Resignation - Open Door

Author
Discussion

ARF8885

Original Poster:

228 posts

36 months

Monday 23rd January 2023
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I’m due to accept a job offer and need to of course hand in my resignation.

I’m not leaving on bad terms, however an opportunity has presented itself that won’t come around again and hard to not accept. Something that fast tracks my progression to a certain role/level within a 1-2 year period, that would typically take 5-8 years in my current organisation.

I’m a big believer in not burning bridges and leaving an open door, we work in a fairly niche sector and are likely to come across each other at some point.

I also want to offer the support and services of the new business I will be joining to provide continuity and no distribution to the client or projects I’m currently working on. This would be done via a sub-consultant agreement, where my previous employer holds the ‘appointment’ but brings in my new employer as a ‘sub-consultant’ working under them. Effectively both getting a cut, but ultimately keeping the Client happy.

They have done this recently with someone who did a similar move and due to their involvement and reputation with the Client etc the arrangement was agreed.

Anyone any advice on wording of the notice letter to leave the door open and leave on a positive, but also whether you’ve had a similar scenario to the above and how you approached it.

RDMcG

19,518 posts

214 months

Monday 23rd January 2023
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I had a great job offer which offered significant advancement though even more pressure which I accepted -best move I ever made.

I did have a major deliverable for my existing employer which was critical and would take three months. I negotiated a delay and made the deadline though I worked weekends for my new company (both jobs had CEO reporting)

My only advice is to leave your old job as tidy as possible. Companies know and expect people to leave. I have had a number of direct reports move on to new opportunities,often the very good people and no bad feelings .)

deckster

9,631 posts

262 months

Monday 23rd January 2023
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Keep your resignation letter short, sweet, and formal. "I write to give notice of my intention to resign my position. As per my contractual obligation of two months notice, my final day with the company will be 23rd March 2023". Or whatever, and of course if you have a good relationship then a pre-resignation heads-up is always appreciated so it doesn't come completely out of the blue.

Everything else is a personal chat with your manager and whoever else might be interested, and then a commercial arrangement between the two companies. But either way it's a separate matter to your resignation and I wouldn't try to tie the two together.

Hammersia

1,564 posts

22 months

Monday 23rd January 2023
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Just bear in mind that your employer is not your friend. They have no more loyalty to you than what hits the bottom line.

Jasandjules

70,505 posts

236 months

Monday 23rd January 2023
quotequote all
It depends on just how flowery (read, butt kissing), you want to be.

You can say "Thank you for the wonderful opportunity" and "I wish the company all the best for the future" etc.. but apart from that, as above, keep it simple.

ARF8885

Original Poster:

228 posts

36 months

Monday 23rd January 2023
quotequote all
Thanks all.

The business is going through a bit of churn in terms of resource, so another one to the list isn’t going to help. Not my problem I appreciate, but I don’t want to leave them high and dry!

I’ll keep the resignation short and sweet, then have those discussions separately.

Bungleaio

6,395 posts

209 months

Tuesday 24th January 2023
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I ended up going back to a previous employer, leaving and subsequently going back were both very good moves. My time away from the company is referred to as my sabbatical.

Hope it works out for you too OP.

vaud

52,395 posts

162 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
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Bungleaio said:
I ended up going back to a previous employer, leaving and subsequently going back were both very good moves. My time away from the company is referred to as my sabbatical.

Hope it works out for you too OP.
Same for a close colleague.

Can be good to ask for continuance of service to be recognised if you decide to return.

FrankAbagnale

1,730 posts

119 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
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I'd probably resign verbally to your direct manager first and then follow it up immediately with the short email.

A short email out of the blue may not do wonders for your relationships.


ARF8885

Original Poster:

228 posts

36 months

Thursday 26th January 2023
quotequote all
Had an informal chat with him earlier in the week, complete surprise and not expected. Asked if I’d be interested in a counter offer, to which I advised no my mind is made up, to which he replied well I’m going to anyway, we can’t lose you!

Don’t want the counter offer, however can’t help but be a little intrigued as to what it looks like!

As for leaving the door open and supporting with ongoing work with my new employer, given the lack of resource I don’t think they have much choice other than lose the work to one of their competitors.

Meeting with my LM tomorrow!