You might be tempted to turn into a short-timer when you are leaving a job. But, let me tell you, it’s not the wise thing to do. You may be too excited to just leave that place and never come back. With all the excitement, people often forget to do some of the important things before leaving a job.
Important things to do before leaving a job:
- Make a list of reasons why you want to quit. At times, we just rush into such decisions just because we are having more workload or having issues with colleagues or boss. Before taking any major career decisions, you have to make sure that you are quitting for a valid reason. Take other’s advice if you cannot decide it by yourself.
- Put your efforts to make the transition as smooth as possible. In case you are not quitting but are fired, don’t just walk away from the office, offer two week’s notice so as to make the transition easier. This will not only help your replacement to know more about the role, it will also show you are not a short-timer and are handling situations professionally.
- Start looking for another job. It’s better to have a job offer in hand before you leave your current job. This will ensure that you have a source of income to support yourself and don’t have a gap in job history.
- If you don’t have a job offer in hand, make sure that you have enough savings to pay the bills. It may take a month or two before you find a suitable job. Start preparing now.
- If you are dealing with job burnout, see if sabbatical leave can do the trick. Instead of quitting the job, you can talk to the HR and know the sabbatical leave policy of the company.
- Update your resume before you leave you job. It would be more difficult to think of all the things you accomplished and the projects you undertook once you left the place. Keep your resume always updated, even when you are not looking for a job.
- Have a plan. Quitting your job without having any clue about what to do next is biggest career risk you can ever take.
- Get all the documents that you may require in future. Any emails praising your performance, any important documents, everything.
- Save some work samples. You may require some proof to show your future employers how awesome you are/were at your job.
- Stay in contact with your colleagues and even your boss. Networking is the best way to land a perfect job.
- Check if you are eligible for unemployment benefits, if so, calculate how much you will receive.
- Gather information regarding ex-employee benefits. Several companies continue to provide some of the benefits to its ex-employees. If your company is one of those, you don’t want to miss the chance of getting those perks.
- If you are planning to retire, calculate your retirement income. Evaluate how much you would be spending and then compare it with your savings and retirement income.