Written by Karen Thomson, Perth Area Manager, Aquent

Employment trends have long since indicated that people now move jobs quite frequently. This is evident in a candidate tight market combined with jobs growth such as we are currently experiencing in Australia and particularly here in the West. So let’s face the scenario. You’ve just been offered a terrific job opportunity and you need to break the news to your current boss. While resigning is never pleasant and is often nerve-wreaking, especially if your boss did not see it coming, here are some pointers gathered by Aquent Agents across the Asia Pacific region that will help you to exit gracefully. An absolute must in a city the size of Perth.

1) Breaking the news to your employer

• You should always break the news face to face — there is no exception to this.
• Always resign with integrity, honestly, with a good rationale as to why you are leaving.
• Be positive. Do not pull a long face and start with “I have some bad news for you...”. Be factual and diplomatic. Thank your boss for the great experience and all the support in the past.
• You must have your letter of resignation ready, so that the resignation is documented and final.
• Don’t fall for guilt trips or suggestions that you are leaving the company or your boss in the lurch. You should remember that you are in charge of your own career. If you are leaving for a great opportunity, your boss should understand that it is good for you (although he/she may not show it the first instance), and give you his/her blessing.

2) What to do if your boss counter offers? Should you consider?

As a rule, one should never take a counter-offer, no matter how attractive the raise is, for the following reasons:

• Your integrity with your current company is already in question, and trust will become an issue. Every time you go to doctors or make an external appointment, your employer will think you are going for another interview.
• Your current company might let you go once they find someone more affordable — the counter-offer is only a ‘stop-gap measure’.
• You will definitely be on the radar and in the spotlight and have to work harder than ever to prove that you are worth the raise. If you do not deliver, you can be sure that you will be reminded what the company has done to keep you.
• Your internal relationships can be affected. Some of your peers may have an issue with the fact that you used your resignation as a bargaining tool. This will be an even bigger issue with your subordinates. It might start a vicious cycle, and they might do the same thing to you.
• It is not professional to lead your prospective employer “down the garden path” by going through the whole process of interviewing, negotiations and accepting the offer only to change your mind after. If you do, then be prepared to give up all hope of working for that company and the person who intended to hire you, ever again. You will also gain a bad reputation in the market/industry as being fickle, insincere and manipulative. This will affect your adversely when you are exploring future opportunities.
• It simply leaves a bad taste in your current employer’s mouth, as no one or company likes to be cornered. If you have made your mind up to leave, then leave.
• You should never resort to resigning to get you want from the company. If you have issues regarding your current job, discussed them with your management. If it is not resolved, and you have decided to leave, make sure that it is for the right reasons. Money is not everything. If you take a counter-offer, it means you can be bought.
• By taking the counter offer, the original reason for your decision to leave does not go away. For example, the pay increase given to you now may come out of the budget for increments next year. So your increment for next year will be reduced.
• Aquent’s research has shown that 80-85% of people who accept counter offers will be back in the job market within 6 months.

3) Tying up loose ends for a smooth transition — dos and don'ts

DO:

• Ensure that you still work your optimum even after you resign, and even go the extra mile.
• Prepare a proper handover document and if possible, allow your current company to find your replacement before leaving. Otherwise, you can consider coming back while you are clearing your leave, or taking 1 or 2 days off from your new role to do a proper handover to the new person, if that is agreeable with you new employer. At the very least, make sure you do a proper handover to your current boss.
• Ask your current employer for a list of what he/she wants you to do before you leave – agree on this list and have it in writing so everyone knows what needs to be done before you go.
• Try and help find your replacement if possible.
• Come in on time and leave on time, and make sure that you are not the only one in the office when you come in or when you leave.
• Leave with dignity and grace.

DO NOT:

• ‘Switch-off’
• Take any intellectual property from your current employer
• Slag, bad-mouth or gossip about your current employer internally or externally.
• Try to sabotage your current employer. For example, delete company files from the server, poach clients and staff of your current employer.

4) What you should or should not say during exit interviews

• Be diplomatic and politically correct. Put everything in a positive light.
• Thank your current employer/boss again for the experience and past support.
• Do not make any personal attacks, because you should never burn any bridges. You never know , y our current boss can become your future client, or even your boss again.
• Give constructive feedback without being critical. Remember that you may need your current employer to be your referee in the future.

In brief, be professional, ethical and courteous as burning bridges is never smart especially in a city that still has just 2 degrees of separation. You just never know who knows that somebody that knows you!

Karen Thomson is the Perth Area Manager for Aquent, (www.aquent.com/mcs), a global firm that specialises in staffing solutions for the creative, marketing and communications industries. Through a network of nearly seventy offices in sixteen countries, Aquent services in the areas of print and Web design and production; advertising and media, marketing, public relations and business support. Karen can be contacted on (08) 9474 5160 or e-mailed via kthomson@aquent.com.