Wondering the best way to tell your boss you’re leaving?
Need a plan for a smooth transition out of your current company?
If you’re ready to check the boxes on actions and precautions to take when leaving your job, this episode is for you.
In this episode of The Career Rx we’ll discuss:
- 5 tips on how to leave your job and give your notice the right way
- What’s NOT your responsibility while on your way out
- What to check about company policies and contracts before departing
In today’s episode, I go over a 5 point checklist on the best way to quit your job without burning any bridges while setting healthy boundaries. After listening, you’ll be less anxious to approach your boss with your notice and have more confidence in setting the scope of your departing responsibilities.
Special announcement: My course, Industry Insider, is now accredited for up to 12 AMA, PRA, Category One CME credits. My program will show you how to land an exciting and impactful role as a physician in the world of pharma, biotech, or medical devices, and a program on how to do that even if you think you’re not qualified, don’t have any connections, or concerned about a pay cut… my program will give you all the answers you need to set you on that path.
In this Episode:
[1:30] Industry Insider now has 12 Category 1 CME credits available!
[3:40] Things to confirm before you give your notice
[4:50] How to communicate about leaving
[5:20] But what do you actually say?
[7:30] No guilt trips! Smooth transitions and boundary setting
Links and Resources:
Industry Insider – 12 CME hours – learn exactly how to land a rewarding nonclinical career without a new degree, connections on the inside, prior experience, or a pay cut
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TRANSCRIPT: Episode 93 – How to Leave Your Job
Hey there, I’m Marjorie Stiegler and you’re listening to The Career RX podcast, where we tackle the important things they don’t teach you in medical school. Like how to treat your career, like the business, it really is, with strategies to accelerate the kind of success that you want, because you deserve a career you love, and a career that loves you back. Are you ready? Let’s get into it.
Hey, all welcome back to The Career Rx. Thank you for joining me once again. Today we’re going to be talking about one of the questions that, I think, strikes fear in the heart of every professional, at least the first couple of times that you decide to move on from an opportunity and accept the next professional growth opportunity. And that is giving your notice right how to leave your job and and how to leave on good terms.
Hey, but before we go on, I want to give you some exciting, exciting news that my course Industry Insider now is accredited for up to 12 CME credits. So this is AMA, PRA, Category One credits, those are the ones that you have to earn each year and report for your ongoing licensure and certification. So I’m super excited. If you have been thinking about enrolling in Industry Insider, hopefully this will help seal the deal for you. Come on over 12 CME credits.
It’s a really, really fantastic value. While you are learning all the things that I know, you want to know, my listeners want to understand about how physicians work in non clinical roles in pharma and biotech, and they want to be able to search for jobs, they don’t even know where to go. They’ve spent a lot of time and effort without any kind of results.
But my program will show you how to land an exciting and impactful role as a physician in the world of pharma, biotech, or medical devices, and a program on how to do that even if you think you’re not qualified. That’s almost everybody.
Even if you think you’re not qualified, you don’t have any connections, you’re concerned about a pay cut… my program will give you all the answers you need to set you on that path. So 12 CME credits, come check it out. You can get all the information at www.marjoriestieglermd.com/industryinsider. And of course, I’ll have that link right in the show notes for you.
It goes without saying, this is a very, very popular question. And also, I think it goes without saying these days that many people leave their jobs because they are unhappy with their job. So I think it’s very, very important to be able to sort of disentangle that with how you leave the job, you may be very unhappy.
And it might be some things that you’ve tried to work through and have not been able to come to a resolution or they’re just deal breakers for you. And your boss will certainly ask why. And your colleagues will ask why. And you may even participate in a formal exit interview, in which HR asks you for feedback of what might have made you stay, I think you should approach these conversations really, really carefully.
Because although it’s very, very tempting to give really unfiltered feedback, not always so sure that that is appropriate or helpful for you. So I’ll leave that for you to consider but I just want to be very, very clear that I understand that that may be going on in the background, I’m not really going to address it here.
But I am going to give you five, you know, general considerations, five tips to think about how you leave your job and give your notice.
So number one, when to give your notice the answer to that is as soon as possible after your new contract is signed. So you want to be certain that the choice that you have made is locked in right, the ink is dried, it’s signed not it’s coming soon, you know you’ve signed it, they need to countersign it there are things that need to happen in order for it to be truly final and that’s the time to give your notice it should be after that next step is fully locked in unless of course you’re just leaving without another opportunity already lined up which is also just fine.
But once you have made that decision and any, you know, final things that need to happen in order to make it official have occurred then you want to give your notice as soon as possible because this of course is very courteous and it helps your boss and your department to prepare for your departure. So that is tip number one as soon as possible. But after the ink is dry on your next opportunity – final contract.
#2 The next tip is I would give this news in person if possible. And if not verbally or via zoom you know as close to in person as you can and follow it by written notice. This need not be lengthy, you know, you don’t need to write a dissertation when you’re giving this nor do you need to verbalize one but you do want to, I think, you know, give your boss the courtesy of face to face and then follow it up with a written notice. If your organization has some formal forms or whatever it is that you need to do then, of course, you can follow that.
But this could also just be a simple email. So book a meeting for 15 minutes or something like that, or try to grab them just make an appointment to have your boss’s ear for a short period of time, so that you can give them the news, and then follow it up with an email and whatever else HR asks you to do.
Okay, the third tip, and this is, again, the sort of part of why I opened understanding that a lot of people leave because they are unhappy. My third tip is to make sure that your format of your notice includes a thank you and appreciation for having had the opportunity to work there and contribute to that organization. And you want to find something, if at all possible, that’s positive and genuine that you can reflect upon. So you might say how much you’ve enjoyed the people there. Even if there was something about the work you didn’t like. Or you might say how much you enjoyed the work.
Even if you didn’t particularly enjoy the people or the culture, and don’t verbalize those second things, you know, find the thing that you can say that you really appreciate it, it might be the complexity of the work, it might be the environment, it might be the stated mission of the organization, or it might be something historical about having worked for that organization, or it could be the people it could be the culture, whatever it is, find something that you can speak authentically and genuinely that you have really appreciated the opportunity to be part of, and include that, as you are giving your resignation.
I generally would also let them know that what you’re moving on to do is something that is aligned with your goals for your professional growth. And ideally, this is true, right? If you’re taking a new job, that’s something that you want to do, to further your career, to learn more, to grow more. And so you just let them know that this next opportunity is something that fulfills a career aspiration that you have for your own professional development and personal growth. And that it was just, you know, too good to perfect to pass up.
So generally speaking, I think these are positive ways in which you can frame your departure or you don’t need to give unfiltered, all the reasons that you were either actively looking or receptive to being recruited. Thanks and enjoyment for something positive that was there and your ability to contribute, as well as, you know, positive reason why you’re moving on.
Okay, the fourth tip that I have is to commit to a smooth transition. In clinical work, this might be a matter of making sure that you do whatever is needed for your patients to now have a new physician in non clinical work, it may be more project oriented. And of course, in academics, it could be both to be sure that your projects are smoothly handed over from one person to another. Now, let me be clear, I mean, boundaries may need to be set here, because you are moving on, right, you’re moving on.
And you’re going to do your best to help transition your work to the person who will take it over. That doesn’t mean that it’s your job to find that person, or to really extend your help beyond your last day or beyond what’s a reasonable request. But you are saying to your boss, that you’re making a commitment to do your best to allow a smooth transition of projects, patience, whatever the case may be, and try to make good on that as best as possible.
But again, you know, it’s not your responsibility to fill yourself. Like they call it backfilling right? Once you leave a new position is open, if they’re going to fill it that’s called backfilling. It’s not your responsibility to backfill yourself, it’s not your responsibility to find the people to take on the projects, though you may offer to help. But if you can’t do it, I mean that really that less that rests with your employer. So don’t overburden yourself, just commit to a smooth transition.
And that leads into number five, be very clear about your final day. So I would check your contracts and your organizational norms to see how long and how much notice you should give. And you should try to honor this as best you can. And certainly if you’re contractually required to you should honor that and be very, very clear about your final day that you intend to depart and that you’re not going to be available after that. So your smooth transition needs to be completed before that time. And that’s going to require the partnership of your boss and the entire department.
If you want to depart before that, you could say I’m happy to stay up through dates such and such but also if you are happy in your finances are happy to leave a little bit earlier to give yourself a chance to start that new job or even just to take some time off to refresh. Be very, very clear about that final day, have that in mind before you give your notice to your boss.
So those are my five tips in general as you’re leaving your job on a good note not burning any bridges let them know as soon as possible after that the ink is dry. Make sure you do it verbally first or in person followed by a written notice. Make sure you comment on something favorable, that you are appreciative of your time there that you learned while you were there.
Plus a positive reason for personal growth of why you’re moving on, commit to smooth transition and be super clear about your final day, making sure that you’re honoring the norms and certainly any contractual requirements if at all possible. I hope that helps because I know many people in my audience are often looking at new job opportunities.
So this can be a time of anxiety, approaching your boss with your notice, but it shouldn’t be saying this exciting new chapter. I’m going to be thrilled for you when you have the opportunity to put these five tips into action. That’s it for today. Bye for now.
Before you go, please leave me a review on Apple Podcasts, share and subscribe to this podcast. Your support makes all the difference and it truly helps this information reach someone who may really need it. Until next time, thanks for listening
