Giving Notice

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

After days, weeks, months, or longer of interviewing, you have received a job offer that meets your needs and have decided to give notice to your employer and resign from your current job.

Get your job offer in writing. Having the offer in writing is both your legal protection against an employer should they make an attempt to deceive you with the terms of the offer AND your protection against your having made a mistake in hearing the offer. The letter should include both your new salary and position title within it. Some will provide a benefits summary; most large firms will not provide that until employee orientation during your initial phase of employment with their firm.

When it is time to resign, meet with your boss for a few minutes and tell him or her personally, providing a written letter of resignation. “May I get a minute with you,” uttered on a Friday, has started more discussions about resignation and sent many employers into unhappy weekends and managers into anxiety attacks about how to replace someone than almost any other question.

Give two weeks notice. Sometimes three weeks is the right thing to do, but remember, your new job is waiting for you and if you’ve told them you’ll be there in two weeks, do not adjust your start date to accommodate the job you’re leaving. After all, if you died…