One thing you’ve got to hand to Jason Calacanis, he always tries to turn lemons into lemonade. A few days ago a private email between him and one of his employees was published where he accepted a resignation less than gracefully. His response today is to give people advice on how to resign properly so as to, we assume, avoid getting flamed by your boss in response.
Here are Jason’s six tips for a proper resignation, along with a handy script. You can read his whole post on calacanis.com.
Since we’re on the subject of how to do something uncomfortable like resigning, here is my road map.
1. If things are going well at the company, and you’re learning and developing, you should stay three years–at least. There is no reason to jump ship if you’re learning and enjoying your time at a company.
2. If you’re not learning, enjoying yourself or developing, you probably shouldn’t stay in a company. On that, I think we all agree.
3. Ask your boss if you can take 10 minutes of her time to speak in private. If your boss is busy, ask their admin if you can get on the schedule and say that it is urgent.
4. Tell your boss everything truthfully. Tell them why you’re leaving, where you’re going and what you’ve loved about working at the company. If they ask, tell them what you think could be improved.
5. If you would rather stay at your company, but need to make more money, be straight with your boss and let them know you would like them to match, or come closer to a competing offer.
6. Don’t post correspondence of any private discussions with your boss on the Web. That’s not good for anyone–even though it’s highly entertaining for many.
Here is a basic script for a situation where you absolutely want to leave a job:
“Boss, this is hard for me to say, so I’m going to just come out and say it: I’m resigning today. Don’t worry, I will give you as much time as you need to transition–within reason. It’s not personal, but I really want to take on this challenge at company TKTK. I understand if you don’t want me here in the office as a distraction to the rest of the team. Please let me know how I can help us all have a really smooth transition.”
So there you have it. A handy list of tips on how to resign. Or at least how to resign to Jason Calacanis.