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Career advice no one gave me: Give a lot of notice when you quit

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Re: Career advice no one gave me: Give a lot of notice when you quit

#141

Post by rawgabbit »

EliRivers wrote: post #136
chickenpotpie wrote: post #125

No, no, no, no a billion times no to this absolutely not no The moment you give your resignation, there are good odds your company will say "we accept your resignation effective immediately. Goodbye." Sometimes it's a blanket company policy to do this, sometimes it's because they know you're going to a competitor and they don't want you to start training for your new job, sometimes they were on the fence about you st…

The moment you give your resignation, there are good odds your company will say "we accept your resignation effective immediately. Goodbye." Genuine question; is this a US thing? I've never, ever seen this or heard of it happening. I don't think I've ever worked at a company that didn't state in the contract the notice period. I have seen companies decide they don't want that person on site anymore when someone quits…

For some companies, when you give notice, you are flagged as a security risk. e.g., high chance you will take/steal IP. They will lock down your account, investigate your recent activities, and escort you out the door.

Re: Career advice no one gave me: Give a lot of notice when you quit

#142

Post by tomwheeler »

My goal is to ensure that the company is in a position to carry on with as little disruption as possible.

I've always given at least the (US standard) two weeks, and usually three, but much longer than that can be counterproductive because one can become entrenched in current projects instead of wrapping things up and transitioning them to others.

Even when I've been at the same company for many years and have been involved in a lot of projects, this never took more than two weeks because throughout my tenure I do my best to document things, cross-train my co-workers, and ensure that others could take over for me if needed. That last two weeks is usually just a matter of making sure that all my documentation is up-to-date and that people remember what I've taught them.

Re: Career advice no one gave me: Give a lot of notice when you quit

#144

Post by yobert »

I gave 2 years notice at a software job I'd been at for 10 years. It was great! I said I was going to go do something new when I turned 30. The boss appreciated it and we had a lot of time to adjust the direction of the company in the meantime.

This was at a very small, tight-knit place though. I'd never do this at a big company.

Re: Career advice no one gave me: Give a lot of notice when you quit

#145

Post by ghaff »

gnulinux wrote: post #129

Yeah, how about no? My employer behaves exactly as it's laid out in my contract. I will behave exactly as it's laid out in the contract. If it says 2 weeks, that means 2 weeks, not one day late or early.

2 weeks in the US is commonly a customary thing as opposed to anything contractual.

Re: Career advice no one gave me: Give a lot of notice when you quit

#146

Post by bell-cot »

The article is so idealistic that I'd call it delusional.

Rule 1: Know exactly what your employer's policies and past practices are. Ditto local culture. There is ~zero chance that you actually are Mr./Ms. Special, who your employer will happily treat differently.

(Exception: If you have to leave for an extremely sympathetic and/or involuntary reason - fatal cancer diagnosis, drafted into army, etc. - that may actually get special treatment. Even then, such treatment is far more likely at smaller firms, if management cares about maintaining a "good guy" reputation.)

Rule 2: If you have some latitude, be considerate with your timing. Giving notice right before the big crunch or busy season will endear you to no one.

Rule 3: Never assume that your employer is going to be nice about it. Ditto for them being rational about it, unless currently-in-place management has a long and distinguished history of that.

Re: Career advice no one gave me: Give a lot of notice when you quit

#147

Post by robomartin »

I think commenters might not be aware of potential legal consequences of various approaches to quitting your job. Employers might no option but to get you out the door immediately. It depends on the domain. IANAL so I will not comment on specifics only to say that, as an employer, I've had to consult our attorney in cases where we were working on government/aerospace programs.

On the other side of the equation, years ago I had one of our engineers tell me he was starting a business and would likely have to leave in three months (over the summer). As much as I didn't like the idea of him leaving, I thought it was a fantastic move for him. I am 100% pro-entrepreneurship and fully supported his decision. In fact, during the that summer --the last three months he worked for us-- we all went out of our way to help him in any way we could. I wanted to personally make sure he launched into his new business with a solid footing.

As a result the transition was beautiful. We even threw a party in celebration just before he left. We still keep in touch. He is doing well. After he left he was happy to come over a couple of times and help resolve things we missed during the transition.

If you treat people like human beings and show them you truly care for their wellbeing everything is better. Companies come and go. People, and their relationships, tend to stay. If sometime in the future I closed-down my business and needed a job, I know I could reach out to him and get hired if he needed help.

I don't say this in a religious sense: Treat others the way you would like to be treated.

To answer the obvious question: In the couple of cases where the attorneys said immediate release was required, we went way out of our way to explain why this had to be. We also provided a solid financial cushion in order to ensure the person leaving didn't jump into a vacuum. It sucks when legal-crap gets in the way of considerate, compassionate human relations. Sometimes you have no options on the table.

Re: Career advice no one gave me: Give a lot of notice when you quit

#148

Post by ghaff »

hnrodey wrote: post #26

Speaking as a manager who has managed numerous people through their exit as well as a job changer.... I have to say I disagree with the advice to give extended notice. Proper notice (in US at least) without severe mitigating circumstances is two weeks and that's what you get. If the employer wants to it to be less then so be it. FWIW I've changed job 5-6 times over my professional career and every single time it's be…

>As the employee submitting your notice - have your ducks-in-a-row before turning in your notice as it maximizes your chance for a smooth exit.

Right. If you have vesting events, expected bonus payouts, etc. wait until after those happen before giving notice as opposed to just assuming the employer will keep you on the payroll as an employee for those two weeks.

Re: Career advice no one gave me: Give a lot of notice when you quit

#149

Post by gnicholas »

addaon wrote: post #93

Disagree with this on several levels. One specific challenge comes as tech companies push more and more compensation to bonuses and other must-be-present-to-win approaches (RSUs, etc). If you leave shortly before a trigger date, you've essentially been working the entire previous year at a discount, since your contractual bonus for the time you worked will never be paid. If you continue significantly past a cliff, th…

I've heard of employers paying signing bonuses to make up for the fact that an employee is leaving a partially-accrued bonus on the table at the employer he's leaving.

Re: Career advice no one gave me: Give a lot of notice when you quit

#150

Post by lelandfe »

EliRivers wrote: post #136
chickenpotpie wrote: post #125

No, no, no, no a billion times no to this absolutely not no The moment you give your resignation, there are good odds your company will say "we accept your resignation effective immediately. Goodbye." Sometimes it's a blanket company policy to do this, sometimes it's because they know you're going to a competitor and they don't want you to start training for your new job, sometimes they were on the fence about you st…

The moment you give your resignation, there are good odds your company will say "we accept your resignation effective immediately. Goodbye." Genuine question; is this a US thing? I've never, ever seen this or heard of it happening. I don't think I've ever worked at a company that didn't state in the contract the notice period. I have seen companies decide they don't want that person on site anymore when someone quits…

Two of my friends did this and were immediately terminated and ushered out of the building by security. Both were very large companies in the US.
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