giving two weeks notice... Forum

[nellie06]

Giving my notice next monday...I was wondering if anyone has given theirs and if they said anything amusing or got an amusing or shocking reaction from their bosses. Anyone being slick or are you simply slacking off and acting like a lame duck employee haha.

[JCsSecret]

I put in my notice last week and my boss wouldn't talk to me.

Here I was thinking she would be happy...

[tls5]

Giving my notice next monday...I was wondering if anyone has given theirs and if they said anything amusing or got an amusing or shocking reaction from their bosses. Anyone being slick or are you simply slacking off and acting like a lame duck employee haha.

yes.

[Mosel]

i gave two months and helped hire and interview my replacement and have been training him since.

I don't want to burn any bridges since I would like to return to this industry.

[cup]

i gave two months and helped hire and interview my replacement and have been training him since.

I don't want to burn any bridges since I would like to return to this industry.

I had to tell my boss 4 mo. ago. They offered me a promotion that has a long training period, and I did not want to be a dick, take the raise, and then leave them high and dry. They were very appreciative and have allowed me to goof off for the last 4 mos w/ pay.

[nellie06]

I'm contemplating telling my boss I got in off the wl...I mean I did get in during march but eh who's keeping track of the months haha.

[jnw1184]

It can be awkward for sure. As much as they would appreciate the advanced notice, I honestly would not tell them even a minute before you have to. It becomes infinitely more difficult to give a crap about your job (as if you cared already - ha!) once they know you're leaving. I gave four weeks and didn't think it would be so bad, but it was pretty painful.

At least for me, there was this REALLY lazy person who was higher up than me...so I always had to do her work. When only I knew I was leaving, I at least had the satisfaction of thinking to myself, "Ohhhhh, just wait. She'll get her comeuppance - she doesn't even know I'm leaving! Her life will suck!!" Once they all knew, I was just mad because that lazy biatch was milking me for all I was worth. I had nothing left to spite her with.

[big Game]

I dont know what I am going to do. I still haven't given my two weeks. I plan on going on a cruise right before school starts and my employer knows about the cruise but doesn't know about the whole law school thing. I am thinking I will just call them after the cruise and say I have had some family emergency and I won't be able to make it back. What do you think?

[ari20dal7]

I think you owe two weeks and nothing more unless you're a serious player at your workplace - and serious player means at least six figures, not "but I'm indispensible!".

If they were firing you, would they give you six months to get a successor job in place?

I dont know what I am going to do. I still haven't given my two weeks. I plan on going on a cruise right before school starts and my employer knows about the cruise but doesn't know about the whole law school thing. I am thinking I will just call them after the cruise and say I have had some family emergency and I won't be able to make it back. What do you think?

Man up and quit. Tell them you've been looking into pursuing your education, and feel that this would be the best direction for you. Offer to stay late, finish projects, help interview replacements, whatever, but you owe them nothing more than that.

[jnw1184]

I agree with Ari.

Your obligation to yourself is to make sure that you have enough money to quit. Your obligation to them is to give them two weeks. Don't ever count on their good will - if you need to work another month for money or whatever reason, then don't tell them until you have two weeks left. Likewise, an employer isn't counting on your good will to tell them as soon as you know that you'll want to leave. If you told them you were studying for the LSAT months/years ago, they would have canned you. Employees leaving is part of a risk/cost that businesses have to take on. It's just the way it goes.

Whatever you do, definitely don't lie. They'll easily find out what you're up to, and you will burn bridges with them by leaving them stranded. Things ALWAYS get back to people - most especially when you don't want them to. You might want them for recommendations/references later. You just never know.

I thought it was a really big deal leading up to when I quit, but it turned out to not be so bad (in terms of my relationship with the people I worked with). In terms of my work ethic, well, that's a different story.

[ari20dal7]

Yeah, I've been in on hiring/firing/promotion decisions, and it's definitely not about the individual. Your company, unless you own part of it, should be nothing more than a paycheck to you, because you're nothing more than an employee to them. Now, you must be as professional as humanly possible, because it's just as JNW notes. You're trying to build a career and must maximize those prospects. But you should always act in your interest and never in theirs.

[thespinstartshere]

Edit: unnecessary

[rhit2004]

I gave notice this past monday (3 weeks notice) and my boss' reaction was "Are you serious?" ... "This is not some sort of joke?" ... "Well crap". Of course I immediately told him the reason I would be leaving the company because it is hard to be mad when you are furthering your education and not just moving to a competitor. I also handed him a short letter I drafted up that basically said "I regret to inform you that I will be leaving my current employment with XYZ company effective August 8th, 2008. I have decided to pursue further professional goals and will begin pursuing my JD at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law this fall." My boss then took care of notifying the chain of command upwards and human resources. He was very gracious (although noticeably distraught as my group only has 4 engineers so losing me is a huge cut in man-power) and offered to provide a future reference if the need arose later. He then proceeded to ask me if I knew of anybody that might want my current job since there would clearly be a vacancy. I think the biggest thing is to be honest and to get right to the point. Also, two weeks notice is the industry standard and nothing more is required (anything less and I would have loss the pay for my outstanding vacation days).

[Mosel]

I spoke to a lot of people about this prior to my notice, and this is what I got from many HR people:

"two weeks notice is an antiquated myth. It is only appropriate if you work an entry-level job and can be replaced on a whim."

I'm not a "major player". I don't make six figures, but I work in a medium size company and I am the only person in my department. It's just polite to allow them as much time as is necessary to find a replacement. In the end, you should be able to make your own decision based on your knowledge regarding how much time your employer needs to comfortably replace you. I knew long before I put in my notice that I was leaving--about six months. I decided that was way too early. It would get awkward to be working on releases that far ahead and making decisions on policy that I'll never see through. I gave two months, though. I knew it would take them about two months to find someone and allow me sufficient time to train him/her. My office was very appreciative, and my last few weeks have been very enjoyable and everyone is happy. If I had given them two weeks, and then they found out that I knew I was leaving six months ago, I could have kissed any connections here goodbye, because I would have basically left them up the creek (and they did end up finding out that I knew six months ago).

If you're flipping burgers that's one thing. But if you're a fixture in an office with inter-office relationships/contacts, it's polite to give more than two weeks. Of course it will be different for every person/position, but I do believe that two weeks is pretty antiquated.

[ari20dal7]

I'm not a "major player". I don't make six figures, but I work in a medium size company and I am the only person in my department. It's just polite to allow them as much time as is necessary to find a replacement. In the end, you should be able to make your own decision based on your knowledge regarding how much time your employer needs to comfortably replace you. I knew long before I put in my notice that I was leaving--about six months. I decided that was way too early. It would get awkward to be working on releases that far ahead and making decisions on policy that I'll never see through. I gave two months, though. I knew it would take them about two months to find someone and allow me sufficient time to train him/her. My office was very appreciative, and my last few weeks have been very enjoyable and everyone is happy. If I had given them two weeks, and then they found out that I knew I was leaving six months ago, I could have kissed any connections here goodbye, because I would have basically left them up the creek (and they did end up finding out that I knew six months ago).

Well, fair enough, but most people are not in that position. In your position, I would agree that you handled it correctly. But how do you know that they wouldn't simply cast you out? If you need a job to pay the bills, I certainly wouldn't give the employer any excuse to let you go earlier.

[Mosel]

I'm not a "major player". I don't make six figures, but I work in a medium size company and I am the only person in my department. It's just polite to allow them as much time as is necessary to find a replacement. In the end, you should be able to make your own decision based on your knowledge regarding how much time your employer needs to comfortably replace you. I knew long before I put in my notice that I was leaving--about six months. I decided that was way too early. It would get awkward to be working on releases that far ahead and making decisions on policy that I'll never see through. I gave two months, though. I knew it would take them about two months to find someone and allow me sufficient time to train him/her. My office was very appreciative, and my last few weeks have been very enjoyable and everyone is happy. If I had given them two weeks, and then they found out that I knew I was leaving six months ago, I could have kissed any connections here goodbye, because I would have basically left them up the creek (and they did end up finding out that I knew six months ago).

Well, fair enough, but most people are not in that position. In your position, I would agree that you handled it correctly. But how do you know that they wouldn't simply cast you out? If you need a job to pay the bills, I certainly wouldn't give the employer any excuse to let you go earlier.

That's a good point. I'm sure it does depend on the office/relationship/etc. I love my office. We're like a family, and they knew I was studying for the LSAT, planning on law school, etc. My supervisor wrote me a kick-ass LOR. They thought I was going to go part-time and stay with the company. When I decided not to do that, I didn't just want to leave them high-and-dry. My company is a major player in the music industry, I work with some fairly large entertainment lawyers, and there's a very good chance I'll want to do entertainment law after school. Seeing as I'm leaving LA to go to UMich with a desire for entertainment law, I don't want to piss off any good connections I have to the industry since I'm removing myself from it for three years.

[ari20dal7]

Yeah, you did the right thing. You have both valuable connections and a situation where you wouldn't have people who would just toss you out. In your case, even if they did ask you to leave earlier, your connections are well worth the inconvenience, particularly for a fellow with your goals.

In my situation, I regret being candid. I worked for a bank in the middle of nowhere, Oklahoma, and should I score biglaw, I'll immediately be making more money than the bank president. Once my leave date became clear, the situation definitely deteriorated, and this was despite the bank knowing that I'd be going to school at the time they hired me. I think they assumed I wouldn't actually go, and then once the admissions and school visits started happening, they got that it was for real. We got a new manager in my division and she just didn't mesh with me at all, and I ended up speeding up my departure in order to preserve good will there. It really just depends on what you need from the job, both now and later. In my case, the former manager of my branch happened to be a friend from church who left before me, so I couldn't care less about what the people at the bank think: I've got my reference.

The people there were petty, uneducated, and freaked out about day to day problems that a decent mailroom guy could handle. So, with that in mind, I think I was a bit too strident in saying two weeks is almost always appropriate: I think the key factor is what you need from the job. If you need connections, maximize that. If you need a check.....well, maximize that.

[Mosel]

yeah, very clear.

So I guess we just illustrated the range of scenarios that may or may not be the case--so there really can't be a definitive answer to this. In ari's case I definitely think he made the right decision. In mine, I think I made the right decision. You just need to weigh things out.

[mace03]

I spoke to a lot of people about this prior to my notice, and this is what I got from many HR people:

"two weeks notice is an antiquated myth. It is only appropriate if you work an entry-level job and can be replaced on a whim."

I agree with this. I certainly do not make six figures either, but I gave a two month notice that I would be leaving at the end of the summer, and then a firm one month notice once I knew the exact date. They have been fair and generous with me since I began and I felt that I owed them (especially the owner) the same courtesy. With over a month of notice, they were able to adjust accordingly and will be making the transition seamlessly. The company has a "history" of not taking 2-week notices very well. I felt that they appreciated my extended notice and because of that have treated me very well.

With all of that said, I feel that each situation is unique.

[limegreen]

I don't know if I should even post this because I probably could have handled the situation better but here goes anyway. One time I was working a retail job and I was really, really miserable. I had worked there a few years prior with a different manager, and decided to go back just for Thanksgiving / Christmas time so I could work over breaks. The problems were evident from the beginning- they were scheduling me when I asked off, they were giving me way too many hours, and they pretty much didn't seem to care about any of the requests I had made prior to them hiring me.

The manager was a little crazed, keeping us in the store until 2am almost every night. Keep in mind the store usually closed at about 9pm, so that is 5 hours of straightening. It also meant that I was working 10 hour shifts, which I hadn't exactly agreed to. The worst part though, is how they managed us. They would give each person a section to straighten, fill, fold, etc. and that was that. On nearly every closing shift I was doing the sections of 2-3 people while everyone else chit chatted and did everything super slow. After a while I caught onto this and when the manager assigned me a third section one night I told her no, I wanted to leave. She said we were a team and we could all leave together. I asked why I had to do extra work than everyone else even though we are getting paid the same thing. She didn't like that and just walked away, so I just stood there the rest of the night.

After they made me miss my Dad's retirement party and a series of other small things, I just quit right before a shift. They told me I HAD to give 2 weeks etc. etc. but I couldn't take it anymore at that point. My boyfiend (who had only worked there a couple of shifts anyway) quit the same day.

[nellie06]

yea my company policy is two weeks so i'm just following the rules haha

[edcrane]

There's obviously some disparity between the different sorts of jobs referenced here. I think the general rule should be that if you've assumed a reasonable amount of responsibility (e.g., client contact at small firm) or have been heavily invested into (months of training or reimbursed tuition) you should give at least a months notice. Otherwise give two to three weeks (or no notice if you work in a really shitty retail job).

What you don't want to do is burn bridges unnecessarily. If you have a decent job (50k+), it's wise to maintain a good relationship with your superiors and peers--you never know when you might find use for each other.

[ts103]

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[ts103]

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[nellie06]

Yea I mean even the rationale of thinking you could pull in your old firm as a client I don't think is really a great rationale because the management at the top can change and it will be at least 6 yrs (3 law school, 3 associate yrs) before you really will be qualified enough for a big firm to give you the all-clear to go marketing your services to potential clients. But I guess its still a good reason for some people.

For me, I plan to be a litigator so if anyone needs my help they're most likely going to be in serious trouble with the s.e.c. Or their management team is being indicted for fraud, so I'd already have the upper hand haha.

On an interesting note, just to show how capricious and callous lawyers can be, this guy was hired by a biglaw firm which made a big deal about him joining the firm. He left for a competitor...a day later. Literally. My friend summers at the firm the guy transferred to. If a guy can quit after one day, and he's a major player in a firm, I as a peon would be more than gracious giving two weeks notice haha.