how to give notice? [Archive] - RonFez.net Messageboard

Arienette

05-29-2002, 07:33 AM

hi hk... i will be quitting my job in the next month or so, and i've started thinking about giving notice and all. i have heard that 2 weeks is the customary courtesy, and i am willing to give them that (although not any longer, even though i could... there are some bad feelings that compel me not to give them any more than i am really required to). is 2 weeks still the norm?

in addition, how does one go about giving notice, exactly? i have never left a job before (except for going back to school, and that was easy), and i'm not really sure how this goes. do i just go into my manager's office and tell her? do i send an email? write a letter?

lastly, is it wrong or strange to not tell them what i am leaving for? i know that they will ask where i am headed, and i would rather not tell them - i am going back to school (law school, as you know) and i think that if i tell them that, they will feel that i am leaving solely because i want to go to school and then it will be easy for them to imagine that they are doing a wonderful job of running the office and are treating their employees well... which they are not. i want them to realize that i am leaving partially because they are terrible managers and are completely incompetent. so, is there a graceful way of handling this, or should i just suck it up and be glad i'm getting out?

sorry for asking so much.. i appreciate any advice you have. thanks!

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Poison Ivy

05-29-2002, 07:41 AM

Arienette...if I were you I'd just
leave as amicabally as posible.
You never know what' going to
happen in the future and you
may need them to give you a
reccomendation or something.
Whatever problems are going on
with management isn't your
problem anymore. Just leave it
behind and move on. Let those
left behind deal with it.
Eventually the people involved
will get theirs. Besides you
probably wouldn't accomplish
much anyway if you said
something. They'd just think it
was just you and go about their
business as usual. About 2 years
ago I worked for a production
company and they hired this
awful Vice President of
operations. He treated the staff
like shit, he was sneaky and did
things behind the president's
back. He was condesending and
cruel....they're almost out of
business now...:p What goes
arund comes around. Remember
that.

Good luck in law school Ari :)

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Supervixen

05-29-2002, 08:04 AM

I had a job like that. I was there for a year and a half and there were PLENTY of bad feelings. I had no respect for anyone who worked above me, so what I did (this may not be the best advice) but I told them I was leaving for an internship and told them I wasn't sure of the date but I'd let them know as soon as I found out. I kept them wondering for about a month and then one day I was just like "They called me this morning, they need me to start today, so here's my smock- could I have my check please"

It was satisfaction because it was a busy saturday and they needed me there.

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wilee

05-29-2002, 08:30 AM

Ivy's right. Do this as amicable as possible.

While you may not like how they run things, you should resist the urge to say it to them. You may end up working with them in the future (I had this happen once), or someone from that company may end up working with you at a new job.

If they have the problems that you talk about, let other people point it out to them. It keeps you in the clear. A good saying: "Be careful of the toes you step on, on your way up. They may be connected to the butts you have to kiss on the way down."

Good luck in Law School.

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Arienette

05-29-2002, 08:50 AM

while i understand your positions, ivy and wilee, this really shoudlnt be an issue for me. i am completely changing careers, have all my recommendations, applications, and resume in order, and just have no need for them at all. that said, your advice still might be the right way to go... i just feel like after 2 and a half years of this crap, i want them to know how badly they suck. but i guess giving only 2 weeks notice when it is obvious that i could have told them months in advance is a slap in the face on its own. and i also get the opportunity to say what i really think at the exit interview...

supervixen - you're my new hero... that is exaclty the kind of thing i would love to do, but never would

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DarkHippie

05-29-2002, 08:58 AM

don't burn your bridges before you cross them

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AppleBoy

05-29-2002, 08:58 AM

Find out the name of the person that you're supposed to give notice to and send them a letter indicating your last day on the job. If you know the person that you're supposed to give notice to, a little personal interaction wouldn't hurt either.

I forgot - also notify your immediate supervisor and copy them on the letter if they're not the person that the letter is addressed to. A little person-to person chat here is esepcially beneficial.

This message was edited by powerdump5000 on 5-29-02 @ 1:17 PM

Poison Ivy

05-29-2002, 09:02 AM

I know how you feel Arienette.
I've been there too but I just let
it go. Some things just aren't
worth it. And while I probably
would have LOVED to do
something like Anna did I just
wouldn't bother aggrevating
myself to the point where I'd feel
the need to act out like that. In
theory it's awesome, in reality it's
just petty. (However if you feel
that strongly about it and it made
you feel better to do it then
BRAVO Anna...I'm not saying you
were wrong, it's just something
that personally I wouldn't feel
right doing) Besides you NEVER
know.....it could somehow come
back to bite you in the ass one
day. Stranger things have
happened....

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HordeKing1

05-29-2002, 01:18 PM

As tempting as it may be to give them a piece of your mind, it's just not worth it. The small temporary gratification that you get could end up costing you in the long run.

Your criticisms will mean little or nothing to the people who work there. There is just no changing some people.

You're far better off, putting the work experience on the side as something to look back upon as the "good old days" when putting in 70 hours at the law firm. :)

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AppleBoy

05-29-2002, 01:37 PM

OK, now that I've gone back and read the entire question, here's how I would handle or have handled some of the things that I didn't address earlier. 
I have always given the minimum two weeks notice in the past even though I could have given more. Things change (although I know they won't in your case) but waiting until the final two weeks is always easier than retracting a letter or resignation several times (although if you hate your employer, it might be fun, but not recommended, to jerk them around a bit). 
Most of my former employers have only wanted to know when they need to find a new employee, not why I was leaving. If I felt I needed to give a reason, I have kept it to a minimum. I left one summer job about 2/3 of the way through the summer and just told the guy that I didn't feel like working there anymore, not that I thought they were a bunch of douche bags that treated their employees like shit. Just as well because I couldn't get a job next summer and wound up asking for my old job back (grinding my teeth the entire time). 
If you want to criticize during the exit interview, you should employ tact and do it in a constructive manner. Like it or not, these people will be your last employers until you get a new job and you will probably have to list them as references until you establish yourself in your new career so you really don't want to burn bridges, as other people have mentioned.

sunndoggy8

05-29-2002, 02:33 PM

Well first off, you have to go tell them in person. Writing a letter or sending am email when you work at the place is pretty unprofessional and lame, so suck it up and tell them that you're leaving your job, at LEAST 2 WEEKS in advance. You have to give them time to at least prepare for you to leave.

My problem is with people who say they get so much satisfaction by screwing over the company by telling them last minute. If it's a blowoff min. wage job then who cares, but for normal jobs, if you feel like they deserve it or that you just want to fuck them over, then why did you continue working there in the first place?

Leaving with some professionalism is always better than just fucking over a company, because as was said, who knows when you might have to encounter that person or employer again either in another occupation or in life. Leaving on good terms is always better than trying to tell them off your last day by saying adios. It's just too petty to do something like that.

And you never really have to give a reason even if they ask, but you telling them that you're going back to school is probably the best way to go. If you say you're leaving cause you hated the office/job or whatever, then you're going to be leaving on bad terms, because they're going to take it personally.

Getting the final word in about their terrible office is only going to satisfy you, because it's doubtful they're going to change how they are based on an employee whose leaving's opinion, especially when it's going to be interpreted as you telling them off, whehter you want it to sound that way or not.

If the way they ran the office sucked so bad, you should probably have mentioned it sooner than just before you left. And if you did do that, then who cares...it'll catch up with them eventually, and fighting a little battle like that for spite won't really solve anything. Some battles just aren't worth starting and fighting, because it's just causing un-necesary drama, and it'll come back to haunt you...stuff like that always does.

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Arienette

05-29-2002, 03:53 PM

i think people might have misunderstood the meaning of my initial post. i never intended to say that i wanted to or was considering telling anyone off or anythign like that. i just meant that i didn't necessarily like the idea of them inferring that i was leaving only bc i wanted to go to school and for no other reason. it doesnt mean leaving on bad terms, but going to another company or something like that says that something a bit more "personal" (as far as the company is concerned) might be fueling your decision to leave.

but i think everyone's right and i'll just do my thing, leave gracefully, and be so so happy that i'm out of that place. thanks all

http://members.aol.com/deviantari/myhomepage/arienette.gif?mtbrand=AOL_US
worshiping the dancing rooster... thanks for the sig

i dream to heal your wounds, but i bleed myself

HordeKing1

05-29-2002, 05:12 PM

I didn't address the issue of notice. Two weeks is standard and if possible you should stick to that.

Of course, there are companies that want you out as soon as you give notice.

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sexy bastard

05-29-2002, 11:10 PM

two weeks is good, if you liekd them i would do three weeks...but two weeks is the norm

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Gvac

05-30-2002, 02:47 AM

I just give 'em the old "Sayanora Shitheads" and walk out.

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Supervixen

05-30-2002, 11:09 AM

supervixen - you're my new hero... that is exaclty the kind of thing i would love to do, but never would

If I had a nickel for everytime somebody- nevermind lol ;)

But yeah, I mean the way I did it- I did NOT act out in any way shape or form. I really also didnt tell them what I wanted to.. but i screwed them a big- which they had been doing for me for the past yr and a half of my life. Plus it was a shit job and it's not like I would ever, EVER have to go back there for anything ever again.

Do what you feel necessary. You dont wanna sit there when your older and regret anything in your life. If you feel the need to storm out- do it (cautiosly though, these places might call the police ;) )
If you wanna be nicer to them then theyve been to you- then do that.
Im sure youll find the right answer inside yourself.

<img src="http://www.chaoticconcepts.com/bans/babyanna.jpg">

*when you look through my eyes you see the pain, see the struggle & what ive gained*

...if you want to i can save you i can take you away from here...