Resignation Advice
Once you have received a firm offer you will need to decide whether to accept it or not. There are various options; accept, reject or negotiate (if this was not covered prior to receiving your offer in writing).
Assuming that the offer is what you want, and you have a written offer letter, your next step is to resign.
Prior to resigning there are points to consider and some preparation is required:- How much notice should you be giving? Have this clear in your mind and confirm it when you notify your manager. What meetings, projects, and deadlines are outstanding? Help your manager out and provide a detailed list of what is ongoing and outstanding. Write your resignation letter. State the relevant dates clearly. You do not need to state details about the position and employer in the letter. Avoid any negative comments about why you are leaving as this letter will go on your employee file. Tell your manager first as it is important he or she hears from you and not others. Always resign face to face, in person. Be dignified and respectful. Avoid negative assertions about your current role; instead focus briefly on your new role and company. Finally, you are not obliged to provide salary details or other sensitive information just practice saying "It's private, therefore I would rather not say". Does your company have a policy of escorting people from the building if they have resigned to join a competitor? Bear this in mind and prepare for an immediate exit if this is the norm.
The resignation meeting
People normally opt to have a discreet meeting with their manager or director when resigning. With your letter and a mental note of what you will say, its time to have that chat. It is important that the resignation meeting has structure and that you have a degree of control. Without an anticipated agenda a resignation meeting can last anything from 15 minutes to 3 hours. The meeting will often be tense and if it's not handled correctly your boss may take your decision to be both a business and personal rejection. However, moving jobs shouldn't be emotive as it is important to concentrate of the real issues which are normally to do with responsibility, money or location.
Once you have resigned and you are serving notice do not become negative and the focal point for those with dissenting views. Keep to the hours and do your best to leave on good terms.
Exit Interviews
In any exit interview be positive. Leave with your reputation intact, your current colleagues may be your future contacts or colleagues later in your career.
It is always important to remember that resigning is not the big event; the new job opportunity is and this is what you are focused on. Always consider references and re-employment - would your boss give you a genuinely good reference or recommend you for re-employment if you resigned in a negative manner? Finally, it would be disappointing if you were remembered for how you left rather than what you achieved during your years of service.
Counter offers
From recent research by Quest (2005) 28% of candidates receive a qualified counter offer (one that includes a revised salary) and an additional 39% claim they receive an un-qualified counter offer (is there anything we could do to change your mind?).
Counter offers are difficult to predict they may occur at the point of resignation or they may occur during the last days with the current employer. However, once an employee has written back to his/her new employer they are normally dis-inclined to break the agreement.
For an employer it makes good business sense to make a counter offer. It prevents them having to recruit (time and cost considerations) and train-up the replacement which avoids the short term disruption that occurs when one person leaves.
Your manager may employ various tactics to encourage you to reject the new offer made by another company. The most common tactics employed are:-
Financial
Future promotions
Heightened interest in your views plus communicating a desire to address any issues
Emphasises your value to the organisation
Generates doubts you hold about moving to a competitor
Directly or indirectly focuses on any negative aspects about future employer (i.e., financial or anecdotal hearsay).
Sometimes your current employer will provide you with a good genuine insight; however, they might be seeking to blur your resolve to move forward. There are many tricks of the trade to make you feel guilty or foolhardy about seeking to move therefore, always consider your current employers vested interest. Finally, if they want you so much why didnt they promote you, pay you more and tell you how valued you are before it came to this!
If you decide to stay consider the following:-
Your manager will have lost some trust in you as you have been out on interview, and you tried to leave.
The resignation was the catalyst for your buy-back, pay rise and promotion. Is that right; are they the company for you and your career?
More often than not you will lose any opportunity to work for the organisation you were choosing to join.
Word may get around the industry that you were leaving but then decided to stay.
Will the circumstances that led you to look outside have changed simply because you have accepted more money and a promotion with your current employer?
Ifyou do decide to reject the offer and stay it is estimated that over 65% of these employees will leave within 12 months.
Good luck with resigning!
