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Once you have received written confirmation of your offer and you’ve accepted it, your next step is to resign.
Prior to resigning there are points to consider and some preparation is required:
• How much notice should you be giving? Have this clear in your mind and confirm it when you notify your manager.
• What meetings, projects, and deadlines are outstanding?- Help your manager out by preparing a detailed list of what is ongoing and outstanding.
• Write your resignation letter- State the relevant dates clearly. You do not need to state details about the position and employer in the letter. Be positive about working with the company and in the role and avoid any negative comments about why you are leaving. This letter will go on your employee file so you need to as professional as possible
• Tell your manager first as it is important he or she hears from you and not others.
• Always resign face to face, in person. Be dignified and respectful. Avoid negative assertions about your current role; instead focus briefly on your new role and company.
• Finally, you are not obliged to provide salary details or other sensitive information if asked you do not have to give the information.
• NOTE: Does your company have a policy of escorting people from the building if they have resigned to join a competitor? Bear this in mind and prepare for an immediate exit if this is the norm.
The Resignation meeting:
People normally opt to have a discreet meeting with their manager or director when resigning. With your letter and a mental note of what you will say, its time to have that chat. It is important that the resignation meeting has structure and that you have a degree of control. Without an anticipated agenda a resignation meeting can last anything from 15 minutes to 3 hours. The meeting will often be tensebut must be handled correctly and in a positive manner. It’s important to stress that your resignation is not a business or personal rejection. Moving jobs (and reasons for leaving) shouldn't be emotive so it is important to concentrate of the real issues which are normally to do with responsibility, money or location.
Once you have resigned and you are serving notice, remain positive and professional at all times. Keep to the hours and do your very best to leave on good terms!
Exit Interviews:
Your exit interview should again be constructive and positive. Leave with your reputation intact and your current colleagues may be your future contacts or colleagues later in your career.
It is always important to remember that resigning is not the big event; the new job opportunity is, and this is what you are focused on. Always consider references and re-employment - would your boss give you a genuinely good reference or recommend you for re-employment if you resigned in a negative manner? Do you want to be remembered for how you left rather than what you achieved during your years of service?
Counter offers:
28% of candidates receive a qualified counter offer from an employer they resign from - this usually means a revised salary and benefits. An additional 39% claim they receive an un-qualified counter offer, i.e. "is there anything we could do to change your mind?".
Counter offers may occur at the point of resignation or later, during the last days with the current employer. However, once an employee has written back to his/her new employer and accepted a new position elsewhere, this agreement should not be broken.
For an employer it makes good business sense to make a counter offer. It prevents having to recruit and train-up a replacement and avoids the disruption if the offer is successful. There are always time and cost implications when a person resigns.
Your manager may employ various tactics to encourage you to reject the new offer made by another company. The most common tactics employed are:
• Financial
• Future promotions
• Heightened interest in your views plus communicating a desire to address any issues
• Emphasising your value to the organisation
• Discussing doubts you may hold about leaving / moving on
• Directly or indirectly focusing on any negative aspects about future employer
(i.e., financial or anecdotal hearsay).
Sometimes your current employer will provide you with a good genuine insight; however, they might be seeking to blur your resolve to move. There are many tricks of the trade to make you feel guilty or foolhardy about seeking to move therefore, always consider your current employers vested interest. Finally, if they want you so much why didn’t they promote you, pay you more and tell you how valued you are before it came to this!
If you decide to stay, you mustconsider the following:
• Your manager will have lost some trust in you as you have been out on interview, and you tried to leave.
• The resignation was the catalyst for your buy-back, pay rise and promotion. Is that right; is staying with the company right for you and your career?
• Will the circumstances that led you to look outside have changed simply because you have accepted more money and a promotion with your current employer?
• More often than not, you will lose any opportunity to work for the organisation you were leaving to join.
• It is estimated that over 65% of these employees will leave within 12 months.
Here's a sample standard resignation letter:
Date. Your address.
Your Manager,
Company Address.
Dear _________,
I write to formally resign my position as _________ and hereby give you a months notice from today’s date as stated in my contract.
Whilst I have enjoyed working for ______________ and the experience it has provided me with, you will appreciate the opportunity to further my career has now presented itself and I therefore have made the decision to leave.
Please accept that this is my final decision.
Thank you for your help and support.
Yours sincerely,
________________
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