How to resign well !

Two people came to me for advice recently and my answer for both of them was to resign – and they did.

Both of them had reached a point in their careers where they had lost their passion, their mojo for the job, they couldn’t reach into the depths and re-create themselves (or take a holiday and recoup) and had also lost the support of their management – they kind of had nowhere to go.

Both of them had been looking externally and found interesting jobs. It wasn’t hard to tell them to resign.

When you are about to resign you have a bit of power and you have some choices. You can ‘ tell your boss to shove it ‘ and brag to all your colleagues what suckers they are and how much more money you will be making – plenty of people do this – I saw someone do this a few years back – and they only ended up looking like an idiot.

My advice to both of these people was to ‘ resign well ‘.

1. Write a professional letter of resignation
2. Arrange a formal meeting with your manager and present the letter
3. Explain your reasons for leaving (prepare them in advance)
4. Have an answer ready if they want you to stay, “ what will it take?”
5. Indicate your interest in coming back to your employer in the future
6. Leave gracefully and don’t bring your colleagues down in the process

Many people will leave their current employer and then return years later. A smart employer will appreciate that the person is returning with new skills and experiences.

My advice is no matter how angry you are as you leave – do it well.

Have you resigned recently? How did you handle it? Write to me and let me know.