‘Go out on your shield’ with dignity..

As a recruiter that has made over 500 placements personally in my career and a manager that has also had various people work with me but then subsequently leave (it does happen, believe it or not), the process of an exit is never the easiest situation for any parties.

It’s imperative that you are clear and concise and of course conduct yourself in a professional and respectable manner. Let’s face it - regardless of the reason, the company has still paid you (hopefully) and you clearly joined them for a reason…

Before getting into that difficult conversation, you need to ask yourself “When is it time to quit?”, the simple answer is you never truly will. You might be hoping new projects, a new manager, a new office, a pay rise, a promotion, or many other factors will be the thing that changes how you’re feeling. In many cases that will happen, and the grass isn’t always greener… that being said, the recruitment industry is one of the fastest growing in the world and most people seem to think it is too.?

Ask yourself the following questions:

·????????Are my reasons for thinking of a change valid?

·????????Will these reasons change in the near future?

·????????Have I raised my concerns?

·????????Am I putting myself in a worse position by making a change?

Of course, there’s so much more but these are the first that come to mind.

You’re ready to hand your notice in and have your long list of frustrations and reasons why you’re leaving (money, management, progression and whatever else it might be). Have you considered the reaction? Has your own performance and conduct been immaculate? Are you hoping for a reaction that keeps you there, or are you serious about this pending conversation??

Some tips for this pending conversation:

·????????Be prepared – have a resignation letter ready.

·????????Be positive – relay your appreciation for their time and having the conversation (it’s never nice from both sides).

·????????Be thankful – for the opportunity, support, training, or anything they have given you, at the very least paying your salary.

·????????Give feedback – this is important for any organisation, feedback is very different from bitter criticism, choose your words and tone carefully.

·????????Be concise and don’t use anyone else’s frustrations as your own, this is about you… not Timothy who works in a department unrelated and no relevance to yourself.

·????????Be prepared for talks regarding handover of clients, workload and exit strategy.

Right so you’ve got through it, your working through your notice period (or not), it’s imperative you work as hard as ever. ‘Go out on your shield’ I like to call it – make everyone see what they are going to miss. Imagine being the person that leaves and everyone says “thank god he/she is gone”.?

It’s now your last day, this might sound like a self-explanatory thing to say but don’t go and tell Karen down the hall what you really think of her, don’t tell Michael from accounts how bad his lunch smells, show some class. So many bridges are burnt between notice and last day through these points and you just never know who could one day turn around and be a client, be a colleague or even a new manager. Also, do you really want the company who have paid your bills for a period of time and given you this opportunity to be thinking the worst of you, or perhaps the best?

Hopefully there’s some content in here that helps in some way shape or form. Remember the final point is once you leave a company, adhere to any restrictive elements in your contract, don’t talk negatively about your former employers/employees and to think everything happens for a reason.

If you have read this and want to speak to Albion Rye Associates about career opportunities within recruitment (to join our amazing team), or working within Medical Communications, Market Access, Market Research, Regulatory Affairs or Clinical Research globally and feel it’s time for a change, contact myself Jake Byrne, Managing Director for an introduction to one of our vertically assigned expert consultants.

#hiring #recruitment #firing #apprentice #exit #leavers?