There are lots of stress points when considering making a job change:
- What type of job would warrant making a move?
- What level of compensation would you consider?
- Are you willing to relocate…and if so, to where?
- What about acuity level, delivery, transport, shifts, etc.?
And these don’t even take into consideration the stressors of the interview process itself:
- Is my resume sufficient?
- How do I prepare for my interview(s)?
- How much money should I ask for?
- After all is said and done, will they select me over the other applicants?
So you ran the race and finished in first. You got the job you wanted, in the location you wanted and at the salary you had hoped for. Now you can take a big sigh of relief…right? Well, not quite. You still have to approach your manager, look them in the eye and tell them you are leaving. Ouch! Most candidates looking for jobs don’t even think about that until it’s time to do so and as a result make big mistakes in doing it. Allow me to explain.
If you’ve done this right, aside from a few select people in whom you’ve confided, no one else should have any idea you were even looking to make a job change…especially your boss. So when you resign, you will most likely catch them a bit off guard. They will probably be at a loss for words and will just end up wishing you good luck.
However, after they step back from that conversation and have time to allow the reality to set in, stress and anxiety may start to set in.
- She’s such an integral part of the team; what will we do without her?
- We’re gonna be short-staffed so I’ll have to start paying overtime or hire some expensive PRN help?
- Oh no, I’m going to have to go through the hassle of having to interview, hire and train someone new. And there’s no guarantee they’ll even work out…or stay!
And the list goes on.
So be prepared for your manager to come back at you after they have had time to collect their thoughts and have prepared a strategy to keep you from leaving.
This is where it all gets tricky, if not even dangerous. They will start by asking what seems to be innocent questions about where you’ll be going and what you’ll be doing. If you’re not prepared how to respond to these questions you will fall right into a dangerous catch-22.
Although the questions may be innocent, it’s your response that can trip you up. If their desire is to have you stay and your intention is to leave, you are each approaching this conversation with competing agendas. So, by telling your boss where you are going, they will undoubtedly try to persuade you that you can achieve the same or better by staying. They may even try to sweeten the pot with the ever-so-dangerous counter-offer (more about this later).
So you will need to be able to support your decision to leave by rebutting what your boss just had to say. If you follow this dynamic to its eventual conclusion, you’ll see that the harder they try to convince you to stay, the harder you’ll need to convince them it’s best for you to leave. This often results in the deterioration of what was once a healthy professional (and sometimes personal) relationship and you end up leaving on a sour note. You definitely don’t want that to happen. The neonatal world is a very small community.
So how do you avoid that from happening? The answer is both easy and difficult. When you go to tell your boss, have a resignation letter prepared. Keep the letter short and sweet. Something like:
The purpose of this letter is to inform you of my resignation from (employer name). I have enjoyed my employment here but have made the difficult decision to leave and have already accepted a position elsewhere. I would request that my last day of employment be (x date).
Thank you for the opportunity to have worked here and I appreciate all that I have learned.
… That’s the easy part.
Then, when your boss starts asking questions about where you’re going, simply tell them “at this point in time I’d rather not discuss it, but as my last day of work approaches, I will be sure to fill you in on all the details.”
Although this sounds harsh it allows you to remain in control of how you want your last few weeks of employment to feel. Do you want to continue to get peppered with questions on why you’re leaving and having to continually justify the difficult decision you made to leave? It will only take a time or two of you standing your ground before your boss gets that you’re not taking the bait and they will emotionally accept your resignation. If they’re a good boss, they will support you in your decision to do what is best for you and your family (should that apply).
So you see, resigning from your current position can be stressful but it doesn’t necessarily have to be difficult. You have choices. You just need to use them.
And in regards to counter-offers… we have an entire post about that!
If you like what you’ve read and would like to pick our brain on other recruitment and interviewing tips and strategies, feel free to reach out to us. We’re here to help.
