Yahoo Finance The worst way to quit your job
Last week, Val quit her job at the call center. This week, she vlogs about it.
Leaving your job in style shouldn’t come with a YouTube video or trend on Twitter if you’re hoping to be meaningfully employed in the future, experts say.
A new survey from OfficeTeam shows 86 per cent of human resources managers believe the way you quit a job will affect your future career opportunities.
The survey of more than 600 HR managers across North America offers what may seem like obvious advice: Don’t burn bridges.
“It’s good to go out with a bang if it’s positive. The negative one is never good,” says Dianne Hunnam-Jones Canadian district resident at human resources consultancy Robert Half, which includes the OfficeTeam division.
However, with the rise of social media it seems the instances of over-the-top resignations are on the rise.
Some famous job departure videos that have gone viral include one uploaded to YouTube by writer Marina Shifrin, who dances around her office to a Kayne West tune “Gone” announcing she’s quitting. That stunt came back to bite her when her employees posted their own video, mocking the first one, and announcing their hiring.
One teen was fired over Twitter even before starting her local at pizza place, after she dissed position on the social media site the night before.
Other videos show people quitting with the help of a marching band, while others just simply announced “F—it, I quit” at the end of a live broadcast.
Hunnam-Jones says years ago she had a boss quit with less public, yet similar pageantry at the end of the sales presentation, where the last slide simply said, “I quit.”
How you quit you job should not be remembered as your best performance at your former workplace, she says.
“Ultimately it does impact your future career opportunities. These are your future references. These are managers and colleagues that you are going to cross paths with again sometime in your life and the world is very small with social media and technology,” she says.
“What you think you do in the confines of your office environment get out into the public world pretty quickly. Anything that could damage your personal and professional reputation when you are quitting, and during your notice period, can set you back.”
No matter the reason for leaving, Hunnam-Jones says workers should never quit in anger, or try to drag down the company or other workers on their way out.
Employees leaving because they’re unhappy should offer to conduct an exit interview to voice their concerns once and for all.
“We say talk before you walk,” Hunnam-Jones says. “It’s not an opportunity to gripe and moan. It’s an opportunity to give constructive, professional criticism in an open environment.”
OfficeTeam also offered some advice on how to exit gracefully, which includes:
· Give two weeks notice
· Schedule a meeting with your manager to discuss your resignation,
· Keep conversations positive
· Tie up loose ends and help train your replacement if one has been identified
“Stay positive, for sure,” says Hunnam-Jones.
She even recommends you work harder during your last days on the job.
“It’s an opportunity to cement your reputation.”
