I have a sad story that I would like to share with you. Its sad for a number of reasons, but the biggest reason is because it could have been prevented with just a little bit of foresight and restraint. Ok. Ready? Here it is.
Johnny had a job. He didn’t love it and it was by no means perfect, but it was a job nonetheless.
Johnny quit his job and on his way out the office door he burnt some bridges because he figured, hey, what the heck…I won’t see these people again and I really need to get some things off my chest.
Johnny went to look for a new job and when he found one they asked him for a reference from his old job. Johnny said, sorry, I can’t provide that, but I have some other folks that will say real nice things about me.
Johnny didn’t get the job and he cried all the way home.
So what is the moral of the story here? Easy, right? Don’t burn bridges! Make a respectable exit when you leave any position because chances are you will need someone from that job to say something nice about you one day. While many companies don’t check references these days (for various reasons) many companies will want them and chances are they will want references from your most recent companies and from people that you worked for.
So when you make your exit, do it gracefully and you might just need to let some things go. If perhaps in hindsight you realize that you didn’t make such a graceful exit, reach out to your former manager and let them know that looking back at your time there you learned a lot and had a great experience. Fall on your sword if you need to because a good reference can help lock in a job while a bad reference (or a lack of reference) can prevent you from getting an offer.
Here are a few things that will burn a bridge when you leave a job.
1) Leaving without giving notice – its unprofessional and any employer that will ask you to leave your job without giving notice is questionable.
2) Not returning property to your former employer – this can be keys, laptops, or money.
3) Slacking off and not doing your job during your notice period. There is nothing more annoying than working with someone on their way out who’s head is not in the game. That type of info very often gets back to the boss in the form of a big fat complaint.
4) Writing derogatory posts about your former employer on social networking sites. Chances are this type of info will get back to them. Don’t forget that these sites are in a public domain so even if you are super mad, its not a good idea to slam your former employer anywhere.
5) Complaining to other employees about your job/manager during your notice period. Inciting other employees when you are on your way out is a surefire way to burn some bridges. Don’t be that disgruntled person. Chances are, even if people are listening to you, they will just remember you as a complainer.
So just remember, when its your day to give notice, take the high road if at all possible and make a graceful exit. Your employer will move on and although you will probably be missed, you will most likely be replaced. As much as sometimes it feels great to unload and make them pay for all of the torment and anguish that this job may have created its still important to remember one thing. You may need them down the road more than they will need you – so don’t burn that bridge!
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