March 29, 2007

A letter of good-bye to my job

After almost exactly 7 years in my current job, I sent my letter of resignation to my boss. I had already him of my impending exit (he's a really good boss, and the entire process was cordial and encouraging - one of things I loved at my current company, I've had a string of good supervisors..lucky me) so there were no surprises. My last day will be sometime in July.
 
You might wonder why the long notice - well, partly the company requires it, and partly it is unprofessional to dump everything without proper notice and put everyone in difficulty. The notice period is sufficient to plan transition (I handle a bunch of things and it's not very easy to replace my position quickly) and make sure things are in good order before I leave. I'd like to leave on a good note, and not by winning a pissing contest. I firmly believe that it is important to leave my organization on good terms - and "not burn bridges". Walking out saying "I gave the finger to my boss, my company blah blah" isn't helping anyone, least of all me.
 
It's a job I  enjoyed, liked it when I did it, worked hard at it, worked with many really good people, and I think I did it well. But It's just time to move on. Next thing is to meet a bunch of fellow INSEADers when there is a meet at NYC/Boston.
 
I will be packing my bags from the US, almost 3 years after I came here, and will head back to India before going to Singapore. Who knows where else and what next. Personally I would like to be back in the US to work, but one never knows. INSEAD's US presence is a topic for another post.
 
 

4 comments:

asiangal said...

7 years on your job? That's quite a long time ... but I resigned as well from my job of 4 years and it feels a bit weird (it was my first job). But yes one should totally leave their old company on positive terms. On to the next phase of our lives! =)

Anonymous said...

Yes it is! But then I'm not 27 ;) It was a job that was good to me.

-necro

Anonymous said...

I disagree with your sentimentality towards the issue of advance notice. Unless you have a written contract which spells out the required notice period, always go with whatever notice is required by law usually 2-4 weeks depending on where you live. I confess that I'm approaching this as a lawyer through a legalistic lens, but the sad truth is that companies are rarely so sentimental when it comes to firing staff. My attitude has always been, 'if a company really values someone and wants to receive 3-6 months notice, then they would have given you an employment agreement with a mutual (fully paid) 3-6 month advance notice requirement.' If you don't have that in writing, then you're being overly generous.

Anonymous said...

Anon,

Advance notice varies from employers as it is spelt in the contract. In my case, 3 months was required though in reality most people manage to leave with about 15 days to a month. In my case, it was more about reciprocating how I was treated since I joined - and I would say it was very good. So under the circumstance, to me, it was the right thing to do. Since 2000, my employer had hit tough patches (remember 2001!) and we were a very young company then - and yet, I was treated well and fairly. My steps kept all these in mind. But in general I agree with you that employment is a contract and it is mutual, and rarely sentimental. I'm not really "sentimental" - it was a professional courtesy.

-necro