Employment Question- When and how to quit.

[samwise]

I am going back to school in the fall and will be leaving my current position at a library. I would like to leave by August 1. I have a few questions for supervisors/bosses out there.

 

1. When should I let my employer know about this? As soon as possible, 2 weeks, etc.

2. My supervisor is very socially akward, very nervous and jumpy and very afraid of confrontations. I am afraid that the I am quiting conversation may turn very ugly. Any advice or tips?

3. How much explanations of my future plans do I need to reveal?

 

Thanks for the help.

[Invader3K]

A two weeks notice, at minimum, is a pretty reasonable and generally expected courtesy.

 

As far as your supervisor, I think you'll just have to suck it up and talk to him/her. I guess all you can do is be ready to walk out if they start getting out of hand. You don't have to go into great detail about your personal life or reason for leaving, just say "I'm going back to school and won't have time to work here anymore", or something along those lines.

[dadofandrew]

2 weeks is plenty, especially if you think they might tell you to leave prior.

 

As for the others, short and sweet, and no discussion of what you're doing is necessary. Nothing wrong with a resignation letter either, if it's easier.

[samwise]

This is kind of the predicament I am in. I want to tell them as soon as possible to allow them to begin the hiring process, however I am afraid they will let me go and I will be out of a job for the summer.

I was thinking about submitting a resignation letter and saying that my resignation is effective Aug 1.

[patrickgpe]

that is a tough thing. I had someone who i work with give a 3 month notice and was shown the door that afternoon, which you definitely don't want to do. I agree with the people above, give a 2 week notice. Its admirable that you want to give your employer enough notice to find a replacement, but ultimately that is not required of you. Its not like if they are planning on firing you, they would give you a summers notice so that you can find your next job.

[homer]

If you're worried about getting let go, then wait as long as possible. It's cool you want to give them lots of notice but it's cooler having a job and a paycheck.

[RayKingsForemanGrill]

I gave a one month notice from a job and the reaction from most people was: That's ballsy.

 

I don't think it happens a lot, but they could easily tell you to pack things now and get out. It's a high risk.

 

Two weeks is perfectly acceptable.

[ewizabeff]

When I quit my last job I gave just over a month's notice, b/c I knew they would want me to help find my replacement. Unless you work in a cuthroat, competitive environment (I can't imagine a library is that way) I wouldn't worry about it. People are always worried about how to quit, how their boss will react.....unless it's extremely short notice, I've never been mad at an employee that quit. We always want our employees to succeed, and if that means going back to school, then so be it.

 

Granted, I work in higher education and we generally give 3-6 months notice when possible, because our job searches run on academic year cycles.

[hawing]

Speaking as a librarian who hires people, I can tell you that for me, the more notice the better. If you were my employee, I'd appreciate as early a heads-up as possible, because it would give me a chance to plan for a new hire before the school year begins.

 

I'd also want to hang onto a current employee as long as I could, rather than give a resigning person the boot immediately. In the current budget climate, I would be especially loath to give someone the boot immediately. I'd be very surprised if anyone in the UW-Madison libraries did that; but I don't know (and it's not really my business) whether you're on campus or not.

In Madison there is always a lot of competition for library jobs, but when hiring is at a near-standstill for budget reasons, I'd question that an employer could replace you that readily.

 

Even more important for me is kind of a corollary: the less notice you give, the worse you look. Every person I hire gets an orientation where (among many other things) they're told to give a minimum of two weeks' notice if they get another job. A grad student I employed this past academic year gave me 3 days' notice, stating that I hadn't notified her in writing of my two week preference. Needless to say, she did not leave a good impression upon departing. So definitely don't be that person.

[samwise]

I am leaning towards waiting one more month and then putting in notice that I am going to leave. That will give them a one month notice and allow me to have a little extra money in case they do show me the door immediatly. I was thinking about it this morning and I realized that I really do need the checks in the coming weeks.

[cwolf2012]

One month is more than enough notice. 2 weeks is all that is expected by most employers. The risk of being let go the day you tell them (depending on your role, if you're in a role with access to confidential material, this is more likely to happen) is not worth the reward looking like a great guy for getting them early notice.

 

Your best bet with your employer, assuming you want to keep the option open is to simply tell them that you're going back to school. Almost every employer understands this and will reconsider you after you're done with school should you want that option. How do you feel the resignation meeting will go? As in, what does "could turn very ugly" entail? Is the person really insecure and would see it as a betrayal?

 

EDIT: Also, if you're receiving benefits from this job, it's more likely to get ugly if you leave right after the 1st of a month. Then the company would have to pay your benefits for time when you aren't employed there. That could very easily hurt your status and cause conflict.

[logan82]

A grad student I employed this past academic year gave me 3 days' notice, stating that I hadn't notified her in writing of my two week preference

 

Wow, I wouldn't even give that person a good reference if they asked. I thought it was commonly accepted that you should give at least 2 weeks notice. I have had people come in to work and tell me it was their last day and they were only working half the night. There is no chance those people ever getting rehired by the company I work for or getting a positive reference.

 

2 weeks should be plenty.

[hawing]

A grad student I employed this past academic year gave me 3 days' notice, stating that I hadn't notified her in writing of my two week preference

 

Wow, I wouldn't even give that person a good reference if they asked. I thought it was commonly accepted that you should give at least 2 weeks notice.

Almost all of my employees are college students. Most have worked before, but I still occasionally come across someone for whom the library job is their first non-volunteer employment experience. So I figure sometimes I'm educating younger students when I tell them that two-weeks-notice is the norm.

 

Regarding the person I mentioned above, her statement that I didn't notify her in writing of the two weeks notice thing said to me that she thought about giving adequate notice, then decided she didn't have to. That's what really irked me, and while I would have good things to say about her in a job reference, I'd also be inclined to mention how it ended.

[TooLiveBrew]

Nothing more to add than good luck Sam. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[lodiness]

I'd say two weeks is plenty, unless you think that you have a good repore at the place. Also, if you handle money of any sort or you have a major part in there computer systems, don't be suprised if they walk you right out the front door. Most the time, if people give me a notice, it is greatly appreciated, and you never know when you'll need a reference. 2 weeks is all that I expect, any more is bonus as far as I am concerned.

[Paul77]

Two weeks is the minimum. The rest is up to you. I quit my last job and gave about 5 weeks notice only because A) I was fairly certain they were not in a position to let me go earlier than that (even though that was the norm for someone in my position) and B) I knew they would want time to find a replacement. Also, I asked if they wanted me to return for a few days after I returned from a vacation to help wrap up some things and they did so I felt like I was leaving on good terms.

[mothershipconnection]

I get peeved when my supervisees give 2 weeks. Even in this economy, it's pretty much impossible to find an adequate replacement in under a month. I gave my last company 5 weeks and they were thankful, as a replacement wasn't found until I'd been gone for a month.

 

You're going back to school, so give 'em a month, and if they then fire you, you qualify for unemployment, right? Sounds like a nice consolation prize.

[RightFieldCoder]

You could also release some test balloons. Mention around the library that you were thinking of going back to school. Ask how much of a notice they would want if you decide to go back to school. That will give you direct feedback of whether they want advanced notice or how high the chances of them keeping you are.

[RockCoCougars]

2 weeks is perfectly acceptable. There's no way that any employer should expect more than that unless you are in a management position or in some type of project contract work.

[UndraftedFA]

I have quit at two jobs. Both times I was afraid of the employer's response, but both cases were handled well. My first boss was absolutely ruthless, but he took it well. He told me I could stay as long as I want, or leave earlier if I wanted because he knew I was moving too. I was really shocked, but grateful.

 

The second boss wasn't quite as crazy, but still a bit odd. I thought it might go bad. They originally found out through the grapevine rather than my word. They approached me about it. I was leaving for school reason like you are. In a way he seemed envious. He knew I had it good at that job, but I was still willing to move on to try and do more schooling. He told me stories of one of his buddies that gave up a prestigious job at a young age to pursue school. He went on to be a very prominent figure in whatever field he went into.

 

Anyways, I am just hoping to calm your fear of an episode. I would have bet my life savings my first boss would have done anything to screw with me, but he was very accepting. Just do your best to make sure they know you put in 100% effort to your last day. Hopefully your reputation has earned you some respect.

[GAME05]

i agree with everyone else that two weeks is the right amount of time. it's always an odd feeling to be working there once you've quit, and you probably wouldn't want to stretch that feeling out any more than that, not to mention the other reasons that have been given.

 

the only thing i would add that hasn't already been is to have your resignation letter with you when you walk in and quit. oftentimes you'll be asked to give one so that HR has something to file in your records. and quitting, then having to walk back in the office a half hour later with the letter is like having to quit all over again.

[Baldkin]

Clearly, there's only one way to quit your job... (Not Work Safe..)

 

From Half Baked...

[jazzytrav]

I want to tell them as soon as possible to allow them to begin the hiring process, however I am afraid they will let me go and I will be out of a job for the summer.

 

If you really think this place is so loyal to you that they might let you go if you give them early notice, then I don't see any reason to be overly loyal in helping them with the hiring process.

 

2 weeks is perfectly fine. Perhaps that standard will change someday, but for now, when you get hired for a job you pretty much always tell them you can start 2 weeks from hire date, so a 2 week notice is absolutely enough time.