2 Weeks Notice?

[Tonichelle]

How does one go about writing one out? I've never had to before, and I have finally decided to quit my job. The internal politics and a lot of other stupid stuff have gotten too much and I figure I might as well beat the manager to the punch and quit. (To be honest it's nothing I did that put me in this situation, unless honesty and loyalty are now bad things)

So how does one start it out? Do I use my manager's name or do I use the all powerful "To whom it may concern:"?
And once I get that far, what do I say? I know I can't air every issue I have, for fear it will come back to bite me in the butt... but what's the best way to get out what needs to be said where everyone's satisfied?

[antmanb]

I've always kept my notice letter short and sweet - adressed eprsonally to me direct manager and merely stating that i am giving the requisitie notice to quit my job.

In my industry it is usual to have an "exit interview" where employers dry to really dig to find out why you are leaving and what you would do to improve the place.

If you do a goodle search for notice letters there are plenty of templates to use (though obviously the spoof ones are best left alone!)

Ant

[Ptichka]

Doesn't matter too much, but I suggest always including HR on it.

[SeaniBu]

If you do a goodle search for notice letters there are plenty of templates to use (though obviously the spoof ones are best left alone!)

Ant

[hrmsk8ngnutt]

How does one go about writing one out? I've never had to before, and I have finally decided to quit my job. The internal politics and a lot of other stupid stuff have gotten too much and I figure I might as well beat the manager to the punch and quit. (To be honest it's nothing I did that put me in this situation, unless honesty and loyalty are now bad things)

So how does one start it out? Do I use my manager's name or do I use the all powerful "To whom it may concern:"?
And once I get that far, what do I say? I know I can't air every issue I have, for fear it will come back to bite me in the butt... but what's the best way to get out what needs to be said where everyone's satisfied?

Toni,

I'm sorry you are in this situation. I am kind of in the same predicament. When you give notice, you do not have to specify exactly why. You can say something like 'I am pursuing another opportunity', 'I need to devote more time to school this semester/quarter'.

As antmanb stated, there is usually an exit interview with Human Resources. You may choose to say your peace in the interview - but I definitely understand that you don't want to burn any bridges or use anything that could haunt you later. In the industry I work in, it is a very small world and you have to watch what you say and who you say it to. Of course, if you do your job and get along well with others then it's not a problem.

Not knowing exactly what the situation is, there are ways to spin it in a politically correct manner. For example, you can say that you don't feel you were (or others in your department) were given opportunities for advancement/improvement.

However, if you want to be completely honest then by all means do so. I know that if/when I do leave where I am at now I will definitely be honest and will be at peace with leaving. I did the same thing at my last job and all I have to say is karma can be a b****. I told HR that my manager did not give me a fair shot at any opportunity even though the team I worked with liked me and in fact came to my defense to get my contract extended for another 3 months. That gave me time to find another job before I left. Nine months later when there was some restructuring and people were laid off, one of those laid off was my former manager.

When you send the actual notice, if you do it via e-mail be sure to CC an HR person in addition to sending it to your manager.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck and let us know what happens.

Herm (sk8ngnutt)

[Tonichelle]

I won't be emailing.. I'll be giving it in person. It will most likely be this Friday when I do...

thanks for the info and advice... I really appreciate it...

[flying camel]

Google the resignation letter. They have samples you can use.

[Binky30]

Yay, Toni!

I know it wasn't an easy decision, but...just...YAY!

Now, as for the resignation letter. I wouldn't put any grievances in it. I would just state the truth, that you are grateful for the experience you gained working there (just because it was a negative experience, you still learned something from it) and how there are aspects of the job you'll miss, and that you have decided to focus on school. That way you'll have said your piece but it's not negative in any way.

Above all, keep it short. A paragraph at the most. Address it to your manager, and breathe a sigh of relief.

[Dee4707]

Toni are you going to give some notice??? If so, make sure you put that date in your letter. I have kept my letter short and to the point.

Dee

[SeaniBu]

I told a friend of mine, "what would you tell a part time / student that was a portrait studio photographer for Sears that wanted to submit a letter of their 2 weeks resignation?" They said don't bother with the letter until she tells them and then ask if they even want one. Dependent on the response will be a factor in comprising the letter.

Take it or leave it, they work in HR.

[Tonichelle]

My manager encourages us to not only give notice, but to write it down

[heyang]

As everyone else as mentioned, keep it brief and to the point. Address to your manager and cc someone from human resources. If you don't know the name of the HR rep, you should cc your boss's boss.

Since you had many issues, a simple 'This letter is to serve as my official notice of resignation effect mm-dd-yy. Thank you for the learning opportunities.'

If you had enjoyed your experience, you can express 'regret', etc. I've only resigned twice. The 1st time, I wrote a very nice letter since I enjoyed the people and my experiences there. The 2nd time was much less emotional.

All grievances should be aired during the exit interview. Even then, you should be as professional as possible. For example, when I left my 2nd job, it was mostly because the department lacked any project plan - everything was temporary and no sense of where we were headed. The last straw was when my boss told me during my review that his boss wouldn't sign off on a promotion for me because I didn't stay late to learn new stuff. I asked him what I should be trying to learn. When I put in the request for training (I really saw little point because I didn't want to learn something that we weren't going to use.), it was turned down because they had changed their minds (only 3 days elapsed.) That's when I had enough. During the exit interview, I just said that there was no structure in the department that would lead to future growth for me. I didn't tell her what had happened during my review til she asked me for an example.

Shortly after I left, someone else from the dept quit. After she left, they gave out interim raises. Less than a year later, they had brought in a management consulting firm who restructured the entire department (my boss's boss was demoted.). Less than a year after that, the company filed for bankruptcy as a result of financial mismanagement. Ironically, my former boss ended up at my current employer. My present boss said 'Hey, didn't you used to work at xxx? Do you know this guy?' I have to admit that I was somewhat happy to tell my boss the truth - my former boss had never programmed a single line of code during my 2 1/2 yrs at that job and did not have the skill sets we needed. Imagine my shock when I saw the guy at a company wide meeting 2 weeks later - another group in our IT dept had hired him. About a month after that, we had a fire drill. As we were re-entering the building, someone said to me 'Angie, you get 2 demerits'. I said 'For what?' He said 'for letting us hirer him'. I just said 'You never asked.' Anyway, the former boss was fired within a year.

So, Toni, take comfort in that sometimes bad bosses do get paid back.

[Tonichelle]

my boss' boss is one of my boss' best friends... so we've been in a catch 22 for a while... the mis management started in October when she hired her brother as her assisstant manager after she'd already told one of the employees she was going in for that position.

Then as Christmas rush began our boss had to go to another studio (Actually two during November-January) and left the assisstant manager in charge. Which should have been no problem, but he'd never been in a management position before much less within the company (which when he was hired on we were all told it was because he had extensive knowledge in management.) the girl that was supposed to be assisstant manager basically kept the studio afloat (she's had management experience up the ying yang in other photo companies). Our boss comes back and tells us all that we've been extremely wrong in not supporting our assisstant manager and then went on to praise him for keeping the studio running smoothly.

She further alienated the lot when she began firing anyone who had talked to her privately about misgivings they had. Then she gave a scathing report on the girl who was supposed to be assisstant manager because she wasn't 'playing well with others' (read in boss' brother, when in reality he wasn't playing nice either)...

She then went and said last week that she's been forcing some people out of the studio if they were no longer beneficial to the company, she was just not giving them hours. She said this to a customer and I just happened to over hear her. Saying stuff about how people just can't handle her being honest (when in reality we can't stand her DIShonesty). Turns out I have the next two weeks off - well I am on flex/call so I guess technically I still have hours, but I'm not paid unless I have to go in - and she said that it takes about two weeks of not working before someone gives in and puts in their two weeks...

I've been putting off quitting because I love the actual job... and the people I work with... but I'm the last of 'the gang' that was hired when or before I was... and the more I sit and think about it the more I'm really not happy. My entire journal at greatest journal is so filled with anger and frustration that I read back and realize it just isn't worth it. I'm shaking right now because I'm so upset.

I just can't stand the politics anymore... so I'm putting in applications all over the place. I need the $$ because I don't have all the funding for the WDW trip that we just booked (whoops) and need it by April lol...

but I'm not getting paid as it is (this past month I've made 50 bucks TOP a week before taxes) so what's teh difference?

/rant

[antmanb]

NOw having read through that i feel like saying - write the whole saga down in a letter and send it to head office and heads at the company.

I don't know much at US employment law but in the UK we have a concept of constructive dismissal. Constructive dismissal is where teh conditions of your employment are such that you are left with no choice but to resign. Th actions of your employers seem like a classic case of constructive dismissal. Starving someone of hours is a classic symptom. The kind of conversations you've overheard are also.

Good luck toni.

Ant

[iluvtodd]

I have nothing new to add to lots of good advice here, but I do wish you all the best in this situation, Toni.