Contents

Carefully consider your options before making up your mind

The Written Resignation - The Letter

The Counter Offer

Leave on the right note

How to Resign

Like all things in life there is a right and wrong way of resigning from your job. Doing it the wrong way can lead to bad feelings between you and present your employer, recriminations or even a bad reference. On the other hand, the correct resignation etiquette will contribute to continued success in both your personal and career development.

Make sure that you understand what you are doing, be prepared for eventualities, be positive and good luck!

Carefully consider your options before making up your mind

Make a list of reasons of why you are leaving they may include the following:

• You have pursued all avenues for advancement within your current company.
• I have been offered more money (not always a good reason - see below) or a promotion.
• I will be better off in my new job - because of location, career and personal development are normally the main factors. Extra money of course is always nice but do not let it blur your thoughts; we have seen many a candidate take a job only for other factors - such a travelling - suddenly becoming a big issue after 6 months of traffic jams - we are most definatley not saying money is not important but it should only be a factor like all the other reasons.
• Have you talked to your family. Do they think you are making the right decision based on your answers above
• What does your heart say?
• What does your head say?

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The Written Resignation - The Letter

A written letter of resignation always gives you more time to prepare what you want to say and gives you greater control of your message. Use this opportunity constructively.

In its simplest form, a resignation letter should only include the following information:

• date
• the person it is addressed
• notice of termination of employment
• when this is effective from and finally, your signature.

We have a number of letter templates in various formats depending on your circumstances which will give you an ideas for your letter.

If you're leaving in good circumstances and feel that you want to say a little bit more, again, emphasise the positive – perhaps thank the boss for the opportunities he/she gave you - you never know when you may need your ex-employer to vouch for you or to give you a reference. We say more about having the last word in another article

If however, you're leaving in strained or bad circumstances, resist the temptation to badmouth and let off steam, either in the letter or when you hand it in.

Please don’t get personal; just because you are now leaving, a written letter of resignation is not the vehicle with which to tell your manager what you really think of them or the company.  It is not polite to include personal remarks in a resignation letter. If you genuinely have differences of opinion with your manager or company, save the communication of them for another time and place. Never commit these thoughts to paper – your comments will remain in your personnel file and may come back to haunt you.

Work out what you're going to say when you hand in your resignation lettern and then stick to it. Your Manager may well try and probe you for more information – details that you may not want to give at this stage. Please don’t be obstructive but simply make it clear that you are submitting your resignation.

Will your resignation be a suprise to your manager or is it expected? If your decision come's as a surprise your manager may get emotional or even confrontational in which case, stick to your prepared comments.

Retain your composure, your manager may by now no longer see you as a team player and may even feel betrayed. Once again, stick to your pre-prepared comments and try not to rise to any challenge that they may throw at you. Speak in measured tones and regulate your breathing.

Try and leave the meeting on a good note and be as co-operative as possible. Stress that you will undertake the handover of any uncompleted work to the best of your ability. People remember both the first and last impression you make on them.

The Counter-Offer

In today's competitive market, you will more than likely receive a counter-offer. While counter-offers may be tempting and even flattering, there can be pitfalls that you need to be aware of. Ask yourself these questions:

• Will your loyalty always be in question?
• If there are future cutbacks, will you be the first to go because of concerns about your loyalty?
• If you accept the counter-offer for more money, are you just giving your employer the time they need to locate and select your replacement?
• Will your career track remain blocked if you accept it?
• Will your responsibilities be expanded?
• Will you have to report to a person you don't respect?
• Will you receive next year's raise or bonus early?
• Is the counter-offer a ploy to avoid a short-term inconvenience by your employer?
• What are your realistic chances for promotions now that you have considered leaving?
• Are you pricing yourself out of the market if you decide to leave in the near furture after all?
• Why did you take the decision to resign in the first place and have these factors been effectively addressed?

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Leave on the Right note

Make sure that you’ve given ample notice to the firm of your intention to leave. Your notice period should be stated in your contract of employment or in the Company handbook. Where no period of notice is stipulated, you should allow between 2 and 4 weeks for any handover of work to take place.

Make sure that you’ve completed - where possible - any outstanding tasks; participe actively in the smooth handover of any unfinished work.

Ensure that your manager knows that you’ve actively participated in this process; that you have been as co-operative as possible throughout your notice period.

Take time out to speak to all of your colleagues and associates. Give them support, making positive comments about their contribution to your time at the company. Try to remain in touch because again, you never know when they’ll be useful to your personal and career development in the future.

Negotiate a fair settlement for any outstanding salary, holiday entitlement and commission/bonus payments that may be due to you.

Counter Offer Statistics

According to national surveys of employees that accept counter-offers, 50-80 percent voluntarily leave their employer within six months of accepting the counter-offer because of promises not kept. The majority of the balance of employees that accept counter-offers involuntarily leave their current employers within twelve months of accepting the counter-offer (terminated, fired, laid off, etc.).

As attractive as counter-offers may appear, they can greatly decrease your chances of achieving your career potential.

Your thoughts and comments on the service provided by Elite Selection Services are highly valued by us, please take the time to send us your comments via info@eliteselectionservices.co.uk

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