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Ask HN: How much to put in a resignation letter?

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Re: Ask HN: How much to put in a resignation letter?

#41

Post by toomuchtodo »

detaro wrote: post #33
toomuchtodo wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've found the best way to do this is: * Have a proper emergency fund (6-12 weeks). You should not be counting on any pay after you give notice. * Have references outside of your immediate current manager * On Friday, "today is my last day" * Still be honest why you're leaving Two weeks notice is a courtesy you're not required to extend to an employer (EDIT: This is US-centric advice, please verify this is true in yo…

Why would you not give 2 weeks (or really any reasonable time) notice? What do you gain from not doing it? (especially compared to the hassle for your employer and the potential of it coming back to haunt you)

Over my 14 years of work experience, I have occasionally encountered work environments that have turned extremely hostile for my last two weeks, simply because I decided to leave (I was once told by my manager at a DOE energy lab when I was in my mid 20s that he should "slap the shit out of me" for leaving, but that is a tale for another post).

"Reasonable" is up to you. As I said, notice is not (EDIT: as asked by other posters, this is US-centric advice. Please verify this applies in your jurisdiction) required. An employer is not required to provide you with any notice to terminate you, and therefore I only provide notice if I believe the work relationship will be amiable for the duration after I give notice.

Sometimes, you gain nothing from giving notice, and I refuse to allow fear ("hassle for employer", "coming back to haunt you") to drive my decisions.

Re: Ask HN: How much to put in a resignation letter?

#43

Post by Someone1234 »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #29
gk1 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To back this up with an anecdote: I had one experience where I submitted a resignation (two weeks' notice) the same day as someone else in the company. I said the bare minimum in my letter. When questioned by the CEO, division lead, and co-workers, I also said the bare minimum and kept it very neutral. The other person, on the other hand, decided this was their opportunity to express their anger and frustration. As a…

I've found the best way to do this is: * Have a proper emergency fund (6-12 weeks). You should not be counting on any pay after you give notice. * Have references outside of your immediate current manager * On Friday, "today is my last day" * Still be honest why you're leaving Two weeks notice is a courtesy you're not required to extend to an employer (EDIT: This is US-centric advice, please verify this is true in yo…

> Two weeks notice is a courtesy you're not required to extend to an employer, and you should only do so if you're on good terms.

This is an international site, you should be careful giving out US "at will" state advice like it applies to everywhere.

In the UK for example, you can in theory be sued for failure to give a "reasonable" period of notice[0] (although in reality this nearly never happens).

[0] http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1650

Re: Ask HN: How much to put in a resignation letter?

#44

Post by ranit »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #29
gk1 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To back this up with an anecdote: I had one experience where I submitted a resignation (two weeks' notice) the same day as someone else in the company. I said the bare minimum in my letter. When questioned by the CEO, division lead, and co-workers, I also said the bare minimum and kept it very neutral. The other person, on the other hand, decided this was their opportunity to express their anger and frustration. As a…

I've found the best way to do this is: * Have a proper emergency fund (6-12 weeks). You should not be counting on any pay after you give notice. * Have references outside of your immediate current manager * On Friday, "today is my last day" * Still be honest why you're leaving Two weeks notice is a courtesy you're not required to extend to an employer (EDIT: This is US-centric advice, please verify this is true in yo…

Leaving immediately is also considered “burning bridges” and depending of how much you was needed it might be even worse than being honest.

Re: Ask HN: How much to put in a resignation letter?

#45

Post by Lawtonfogle »

stevewepay wrote: post #5

Put the bare minimum, and do not say anything about compensation, etc. As a3n says, just say you are leaving, and when your last day will be. When it comes to the exit interview, DO NOT SAY ANYTHING EITHER. It all goes into your employment record. You don't owe them any honesty, so just leave quietly and don't burn any bridges.

Go a little above the bare minimum when it builds up bridges. But leave out anything that burns bridges.

Re: Ask HN: How much to put in a resignation letter?

#46

Post by freshyill »

stevewepay wrote: post #5

Put the bare minimum, and do not say anything about compensation, etc. As a3n says, just say you are leaving, and when your last day will be. When it comes to the exit interview, DO NOT SAY ANYTHING EITHER. It all goes into your employment record. You don't owe them any honesty, so just leave quietly and don't burn any bridges.

This advice is solid if you're leaving because you have grievances.

Maybe it should go without saying, but if you're leaving on good terms, it can't hurt to say nice things in your exit interview.

Re: Ask HN: How much to put in a resignation letter?

#47

Post by mooreds »

stevewepay wrote: post #5

Put the bare minimum, and do not say anything about compensation, etc. As a3n says, just say you are leaving, and when your last day will be. When it comes to the exit interview, DO NOT SAY ANYTHING EITHER. It all goes into your employment record. You don't owe them any honesty, so just leave quietly and don't burn any bridges.

Giving feedback when leaving depends very much on:

   * how much you care about improving the company 
   * your relationship with the person to whom you are giving the feedback
   * the interviewer's ability to effect change
However, put no advice for the company in your resignation letter. As stated elsewhere in the comments, keep it to a minimum to keep things simple.

But, if you trust the exit interviewer to both listen and possibly act on your feedback, feel free to give honest feedback during an interview. It's better to give constructive criticism ('the company could do better about communicating business challenges affecting comp') than to complain ('I'm leaving because even though we exceeded quota, my team didn't get any comp increases'). Just remember that because you aren't part of the team anymore, you have much less credibility than before.

I recently left a job and had an exit interview with the CEO (small company). I knew he could effect change, if convinced, and was trustworthy, so I offered some suggestions. I've left jobs with larger companies where the trust wasn't there, and didn't say much in the exit interview.

Re: Ask HN: How much to put in a resignation letter?

#48

Post by detaro »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #41
detaro wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you not give 2 weeks (or really any reasonable time) notice? What do you gain from not doing it? (especially compared to the hassle for your employer and the potential of it coming back to haunt you)

Over my 14 years of work experience, I have occasionally encountered work environments that have turned extremely hostile for my last two weeks, simply because I decided to leave (I was once told by my manager at a DOE energy lab when I was in my mid 20s that he should "slap the shit out of me" for leaving, but that is a tale for another post). "Reasonable" is up to you. As I said, notice is not (EDIT: as asked by ot…

Interesting. Were these environments where you would have expected that bad of a reaction?

(Here in Germany these things are a bit different anyways, default period is a month and can be longer by individual contract. Sometimes it is matched to the notice times the employer has to give, which go up to 7 months(!) for people that have been employed for a long time)

Re: Ask HN: How much to put in a resignation letter?

#49

Post by a3n »

mystyk wrote: post #36
joshstrange wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't give your company anything more than this, they don't deserve any more and anything else you volunteer can ONLY hurt you (Anything you say can and will be held against you....) also you risk burning bridges. While you may never want to work for the company ever again you might want them as a reference down the line. I tried telling the truth in my first exit interview and all it did was burn bridges and make pe…

"(Another thing, NEVER accept a counter offer)" Over the years, I've heard this advice repeatedly, but with often wildly different reasons. I'm genuinely curious what your rationale for this advice is.

You already don't like working there. You may be able to identify one or two reasons, but in reality it's the whole mix. The only thing they can offer as a counter is money and a promotion. The promotion is just deck chair movement, and they can't possibly offer you enough money to make you insanely happy; even with the money, your future raises will very possibly be flattened until you're back where you were, relative to the market. And the people and policies and every other undefinable thing that went into your decision are still there.

The managers may also be resentful and suspicious of you.

Lose/lose.

Re: Ask HN: How much to put in a resignation letter?

#50

Post by toomuchtodo »

Someone1234 wrote: post #43
toomuchtodo wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've found the best way to do this is: * Have a proper emergency fund (6-12 weeks). You should not be counting on any pay after you give notice. * Have references outside of your immediate current manager * On Friday, "today is my last day" * Still be honest why you're leaving Two weeks notice is a courtesy you're not required to extend to an employer (EDIT: This is US-centric advice, please verify this is true in yo…

> Two weeks notice is a courtesy you're not required to extend to an employer, and you should only do so if you're on good terms. This is an international site, you should be careful giving out US "at will" state advice like it applies to everywhere. In the UK for example, you can in theory be sued for failure to give a "reasonable" period of notice[0] (although in reality this nearly never happens). [0] http://www.a…

Thank you! I do forget at times HackerNews receives international viewers. I have made edits to my posts to reflect that my advice is US-centric.
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