1. Tell your immediate organizational superior first.
The first person that you should reach out to is the person you report to. He or she has a unique relationship with you, and it is a combination of a boss, personal coach, therapist and if you are lucky, a friend. Regardless of the nature of your relationship, the person deserves to hear it from you and no one else. Be frank and straight forward and not catty, gossipy or resentful. As soon as you decide to resign, focus on how to leave on a high.2. Decide on how to make the announcement.
Announcing an employee resignation should be carefully crafted and at the right time. While you and your immediate superior work on the right time together, you do have control over how the announcement should be done. Perhaps you should announce to the immediate team in person? Perhaps your boss should write a generic email? Perhaps both? It doesn't matter how you do it, what matters is that it is your choice, and that it is established up front, so the rest of the process goes smooth.3. Be honest about your plans.
Being transparent opens doors. Nowadays, your professional associates will find you online anyway. There is no reason to hide your next place of employment or the next steps in your career. Instead of being secretive about your next job, invite former teammates into your network. You can only gain from a wide network.4. Pick the right end date.
Two weeks isn't a hard rule. Depending on your responsibilities, project timeslines and negotiations with the new job, your end date can be one week, two weeks, or even more. Your exit should be positive, transitional and tidy. Focus on passing on information to team members, conducting necessary training, and tying up lose ends. You don't want to leave your teammates with a ton of work or your boss in a bad situation. Plus, it's better for you to leave the team on a high.5. Give thanks.
There is good and bad to every workplace. You might be excited to start a new job but you are also leaving a lot behind. Think of all the relationships you have formed, memories that you have created, and the comeraderies that you have built. Before you leave, give thanks to all of the people who have helped you. From the intern to the mentors to the support team, everyone who has touched your life needs a genuine thanks.Parting Thoughts
The truth is that your time at any place is finite. Sooner or later, you will come upon your last two weeks at the work place, and you have no control over that. How you decide to leave, however, is completely up to you. If you haven't yet, visualize yourself leaving with a sense of pride, satisfaction and dignity, and your team with a better understanding of the tasks and responsibilities you once held. When you walk out the door, you have gained truer connections, wider network and richer relationships. With that image in mind, think of how you can craft a two weeks notice that leads you to make that vision come true.[ End of Article ]
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