<p>I have had the same job for the past 15 years. Recent changes in management have made me seek employment elsewhere. I now have to resign from my job. I have a couple of questions. Should I be honest about why I’m leaving? Or take the high road and just say it’s time to move on. I don’t like to burn bridges and this is a huge company. I may want to work in a different section at some point. On the other hand I really would like to let the higher ups know what is really going on.
Also, I never actually see my boss. She works at a different site. Is it okay to send my resignation letter via email?
Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>I am of the mindset that it is always easier to get a job when you have a job (especially in this economy). Do you have another job lined up that you can fall back on?</p>
<p>If not, I would advise not cutting your nose to spite your face (especially since you talk about one day returning). </p>
<p>You said that you never actually see your boss who works in a different site, but at the same time you want to be able to work for the company in another division. What is so egregious about your job that you feel that you “have to resign”? Have you considered applying for a position in another division/section?</p>
<p>If while you worked there you weren’t able to communicate your concerns, I don’t know what good it would do to state them now. If you are do state your concerns in a letter of resignation, it might just look like you want to complain and run. </p>
<p>Also, if you want to work somewhere in that same company in the future, complaining in your resignation letter may put you in a bad light and you may not be considered for a job.</p>
<p>You may not actually SEE your boss, but to resign by email to me is cowardly.</p>
<p>Send the boss and email and say that you want to have a phone conference with her about a personal matter.</p>
<p>Also, I would not tell her that I am resigning. I would tell her that about the things you are unhappy about, without getting personal about any particular person, and see what your bosses’ response is. Give the boss a chance to find a solution to the problem.</p>
<p>You have 15 years at this company.</p>
<p>Your next company may be no better.</p>
<p>Plus, there is employment at will in this country. Thus, you may take a job at a new company, and be out in as little as 90 days. It is a VERY risky thing to switch companies.
My ex wife switched companies. At company A, she was well liked. She felt she was moving up in the world when she went to company B, which did the exact same sort of work, but at company B, they almost instantly started telling her that her work was no good.</p>
<p>To give up a 15 year job in this economy to me sounds very risky.</p>
<p>Now, if you think because of the situation that you might get fired, and that is why you are looking around for a new job, that is a different story. Better to quit before you are fired.</p>
<p>Better to try and work things out with your current employer.</p>
<p>You say you might want to work for that company again. Once you are gone, it will be much tougher to do that.</p>
<p>I already have another job lined up. I work in medicine, and the company I work for now is the largest medical provider in the state. That said, I have not found anything to transfer to in my company. I have accepted a wonderful job and expect to be there long term. The environment at my current job is toxic and I really don’t want to work there anymore. </p>
<p>I thought to resign via email because I answer to a number of people and will never be able to get them in the same place at the same time.</p>
<p>Still, resigning by email is not right, after FIFTEEN YEARS.</p>
<p>You can certainly TALK to SOMEONE.</p>
<p>And to reiterate, there is no saying that your supervisor at your new company will like you.</p>
<p>I remember reading a Wall Street Journal article from about 10 years ago, about all the horrors of being an employee at will.</p>
<p>A mid level executive at a big company took a job at a different company, 3000 miles away. He came into the office on Friday afternoon, to move his stuff into his new office. He was wearing jeans, because he was bringing in boxes, and books, and stuff like that. His new supervisor savagely reprimanded him. Then, the story went on that during his very first week on the job, people started saying that he was “unfriendly”. Then, his boss started criticizing every little thing he did. The job lasted about two weeks. BE CAREFUL. </p>
<p>It is risky to switch jobs. I fear you may be oblivious to this, because you have been at the same place for 15 years. That doesn’t mean you should not do it, but there is some risk.</p>
<p>If I were in your position, I would speak to my supervisor by telephone, but the company will probably want a resignation letter (not e-mail) for their files.</p>
<p>There was plenty that I wanted to complain about when I quit my last job, but instead I emphasized that I was taking a new job because the new position was a better match for my professional interests (which it is, but I didn’t really leave for that reason). And in my resignation letter, which I was told to address to a person two levels above me, I specifically expressed appreciation to a couple of people in the company who had been helpful to me and whose work I admired. </p>
<p>No point in burning bridges. You never know when you’ll meet the same people down the road.</p>
<p>Personally, I don’t think it’s necessarily risky to switch jobs. You are taking a leap into the unknown, but that could happen at your old job as well if, for example, a new supervisor was brought in. My job switch turned out just fine.</p>
<p>You must put a letter in writing to resign. Find out the proper person you need to address the letter to. Do not burn your bridges, you never know when you will need assistance from someone in your old employ. Individuals do move out of companies and you may run into them in various professional circles and very well my be working along side of them again. Your company may do exit interviews, done by someone in Human Resources. If that is the case, then this is the perfect opportunity to let someone know your concerns. This is usually confidential and the info may be relayed in a non direct way to individuals beyond your immediate supervisor.</p>
<p>dkitty21, Congrats on your new position! I disagree with both of these comments:</p>
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<p>Maybe a regional thing or because I work in a high-tech field, but I’ve resigned several times and always (since we’ve had email) using email. To me it’s the best way to have a record of everything and to notify all the pertinent parties at once. I email my direct supervisor(s) and cc HumanResources.</p>
<p>I always mention that I’m thankful for the experience. Also, I refuse to give any details about my new job. That might be a little paranoid, but I had a friend get burned badly by the current company calling the new place and trying to cause trouble. Definitely don’t burn your bridges…once one of my employers purchased my prior company…thank goodness I left on pleasant terms.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>Don’t burn bridges. I’ve resigned from three companies. One I went back to work for three years later, after the AH boss who drove me away the first time got canned. All three I subsequently worked for as an independent consultant, two of them for many years. In all three, the relationships I had with people I worked with served me well for a very long time.</p>
<p>Congratulations of the great new opportunity! I agree that this is not the time to try to set your employer straight. I also think that a telephone conversation with your official immediate supervisor, followed by courtesy emails to others you “answer” to, is more professional than emailing everyone. A letter is unnecessary–I’ve quit several jobs over the years and have never had to resign in writing. The writing part happens during the exit interview with HR, when you will have to acknowledge your understanding of your various benefits or lack thereof.</p>
<p>(PS, the advice to stay in a job you dislike because of fear that the next one won’t last is nonsense.)</p>
<p>Call your immediate supervisor and ask them the best way to resign. At the very least you can use that supervisor as a reference if you tick everyone else off. I would then follow my supervisors recommendation and send the required letter, MS Word has form letters for it, and I would go no further. Honestly why do you care to start a bunch of stuff when you are leaving? You no longer have to put up with it.</p>
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<p>The job where I was required to resign in writing was with a company so small that there was no HR and there was no exit interview. So my experience may be atypical.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the congratulations. I’m really excited to move on to a better opportunity. I kind of think it’s okay to send an email to all parties involved with my resignation letter attached. We are all spread all over the state and would never all be in one place. While I communicate with my supervisor via email or telephone every day or so, I haven’t actually seen her face to face in 4 months. I guess I just wanted validation that it’s not unprofessional to do it that way. I don’t really know of any other way I can do it.</p>
<p>dkitty: I would recommend letting your direct manager know via telephone. You can always let the rest of the distributed team know via email.</p>
<p>I have worked in these type of environments before (manager in another state or country, and team spread out all over the world). There is still something to say about the personal touch to your direct manager.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say it is cowardly to resign by email, but I think professional courtesy requires that you tell your immediate manager yourself, whether by phone or in person. If you have other people supervising you or colleagues you work closely with, I think a call is warranted. Then follow up with an email.</p>
<p>The resignation letter should be about two sentences long: I hereby resign. My last day will be month, day 2011. You don’t need to give a reason.</p>
<p>If this catches them by surprise, be prepared for them to make an effort to keep you. They might offer more money or other things. They might press you for the real reasons you are leaving. Keep it general and vague: “After 15 years, I am ready for a different opportunity” etc. Don’t burn any bridges. They may really push you to say where you are going. If you don’t want to tell them for whatever reason, hold your ground: “I’m looking at few things”.</p>
<p>Quitting a job can be stressful as well as liberating. Good luck!</p>
<p>One other thing to be careful of:</p>
<p>If you are going to a competitor and you tell your current company where you’re going, your current company might escort you out the door that very day, to avoid your taking any “company secrets” with you. If you think that’s a risk and you don’t want it to happen that way, you have every right to resign, give your two weeks (or whatever) notice, and not tell them where you are going until you get to the new spot. You can simply say your new employer has asked you not to announce it yet, because of some sensitivities at the new company. (Like, maybe someone wanted a promotion into the vacant job.)</p>
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<p>Some companies escort you to the door that day regardless of your future plans. </p>
<p>So if you have any personal files or e-mails in your office computer, delete them before announcing your resignation, and if you have any personal things in your office that you might be embarrassed to pack in front of a security guard, bring them home the day before you resign, too. You might also want to collect the e-mail addresses of your most valued colleagues, so that you can e-mail them to say goodbye and thank you if you don’t have the chance to do this while being rushed out the door.</p>
<p>I had this sort of thing happen to me once, many years ago. On the way out, I ran into a friend from graduate school, who worked for the same company. He offered me the formula for the company’s flagship product. It was not entirely a joke.</p>
<p>Congrats on your new job. I think it is unprofessional to resign by E-mail. I would communicate to your direct supervisor by telephone. I agree with not bothering to tell what is going on unless you are asked why you are leaving.</p>