When Is It Too Early to Let an Employer Know You're Leaving?
- Sending an email may prove a tempting option to the employee who doesn't want to break the news face-to-face, but doing so isn't the best business option. As Meridith Levison for CIO reports, it is best to announce that you are quitting verbally to your boss as this is the most professional way to make your intentions known.
- When resigning, the general rule of thumb is that a two-week notice is sufficient. With this notice, you allow yourself to avoid an extended period of awkwardness that could come with co-workers' knowledge of the fact that you are leaving, but you still ensure that your employer has adequate time to find someone to fill the position you are vacating, reducing the likelihood that you leave her in a lurch.
- While quitting without a two-week notice is almost never acceptable, there are a few exceptions. If the conditions within your current place of employment are so distasteful that you cannot possibly stand the situation any longer, quitting without this customary notice may be your only option. Foregoing this notice is still a risky thing to do, as it will likely leave you without a positive reference from the employer with whom you just parted ways.
- There are some situations in which giving more than two weeks' notice is appropriate. If your employer is about to start a large project that he wants you to head up, but you already know that your days with the company are numbered, you may elect to inform your boss of this so he can select a different lead person as you will not be there to see the project to fruition. Additionally, if you work in a field in which workers are hard to come by, you may want to give your boss the benefit of added notice to ensure that he can find your replacement before you depart.
