Ah, the great resignation of 2021 and possibly 2022 as well? Well, I definitely was part of it as I quit my job and started a new role in 2021. I know resignations can be scary and hard to navigate so here are some of my tips!
Have your next steps ready
It can be tempting to just immediately quit your job , but it won’t feel as satisfying as you think it will. While I believe that your next steps don’t always have to be in the form of another job offer, I think it’s most beneficial when you have an idea of what you’ll be doing after you quit. It could be a new job, working on your hobbies, travelling or starting to work for yourself. Have some sort of plan for what you’ll be doing after you quit so that when you do, you won’t be stuck feeling “ok…so what do I do now?”
Evaluate your relationship with your manager and company
Before you hand in your resignation letter, take a moment and think about how you really feel about your company. Is it a toxic work environment where you don’t care if the bridge is severed? Or do you just hate the current situation but still want to salvage a civil relationship with them afterwards? Or are you quitting because you just found a better opportunity and still respect and like everyone at the company? Realizing how you feel about the company and what state you want to leave in will determine how you will approach your resignation.
Write your resignation letter
Now for the first actual step in quitting, your resignation letter. It doesn’t have to be complex or long, you essentially want to write and submit one for formality and a paper trail. I have a template for the one that I used which you can download here. Generally, you should include the following:
- When your last day will be
- A little bit about why you’re leaving
- A little bit about why you’ve enjoyed working at the company
Now, these are just things that I would consider to add in my resignation letter if I wanted to leave with a healthy relationship with the company. However, if you really don’t care about the relationship with the company, the only thing that is critical to include is when your last day of employment will be.
Set up a conversation with your manager
Next up, it’s time to put that conversation into motion. This ultimately comes down to what work environment you’re in and what type of relationship you have with your manager. Some people advise you to do it on a Friday afternoon so that you don’t have to worry about a negative reaction from your manager or peers. I did it on a Monday afternoon, as that’s what lined up with when I got my job offer and when I wanted my last day of employment to be. When setting up the conversation, you could plan a meeting with your manager and let them know you want to talk to them about something. I messaged my manager when she wasn’t in a meeting and asked her if she had a few minutes to chat and then called her. Or, if you have a 1:1 meeting with your manager already scheduled, you could mention it during that as well. Whichever method works best for you and your manager is up to you!
Navigate the conversation
When deciding how to start the conversation, I think it’s dependent on your personality and your relationship with your manager. One method is to rip it off like a bandaid and just tell them you’re quitting at the start. Another would be to lead into the conversation by telling them how you’ve been feeling at your job, which has lead you to quit. When preparing for the conversation, I would have in mind an answer to tell them if/when they ask about why you’re quitting. This doesn’t always have to be 100% truthful, but it should be a valid answer that matches up with what you’ll be doing next after you quit. Be prepared for a potentially negative reaction, but I think the managers that have your best interests at heart will be supportive.
Send your resignation letter to your manager and HR
After the conversation is complete with your manager, you should email or submit your resignation letter to your manager and include HR in that email. This will be your formal resignation and be your paper trail. You don’t have to include much in the email, but I would reiterate your last day of employment so it’s clear for all parties.
Be prepared for an exit interview
I know not all companies do this, but some will ask you to conduct an exit interview if you’re willing to. Now this is completely voluntary, but this would be the place to let out all of your grievances of the company and to provide some guidance if you’re interested to helping them improve. If you do decide to do an exit interview, it’s typically with HR and they say that it’s completely confidential, although they may draw some themes from it if it’s common amongst other exit interviews. You can be totally honest, since you’re quitting anyways, and they can’t penalize you for speaking negatively. However, as with anything in a company, I’d advise you to continue to keep it professional and respectful.
Continue working your last 2 weeks in good faith
Last but not least, you still have to finish up working during your notice period. I’ve heard that some jobs will shorten your remaining days at the company, but others may want to transfer as much knowledge from you to your coworkers as possible. As much as it may be exciting to leave, it’s always best to continue working as you have been before and to try to tie up loose ends, so you can leave on a good note with your employer.
Conclusion
And that’s it! You should be on your way to wrapping it up at your current job and getting excited for what’s next. I hope these tips were helpful in preparing for and executing your resignation. Let me know if any of these tips helped by emailing me, sending me a DM on Instagram, or commenting down below!
