Career advice no one gave me: Give a lot of notice when you quit • Hacker News Board

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

#61

Post by Turing_Machine » Fri, Apr 21, 2023, 2:01 PM UTC

kaon123 wrote: 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?

> My god 2 weeks lol, someone quits and he is gone the next day. How is this legal?

You're not even required to give two weeks, though that's widely considered to be a courteous thing to do. If it's employment at will (as most jobs are in the United States), you can put down your tools and walk out the door with no notice of any kind. The other side of that coin is that the employer can fire you/lay you off, also with no notice.

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

#62

Post by Turing_Machine » Fri, Apr 21, 2023, 2:03 PM UTC

hinata08 wrote: post #30

kaon123 wrote: 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?

I'm also amazed by the stories of managers who immediately layoff workers who said they will quit. Why ? Is this like some "Oh no you're not deciding to quit, I decided first you're fired, I call dibs !" ? The dude said they will leave anyway. And doing the layoff will just allow him to leave without extensively teaching someone else. This should be illegal as well.

That might actually be doing the employee a favor.

In many jurisdictions you can start collecting unemployment a lot faster if you're laid off rather than quitting.

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

#63

Post by hn8305823 » Fri, Apr 21, 2023, 2:04 PM UTC

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #36

kaon123 wrote: 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 some variation of that like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_This_Job_and_Shove_It

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

#64

Post by effingwewt » Fri, Apr 21, 2023, 2:17 PM UTC

Lol 'gold standard' please. This is management PR.

I've only ever seen 2 week notices screw the workers over- it happened to me several times (to the point I will never do it again no matter the employer).

Businesses don't give you notice, you don't owe them a single day.

No one owes a company any more than required for their paycheck, stop giving loyalty where none is given.

Also- can we please start calling 'layoffs' what they are- firings.

Layoffs are done as restructuring, and used to be done in bankruptcy filing, or they used to mean you'd be brought back in. Now companies call every permanent firing 'letting go' or 'layoff'.

Stop letting companies re-define words for PR speak.

Edit-spelling

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

#65

Post by falcolas » Fri, Apr 21, 2023, 2:48 PM UTC

matwood wrote: post #43

saulpw wrote: 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…

Like most things, it depends. I've given employers no time up to 4 weeks. Smaller ones will definitely receive more grace if they have been good to me. And, when I was an employer I tried to do the same for others. Another note is that I'm always succession planning. Document, share what I'm doing, etc... I learned early on that if I couldn't be replaced, I also couldn't be promoted.

> I learned early on that if I couldn't be replaced, I also couldn't be promoted.

Nailed this on the head.

At the same time, the extra work this requires is often not appreciated by management either - I've seen some (admittedly poor) managers comment on lower productivity due to the documentation efforts.

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

#66

Post by baerrie » Fri, Apr 21, 2023, 3:04 PM UTC

The main issue is that even if you give them two weeks or more notice, they can let you go effective immediately leading to lost income. Depending on the company, giving no notice may actually be the better approach.

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

#67

Post by myko » Fri, Apr 21, 2023, 3:19 PM UTC

kaon123 wrote: 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?

We also cut staff without notice in the US

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

#68

Post by Arrath » Fri, Apr 21, 2023, 3:28 PM UTC

smitty1e wrote: post #57

cat_plus_plus wrote: post #16

LOL, I tried that at Apple, was immediately made to pack my stuff after watch of a security guard and escorted off premises. As if I couldn't copy their stuff first and give notice later if that was my intent. Now obviously, in a mom and pop shop, I would discuss my desire to leave before I even started looking and help find/train my replacement, while they would likewise help me find a new job that better fits my li…

This is a strong point: context matters. I signaled I was on the way out for quite a while ahead of putting in two weeks, and it was abundantly clear they'd take me back quite readily. But that situation doesn't generalize.

> This is a strong point: context matters.

Absolutely. I've been at places where I was escorted out five minutes after I gave my notice, and at places where 10 years later they still call me every 8 months or so.

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

#69

Post by yjftsjthsd-h » Fri, Apr 21, 2023, 3:29 PM UTC

hdjjhhvvhga wrote: post #23

saulpw wrote: 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…

I completely agree. The part about infecting people with my attitude is especially relevant. It's normal that we talk. And when they ask "why?", it feels awkward. If I tell them all the reasons, it will influence their perception of their situation (which might be quite positive) and I prefer not to do that. But if I avoid answering, I will be perceived as dishonest or hiding something. So usually I invent some excus…

> But if I avoid answering, I will be perceived as dishonest or hiding something. So usually I invent some excuse so that nobody feels bad.

So you avoid the perception of being dishonest and hiding something by actually being dishonest and hiding something?

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

#70

Post by jmclnx » Fri, Apr 21, 2023, 3:30 PM UTC

This depends upon your situation in your work.

But if you feel your managers and company have been good to you or even neutral, then I fully agree with this. Plus it keeps options open for you since things go sideways in your new position.