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BLUF: My proposed final date at work is August 18, but I’m considering resigning tomorrow.

I’ve accepted a new position and will be resigning from my managerial position of 8 years. The new position starts September 1. My proposed final date will be August 18. Today I looked at the calendar in detail and discovered that there are few “good” days for me to resign. My manager is traveling June 27-30, I’m out July 1 and July 6-11, and then he is on vacation from July 18-August 8.

That adds up to not very much time for us to work on transition together or for him to make a new hire, and it’s a small enough company that a new hire will be completely up to him (15 FTEs, he is the ED). I have three part time directs.

I could resign July 5, and then be out of office for a week, or July 12, when he will be going on vacation soon for 3 weeks. I'm concerned that either of those dates aren't very professional. I could potentially cancel what I have going on July 1, but I’m not normally in that day, so requesting a meeting would immediately be a red flag. July 6-11 is a very specialized, once-every-5-years conference that will be immensely helpful in my new job, so that’s pretty nonnegotiable for me.

I am not completely prepared to resign tomorrow—I’ve done some prep work, but I don’t have a full transition file prepared. I had been planning to complete that in the next week or two…

I am moving to a completely different industry. My boss and I have a very good relationship and I can’t imagine him asking me to leave same day—though no one has resigned in the past 8 years, so I suppose it’s remotely possible (i.e., I don’t have any past behavior to draw from).

What is the most professional choice—tomorrow, July 5, or July 12? Thanks in advance for any advice!

pucciot's picture
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Wasn't your original date August 18th ???

I understand that you may have mentally "checked out" and are getting antsy to leave.

I recommend that you stay close to that original date or at least wait until the boss gets back from vacation.

How much disruption would it cause if you leave and then the boss goes on vacation ?
Are the rest of the staff ready to manage without both of you ?

I recently had two directs resign. And I was travelling for business and vacation.

I asked them to please wait for me to get back.

The organization needed their skills and experience while I was away.

I appreciated that they were willing to manage the transition of their leaving and they left their legacy with me as a positive one that was helpful and willing to support their manager and the organization - all the way until the end.

Besides --- don't you want the boss to be there for the going away party ?

Those are my thoughts.

Good Luck

TJPuccio

Association_Manager's picture

Sorry, I wasn't clear! August 18 is the last day I want to be working. That wouldn't change in any scenario--what changes is just the amount of notice I would give. 

So, I could give notice of resignation tomorrow (2 solid months of notice) or July 12 (5 weeks, but 3 weeks of that the boss will be on vacation, so it "feels" more like 2 weeks). I believe 4 weeks is the official MT recommended amount of notice. 

tlhausmann's picture
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EJones73's picture

Thanks for sharing! Resigning is a difficult thing, especially after a long time. It really affects many areas of your life, also your family. This podcast really helps you figure things out!

 

 

Edward

mike_bruns_99's picture
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If the company is paying your fees and expenses for the conference, as a manager I wouldn't be happy to spend the training dollars on someone as they're leaving. If someone else would benefit, try to make it possible for them to also go. That way, your company will have the benefits of the conference no matter when you leave.

In a perfect world, it would be great to be able to give eight weeks notice to give both sides a chance to transition in a professional way. Some environments are like that.  In others, you can expect to be escorted out of the building 10 minutes after you give your notice.

Good luck in whatever you decide!

uwavegeek's picture
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I would just set it up tomorrow.  You've made your decision. 

I wasn't sure if your current company was paying for the conference or not.   If theyre paying, you should give them the option to send someone else.  Wasn't clear as you're moving to a new industry.