job. Not all employers are turds, but they are driven by the necessity to turn a profit. I have had the luxury of being retired for the past 11 1/2 years, and with the social and economic changes in that span of time, am glad I am no longer on the hamster wheel.
My working career was spent in three different automotive factories in a Q.C. environment. After 10 years as a supervisor in the first two plants, I had the opportunity to return to an hourly job similar to the one I started out with at my first employer. I never really enjoyed the supervisory role. This job entailed the set up, calibration, and maintenance of all the production gauging used to measure the powdered metal parts the factory produced for the automotive industry. Another facet of the job was the measurement of tooling to specifications that was required to make the parts in large tonnage production presses. These tools were made by an in-house toolroom and local tool shops. This measurement was all done in a climate controlled lab, using a coordinate measurement machine (CMM), and other measurement devices. As skilled tradesmen, my co-worker and I were paid the same rate as toolmakers, electricians, millwrights, etc. The absolute beauty of this job was that our successive supervisors never really understood what our jobs entailed, and more or less let us set our priorities to keep the production floor happy. We both knew we had the best jobs in the factory and worked hard to maintain them. I stayed there 26 years before retirement, and no two days were ever the same. I made some good friends there, interacting with all aspects of the factory.

 

[biomedtechguy]

We both knew we had the best jobs in the factory and worked hard to maintain them. I stayed there 26 years before retirement, and no two days were ever the same. I made some good friends there, interacting with all aspects of the factory.

THAT sounds like how I feel about the most fundamental, important aspect of ANY work you do, UNLESS you have other people, especially children, who rely on your income to make pivotal progress in THEIR lives, like private school vs government school enrollment.
Do you dread going to work or do you find satisfaction in what you do, beyond what you get paid and benefits.
The exception I will make is that I found myself financially vulnerable to the emotional whims of my wife, and THAT forced the sale of my Roadrunner. That is a situation I never thought I would be in, because I would have made other choices if I had known.

 

[Dave6T4]

As a supervisor, I got to dread going to work, and dealing with up to 30 employees and their problems, a well as production deadlines. When I returned to an hourly position with my new job, all that pressure went away. I am not saying it was all roses every day; we went through a few buy-outs and name changes when the economy was in a slump. I saw a lot of managers and salaried people go over the years; some for the good, and some for the bad. I was laid off my skilled trades job for a year, and worked on the production floor for 6 months of that, back in 2008. I regained my skilled trades job through the union grievance procedure, with a new-found appreciation of what the production people had to deal with. That experience made me appreciate my Q.C. job even more.
As part of my job, I worked with Engineering to design better gauges that were easier and more accurate for the production operators to use. I strived for timely and lasting repairs to gauging when required. Most days I went home satisfied that I had made it easier for someone else to do their job.
Through all this, with my wife's help from her job at the city library, I managed to hang into my 4 old Mopars, and we put our two kids through college/universary. We built a new house 20 years ago and managed to pay it off before we each retired. Life is good, but it took some sacrifice, teamwork, and management.

 

[GetX'd]

My lone piece of generic job advice:
Don't kill yourself for the corporation - they probably won't even send flowers to your funeral.

I hadnt seen this thread either until now. Sooooo much already said and much of it good advice. I could give you quite a few good stories all shut I went thru in my 35 yrs in corporate sales in the insurance industry - but you’ve already gotten plenty from others. So instead I have one kind of funny story that pretty much lines up with your dilemma.

In the five years post high school and before I discovered college was the only way I was going achieve

Sorry Wi-Fi connection went south at the end of my funny story - not going to rewrite all that I had earlier stayed - too much but you missed a good one!

 

[Dave6T4]

I hadnt seen this thread either until now. Sooooo much already said and much of it good advice. I could give you quite a few good stories all shut I went thru in my 35 yrs in corporate sales in the insurance industry - but you’ve already gotten plenty from others. So instead I have one kind of funny story that pretty much lines up with your dilemma.

In the five years post high school and before I discovered college was the only way I was going achieve

Sorry Wi-Fi connection went south at the end of my funny story - not going to rewrite all that I had earlier stayed - too much but you missed a good one!

I was going to laugh, but my sense of humour went haywire.

 

[1STMP]

I hadnt seen this thread either until now. Sooooo much already said and much of it good advice. I could give you quite a few good stories all shut I went thru in my 35 yrs in corporate sales in the insurance industry - but you’ve already gotten plenty from others. So instead I have one kind of funny story that pretty much lines up with your dilemma.

In the five years post high school and before I discovered college was the only way I was going achieve

Sorry Wi-Fi connection went south at the end of my funny story - not going to rewrite all that I had earlier stayed - too much but you missed a good one!

We'll be happy to accept a
raincheck....

 

[Ron H]

Met with an old work friend today; haven’t him seen in two-years since attending his wife’s funeral. We keep in contact every few months via email. He usually will email when another one or three of the people we worked with pass away. He had been with the company much longer than I was back in the 80’s and is a member of the old employee’s club I didn't join. The then 100-year-old machine tool company was sold into oblivion in the early 90’s. We were recalling our time there. Lol, just about NOTHING I could recollect was good, more like a 5-year nightmare. And the long list of people who have passed that I had occasions to work with or encounter? Bunch of them were crappy to work with, a few were downright ********. Kind of the nature of the beast with the position I had, so there is that. If I had a do-over, I’d have taken the other job offer I got before selecting going with that company. On the other hand, the experience was beneficial…more like carving out a learning curve for my following 30 years to retiring.