Live data from Hacker News

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

davidlaprade.github.io

301–310 of 405 posts

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

#301

I completely disagree. in the long run, a company is not going to remember you gave them a lot of notice before leaving. your coworkers aren't likely to remember either, at least in terms of your ability to get references. at the same time giving a long notice has a lot of downsides. your offer can get rescinded and now you are either jobless or have a very awkward conversation. your managers in this time will not re…

Everyone thinks they’re irreplaceable. I’m still honestly shocked my last company didn’t collapse when I left. And yes with 2 weeks notice

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

#302
post #21

2 weeks is the standard? I am amazed. In Switzerland where I live, it is 3 full calendar months. And I thought Switzerland is very similar to the USA... My god 2 weeks lol, someone quits and he is gone the next day. How is this legal?

In most US states, you can go into the boss' office and say "I quit" and walk out the door.

Or just not show up for a few days if you really want to

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

#303

This is terrible advice. Great that it has worked for the author but it does not mean it's a good idea for everyone. 2 weeks is the standard and as long as you give that you maintain good relations. Most people are not as valuable or important as they like to think they are. I have seen very important people leave / fired and things still go on. (Twitter is still working - isn't it?) Once you tell that you are leavin…

I have resigned for two different jobs where I was the highest tech leader, reporting to the CEO (basically CTO role without the title). Both times I gave 1 month of notice. Both times all the "transition" work was done during the first 2 weeks, and afterwards, I basically sat at meeting listening without say (I pushed for my "replacement" to be the one making the decisions as if I wasn't there) and even the CEO asked me to stay at home in one of the two jobs.

My thought is that if that worked for me for 2 weeks, it should also be more than enough for an IC.

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

#304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the U.S., an employee that resigns is not entitled to severance. In this case, you would only have received severance if you had been terminated before your resignation date. If they sent you home but continued to pay you for that month, you would not have been entitled to severance.

This is correct, unless there's a reason why they should... and if they are smart, the severance will include setting the term date to the severance date.

I don't understand your comment. The only circumstances in which a resigning employee is entitled to severance is if they have an employment contract entitling then to severance in the event of a voluntary departure.

Even executives don't get that. A run of the mill employee definitely won't.

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

#305
post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Life hack: Put your resignation in writing with a date in the future. This sounds like such a neat way to deal with it. I wonder if it's legally valid in my jurisdiction (in Sweden.) I have never heard of it but yet again, why not?

No it’s not valid in Sweden (or anywhere else). The date at which your resignation starts to count is the date that your employer learns of your intent to leave. You are however free to agree on an arbitrary date with them as your last day. It’s not the date you put in the letterhead. That would be insane.

> No it’s not valid in Sweden (or anywhere else). The date at which your resignation starts to count is the date that your employer learns of your intent to leave.

"or anywhere else" is an exceedingly broad assertion. For Canada:

> Yes, you do have to give notice of your resignation in Canada. The common law imposes a duty to provide notice of resignation on all employees.

> However, you don’t have to give two weeks’ notice of your resignation in Canada per se. Rather, you have to give a “reasonable” amount of notice of your resignation, which may be more or less than two weeks’ notice. The amount of reasonable notice an employee has to give will depend on their specific circumstances, as discussed below.

> The obligation to give reasonable notice is a general common law obligation of all employees. In Sure-Grip Fasteners Ltd. v. Allgrade Bolt & Chain Inc., [1993] 45 C.C.E.L. 276 (Ont. Gen. Div.) at pages 281-282, Justice Chapnik found: […]

* https://duttonlaw.ca/do-you-have-to-give-two-weeks-notice-in...

During the 'notice period' you still have a job, though the employer may tell you to simply stay at home (and rescind access, etc).

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

#307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They can't force you to work on the project until completed, but they can certainly levy financial penalties against you if you don't. There are very few circumstances in the US in which an employer can do that. It is considered wage theft, which in many states is a criminal offense that pierces the corporate veil. If you worked hours you get paid for those hours and the company can't avoid paying you (with fees or…

Does that mean that any contracted work is indentured servitude? That sounds really broad. If I hire you to build a website, and you bail out halfway through and the liquidated damage clause kicks in, I don't think that makes you my indentured servant. I was most likely confusing with "financial penalties", mostly it means not paying you after you stop working, and in some specific circumstances you can sue for damag…

There generally aren’t financial penalties of any sort in those cases, except that you just don’t get paid the full potential value of the contract. You are generally paid hourly for the work that you do in a freelance gig (if it is an hourly contract) and paid a bonus on completion. If you fail to complete there is no bonus. Or in the case of a fixed price contract you are given a small amount upfront, and the full payment upon completion. You are never penalized for breaking contract—-you just don’t get paid the final amount.

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

#308

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…

I love when someone has an experience which is rather unique to them (or at least definitely not universal) and vehemently shouts in absolutes.

I definitely agree with the article. I've given extended notice for many jobs I've left (again, usually on the order of several months). I had a good relationship with my manager, and I like to leave stuff "tied up with a bow". Similar to the experience in the article, it was good for both me and my employer.

I'm sorry you didn't have a relationship with your employer where you felt this was possible. And to be clear, I don't believe my experience is universal, but I think if most people stop to think about it, they will be able to figure out how their employer will respond.

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

#309
post #7

I've generally given a lot of notice as an IC, 2-3 months in some cases. and I have to say, I think it's not been appreciated, not even once. I've tried to spend the time wrapping things up, communicating my tacit knowledge to my coworkers, and writing documentation for things that I've done and created and am responsible for; I'm fairly certain that no one has given my opinions and thoughts any more than a cursory a…

> But now when I "give notice" and they don't even let me try to work the next 2 weeks, I'm grateful. Life hack: Put your resignation in writing with a date in the future. In many states, if the employer attempts to move the termination date (without compensation), they will award wages until your resignation date... I've used this twice, and in both cases, I was sent home, but HR told the manager that any severance…

What state is this? This would only apply here if you already had a contract for a fixed term. Most employment here is at will and so this won't work.

Everyone else: please talk to a lawyer in your state familiar with employment law before banking on this.

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

#310

This is terrible advice. Great that it has worked for the author but it does not mean it's a good idea for everyone. 2 weeks is the standard and as long as you give that you maintain good relations. Most people are not as valuable or important as they like to think they are. I have seen very important people leave / fired and things still go on. (Twitter is still working - isn't it?) Once you tell that you are leavin…

It is terrible advice and especially if you are an at-will employee. 2 weeks is fine, but as others have mentioned, most of the time you get put into a hermetically sealed jar once you give notice.
Post reply on HN