What Steps Should You Take After Accepting a New Job?
Congratulations! You’ve just got a new job! Now the incredibly awkward, emotionally draining and potentially inflammatory part begins - exiting your current job.
No one likes to be the bearer of bad news, and it's common to think the inevitable meeting with your boss about why you’re leaving your company is going to descend into vehemence and bitter abuse. It’s the cruel nature of employment: for all the friendships and connections you make with co-workers, clients, customers, service users or stakeholders, leaving a company feels like you’re letting the side down, and this is reflected in how many people dread handing in their notice.
However, your mind is set. Your new opportunity is too good to pass down and you have made the decision. The time has come to exit your employer, and seek greener pastures.
So what now?
The relationship you have with your boss and employer will be a subjective collection of history, emotions and workflows, and no one employer is the same as another - therefore your exit has to reflect this relationship, and be as unique, fair, honest and communicative as possible.
While we can’t handhold you through the exact process, there are some topline notes you need to hit to make sure you’re leaving a company on the best terms possible.
There is a reason why Exit Strategies and Exit Interviews are important to employers - allowing an employee to leave a company feeling supported can be both an exercise in good brand management, civil leadership and supportive career handling.
The same goes for an employee - leaving a company on good terms more than likely ensures your references will be top-notch, and (potentially) the door may be left open for a return to the company in future.
And, while you cannot determine how your news will go down with senior leadership, and you cannot predict whether they will make your exit easy, or even supported, you can comport yourself with grace, dignity and professionalism throughout to make it, for you, a safe and stress-free mental as well as physical decoupling from your employer.
Remember: leaving a job isn’t meant to be easy - it’s a mix of emotional and professional “what ifs?”, confusing and stressful conversations (especially when battling a counter offer) and, once the news is out, the timbre of your work environment might completely change, sometimes to the negative.
You have to be sure that the reasons you are leaving are right. That’s all you can control.
Once you’re set, follow these simple rules:
Write your resignation letter
Consider this your employment bookend to your cover letter - the document that closes the door, rather than opens it.
This document does not have to be complex - it simply has to state that you are leaving the company and that you will work the allotted notice period. Please consult your contract for this information and make sure you know exactly how long you are obligated to work (with a caveat that you may be immediately put on gardening leave in some industries).
However, you can embellish your letter if you wish. Employees who feel a real connection with their boss or employer tend to use the resignation letter as an opportunity to say thank you, to celebrate growth or success, or simply to highlight that it was an incredibly hard decision to make.
In this way, it truly is the inverse of a cover letter. While cover letters are professional and direct, resignation letters can be more personal, and more anecdotal. We do recommend staying as professional as possible, but sometimes those little personal additions bring perspective to your tenure.
Inform your boss in person (if possible)
There is obviously a huge COVID-caveat to this point, but you need to inform your boss immediately and in-person if possible.
While there are a host of respect-based and professional reasons for this, the last thing your employer wants in their inbox is a request for a reference from another employer or rumors flooding in from co-workers that you’re leaving.
While company exit policies are generally monitored and managed by employers, the employee controls this integral moment - so do it on your terms but try to control the situation as much as possible.
This also means you’re giving your management the chance and time to organize complex communications of why and how you are leaving to people that need to know ahead of others, such as line managers, direct line staff, customers, clients and direct stakeholders, in as controlled a manner as possible.
Expect a counteroffer
Counteroffers are your existing employers’ chance to turn your head and close the door to a new opportunity. Employers will use any resignation meeting or subsequent meetings to offer you a better contract to retain your skills if, of course, they are of a mind to keep you on.
There are several reasons why counteroffers are generally a bad thing to accept (none more so than the average length of stay at any employer after accepting a counteroffer is under a year, and more often than not around 6 months).
The main thing to remember is: why did you want to leave in the first place? Is this reason answered by a new, contract, or are the same issues, limitations or lack of opportunities still present?
If so, we urge you to not accept it. However, we appreciate the familiarity, lack of onboarding pressure and potentially better contract may be exactly what you want. If so, you’ve successfully negotiated for a better job! But beware: your employer knows you can leave, and will forever question your commitment.
Building a transition plan
Crafting a transition plan is vital for two reasons - it organizes your exit timetable, creating a timeline for handovers, exit interviews and equipment return. But it also serves as a mental countdown calendar, giving you structure and order to your last weeks and days at your company. While your final days may be emotional, and handovers complex, having a curated plan in place gives you the reassurance you’re leaving on good terms, and makes the exit shock easier to handle and keeps your mind free of doubt, stress or confusion.
And, as your transition plan operates in that fluid, grey area between exiting one company and starting at another, we believe it’s best to split this section into 3 more digestible parts - Managing your Exit, Managing Paperwork, and Managing Onboarding Commitments.
Managing your exit
This means formulating a timeline to communicate with your senior leaders, co-workers and any other stakeholders that you’re leaving, plus a structure (with other stakeholders) for workflow handovers.
Managing paperwork
From writing your resignation letter to signing your contract at your new job, prioritize paperwork and make sure you’ve crossed every T and dotted every I: the last thing you want is to be stung by contractual delays, missed exit interviews or contract stipulations and specifics because you didn’t read the small print.
Managing Onboarding
Onboarding can be exhausting - the new people, the new processes, the new commutes (if relevant), the new culture, the new SaaS products, the list goes on. Managing your onboarding means taking each day as it comes, remembering to eat, sleep and hydrate to keep your mind fresh and your body healthy, and creating structured plans to meet, talk to, have lunch with (even if it's on a screen) new staff members, and ingratiate with your new company.
Take the time to say goodbye
One of the hardest things to do when leaving a job is saying goodbye to friends and mentors, and while close friends and coworkers will undoubtedly want to either celebrate your time or reward you with a leaving gift, we think it wise to bookend your tenure with a simple email to the team, highlighting the victories, relating anecdotes, and valuing the time you spent building a relationship bigger than work.
While this sort of gesture may not serve a wider business purpose, it does mean you leave your company on the best terms possible - remembering the people behind the work.
