Profession Comm. 7

Unit VII

Lesson 4: Leaving Your Job

Introduction

There are many reasons why one might decide to terminate employment with a company. For

some, personal problems might suddenly require their full attention. Others might be offered a

job with another company which will pay a higher salary or offer a promotion to a position with

great potential for the future. On the other hand, an employee might dislike the treatment

received by a supervisor or coworker. There are always multiple reasons why someone might

make the decision to leave his or her current employment.

Writing a Letter of Resignation

Once it is decided to leave a current employer, one should always submit a letter of resignation.

This necessary step helps an employee leave the current employment with a good impression.

This professional closure is important since the next organization where the employee will be

seeking employment will call the previous employer for a recommendation or to inquire about

the circumstances of the previous separation. Always send a letter of resignation at least two

weeks prior to the date projected as the official date of separation.

Always thank your employer for the opportunities you were provided and the experiences you

gained with the organization. It is also a good idea to highlight the experiences you gained and

all that you learned during your time with the company. This is also a good place to offer to help

with any transition that will occur as a result of your leaving—if appropriate. As with all written

communications, proofread your resignation letter very carefully, ensuring there are no spelling

or grammatical errors or a tone that might be misinterpreted.

There are several things that should never be included in a letter of resignation, but they can

mostly all be boiled down to two points:

 First, never make complaints or say anything negative about a supervisor, coworkers, or subordinates.

 Second, do not say you are leaving because you are looking for a better salary. If you are discontented with your salary, you should discuss the issue with your supervisor privately

before considering tendering a resignation over the issue.

Exit Interviews

Some organizations conduct exit interviews when employees resign. Sometimes exit interviews

are conducted by someone from the human resources department who will ask for feedback

about your job and interactions with others in the organization. Some exit interviews are done

through surveys or over the phone while others will allow you to submit feedback online.

Typical questions in such exit surveys include the reason or reasons for the resignation and if

there was anything you really liked about working for the company. You could also be asked if

there is anything in particular about the position that precipitated your resignation, how you felt

about your supervisor, and if you have any ideas for improvement relative to your position or the

work you were performing.

Conducting Exit Interviews

If you are the person holding the exit interview, you get an opportunity to speak frankly with the

employee who is leaving the organization. Use such an opportunity to examine how employees

view the organization, positively or negatively. The information you acquire might be used to

help management provide employees with an environment which they will not want to leave.

Make the employee feel comfortable sharing his or her views. Assure the employee that his or

her feedback will be used by management only to make the work environment a better place for

the employees who still work there.

In any event, and in every organization, resignations take place. Regardless of which side you are

on, that is the one leaving or remaining, the process must be handled with the knowledge that the

future of the current business and departing employee will potentially be affected by how the

separation is handled. If both sides do their part professionally and with an eye toward the future,

then both parties can gain and learn from the experience.

Check for Understanding

(Answer Key found after these questions.)

1. What do you need to know about a letter of resignation? a) A letter of resignation is optional. b) A letter of resignation is always necessary, no matter what the circumstances of your

leaving a job.

2. What is one thing you want to be certain to do in a letter of resignation? a) Give complete details of the problems with the company and or the people with

whom you struggled.

b) Thank the employer for the learning opportunities provided while you worked there.

3. When should your letter of resignation be submitted? a) You should hand in the letter when you tell your supervisor that you are leaving. b) The letter of resignation is traditionally submitted two weeks before the last date of

full employment.

4. What is the broad purpose of an exit interview when employees leave a company? a) To attempt to determine if there are problems that might need addressing in order to

prevent more workers leaving

b) To attempt to make the resigning employee happy about the changes he or she is going through

5. In an exit interview, why would you not mention salary as a reason for leaving?

a) Human resources does not have the power to discuss salary, so the effort would be wasted.

b) Anyone leaving for reasons of salary either would have or should have discussed the matter prior to reaching the point of leaving.

Answer Key

1. B - Because your resume will have to list a former employer, parting from that employer on good terms is very helpful when you are trying to get another job.

No matter what the circumstances of separation are, a letter of resignation on your

part is always best.

2. B - Always, regardless of the circumstances, thank the employer for the learning opportunities you were able to experience while you worked for the company.

You never want to put in a letter of resignation anything negative about the

company or any and all of the employees.

3. B - The employer should have a resignation letter in hand a minimum of 14 4. days before the employee’s final day of work. 5. A - A company is very interested in finding out why employees are leaving.

Recruiting and training are expensive, and if too many employees are leaving,

sometimes, there is a very good reason the company needs to look into.

6. B - In most cases, an employee should approach his or her immediate supervisor with the possibility of a salary increase or the possibility of leaving otherwise. By

the time an exit interview occurs, the possibility no longer exists.