How to Leave a Company

Leaving a company (by choice or by force) is never an easy experience - but there are two big questions you should think about BEFORE your last day.

1.) Are you absolutely sure you want to leave a company?

As someone who has left a job just to get away from the job, manager, or circumstances, I get where you're coming from. But it's important to ask what your real gripe is.

If you're being mistreated by a manager or teammate, then you need to leave the team.

Is there a redeeming factor to staying at the company but in a different role?

If your gripe is with the company itself (i.e. their products, impact on the world, etc) or leadership, then clearly it's time for you to go.

2.) Now that you have decided you're leaving, what do you need to think about?

As you prepare to leave, you may think about a lot of things. How to be successful in your new job, how are you going to adjust, etc. But there are crucial things to consider about your soon-to-be former company. I've put together a short list. 

**caveat: Please check to see what you are legally allowed to take with you. I am not advocating for violating any employment agreements or laws but merely suggesting what you should think about.**

Files and Deliverables

What documents do you NEED to keep?

• How you store your files? Do you store things on your local hard drive like a compulsive gambler, hoping lady luck doesn't destroy your laptop? If so, consider upgrading to cloud-based storage like OneDrive (comes FREE with a Microsoft365 subscription), Dropbox, Box, or another service.
• If you're already using a cloud service and want to keep any personal files, again check with your company's IT policy (some may not permit personal accounts from Dropbox or elsewhere)
• But ask yourself this question: Will NOT having access to any documents or files prevent you from being able to show evidence of your work to future employers?
• Personal files are certainly something you should be able to take with you (i.e. photos) but check with your company IT policy first.

Notes

Do you have notebooks with your notes? Are they physical or digital?

• If you use your company OneNote account or Google Suite, you will lose access to those files and notes at some point.
• If you have a corporate OneNote account, consider setting up a Personal OneNote account (this may necessitate you buying a Microsoft365 subscription but this is a good idea regardless!) and then copy your notes over.

Expenses

How much of your money is tied up with your company?

• Have you submitted all of your corporate card receipts? Educational reimbursements? Cell phone bills? PerkUp reimbursements (for my LinkedIn friends)?
• If you paid for Membership Rewards on your corporate AmEx, as soon as that card goes away you might lose your points. So consider opening a fee-free AmEx with membership rewards like the AmEx EveryDay (note: this is as referral link and I may get points if you sign up!)
• Also what accounts do you direct toward your company card? For example, is your cell phone charging to your corporate Amex? Gotta change that.

Finances

Keep any account statements, account numbers, login information, and balances handy.

• Do you have an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP)? How about a 401k?
• What about funds in your flex spending account (FSA)?
• Does your company have an employee recognition program? Some companies let employees and managers reward their peers or direct reports with balances that can be turned into gift cards or charitable contributions or physical goods. Don't let that money go to waste.
• Does your company offer a matching contribution to charity? If you have donated, not submitted for a match, and have matching funds to spare, why wouldn't you ensure your favorite charities get additional funds?

Contact Information

How will you keep in touch with people if you lose their contact info?

• I've heard from many people who use their work email to store all of their contacts, both personal and professional. If you use Outlook, you can download your Contacts library into a .pst file and integrate it into your Home/Personal outlook.
• It's also worth asking yourself what this information is worth to you (or what your time is worth if you need to spend hours and days tracking this information down later).

Technology

What other daily technology elements do you take for granted and will not have access to change?

Cell Phone

• Is your company phone going away? If so can you keep your phone number? Can you keep your phone?
• If you're on an iPhone, make sure you back up your phone and sync it before they pull the corporate plug.
• Also if you brought your own device, back up as well because it's possible they'll remote wipe your phone (I had this happen once in a former job where I had my work email on a personal phone, and when I lost my work phone, they wiped BOTH devices)

Software

• Were there other software programs you bought yourself? Is there a way to transfer that authorization to another (personal) computer?

Email-linked Access

• What accesses to external databases, mailing lists, or other websites depend on your email?
• For example, do you have your personal email attached to your LinkedIn account? Did your membership to an external organization like Gartner or SHRM get paid for but is attached to your work email? If so, change that to your personal email pronto or risk losing access to it.

iTunes

• Did you have iTunes on your work computer? Make sure to de-authorize it.

Goodbyes

Let's end on a personal note. You might be about to say goodbye to some people you care about. Be ready to say goodbye.

• Do you have a goodbye email prepared?
• Will people have your contact information?

I know this is a hard time to go through - especially if this was an involuntary termination, layoff, or reduction in force. But that doesn't mean you should compound your sadness with frustration, wasted hours, and lack of access to your documents and data just because the company needs to wipe out all traces of you.

If you find yourself needing more resources to tackle this transition in your career, check out https://coachingaf.com/resources and look at both my videos on career planning and my reading recommendations (especially The First 90 Days - which is an EXCELLENT text on how to manage your transition to a new role or company). Good luck everyone!