Leaving a job, company or indeed colleagues or a manager be just as daunting as starting a new role.
We would always recommend being completely happy with your contract and offer from the new company and ensure you have everything in writing either a hard copy or a letter headed signed offer sent electronically. At that point you can start the process of leaving.
Notice Period: Not every company will have the same expectations but the length of your notice period will be highlighted in the last contract of employment you signed.
Resignation Letter: Check your notice and write a formal letter to either your line manager or HR outlining the notice given. (Speak to the Sharples Davies team if you need a template).
New Employer Communication: Keep open lines of communication and always keep them up to speed on potential start dates. Don’t just assume you can start early as some companies have planned induction days or may need to sort your new emails and work equipment out.
Counter Offers: Always do what is right for you and your career but we say remember why you want to leave will promises materialise and why did it take your resignation to recognise your worth?
Burning Bridges: If you haven’t enjoyed your time it can often be tempting to want to leave in a blaze of glory, our advice is put emotion aside and leave on good terms as you never know where people will turn up in the future.
Garden Leave: Your current employer might ask you to take garden leave after you resign, which means you’ll still be employed during your notice period but will be asked to stay away from your work duties. Garden leave is normally used to prevent an employee taking sensitive information about the company to a new job with a competitor.
Redundancy:
Way back in my Swizzles Matlow Area Sales Manager days I had just bought a house and two months later I returned home to find a notice of redundancy letter. The panic set in and then the questions of why me? Was I not good enough to retain? What do I do next?. In 2006 the process of getting a new job was slightly different to todays market and LinkedIn was a fairly new network.
Tips now:
The green ring – Open to Work – Its a tool that makes you stand out and will invite connections and messages. Its not a bad thing at all.
Invest time in your CV and LinkedIn Profile – Keep your CV to a reasonable length that allows you to show who you have worked for, what your key responsibilities have been and what achievements you made. Copy and paste from your job descriptions isn’t a CV and says nothing about how you have personally done your job. Check grammar and spellings and ensure your current contact details are up to date. Why not replicate this on your LinkedIn profile as many hiring managers, recruiters and talent acquisition people will see this.
Strengths & Development areas – During interviews these are two topics that are likely to be explored in some fashion and they are areas that I think we take for granted. Think over the last X amount of years, what you have been good at what do you bring as a positive and equally be self-aware to understand what areas you could develop or improve. Having well thought out answers to these topics will get you thinking more about yourself and get you ready for interview mode.
At Sharples Davies we are always happy to have a chat through a CV and give our pointers.
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