Ten Recommendations for Resigning and Leaving Well

In her article in New York Magazine’s The Cut, Alison Green shares ten things you need to do before you resign. Here, I speak to her first four recommendations with additional follow-up suggestions for a Leaving Well twist on her important and practical advice. 

1) Make sure you know how your company typically handles notice periods 

Most employers do not handle resignations well. Whether it’s a security measure or pettiness (as Alison mentions), organizations and companies have prioritized hiring and onboarding while largely avoiding offboarding and departure planning. So it’s pretty typical for the notice period to feel not so great (on a good day) to fairly terrible (most likely). 

Equipping yourself to better understand your organization’s policies can help provide context and clarification. Going one step beyond simply knowing those policies means that you can regain some control of the situation. The more you know, the better. 

I worked with a client whose off-site supervisor was well known in the company for refusing a two week notice and dismissing the resigning employee immediately. In order to Leave Well, this client first spoke to their on-site lead and gave him notice first, so that he could intervene with the supervisor in order to keep this employee through an upcoming inventory where their knowledge and assistance was key. By understanding this unwritten policy in advance, my client was able to ensure that their on-site colleagues weren’t hung out to dry. 

If you’re resigning, be intentional about the way you prepare yourself–up to and including how you give your notice. Check in with your own values as you make an exit plan. When I work with clients to prepare for Leaving Well, I often support them in creating a knowledge transfer document that can be given to their manager. This document contains all the important details needed for someone else to close out projects after the employee leaves. It can be a very thoughtful way to leave well.

2) Take home copies of your performance reviews and work samples

Within the Leaving Well framework, I recommend that clients bolster their portfolio and “worthy work” on an ongoing basis, not just during their exit planning. Consider including work samples that aren’t necessarily part of your job description as well–such as creating a workflow in a task management system that was used by your department (project management experience!) or organizing team social outings (event planning experience!). You never know when you might want to pivot into another industry, and having these foot-in-the-door examples of your skills can help set you apart. 

In Alison’s article, she also recommends copying emails from managers and coworkers that speak to your accomplishments. “These can be helpful when you’re prepping for interviews in the future … you’ll be able to answer the interview question, ‘What would a former manager say about you?’ truthfully.” 

3) Take home contact information for anyone you want to stay in touch with

I appreciate this recommendation the most out of Alison’s ten suggestions. It happens every time someone leaves–they intend to reach out to someone and realize their contact information is on the work laptop that they’ve just turned in to HR. 

I typically suggest my clients go back through a few weeks or months of emails in their sent folder. It can be a quick scan, with a document open to copy and paste email signatures for the people they want to stay in touch with post-departure. You can also connect with these folks on LinkedIn or another networking app.

Additionally, intentionally carving out some moments for the people you’ve most connected with will make your Leaving Well experience so much richer. Departures are hard for everyone, especially the friends you’ve made in the workplace. If possible, having a goodbye lunch or just some cookies in the break room can make a big impact. Make plans to also connect with those who may be helpful to your future networking and connection needs.

4) Clean out your email

Alison recommends cleaning out your email for the purpose of covering your tracks, and to ensure you don’t have a trail of email communication you wouldn’t want anyone to see. From the Leaving Well vantage point, consider instead cleaning out your “to do” email folder or your drafts, to ensure you’re not leaving anything incomplete. 

Use this opportunity, perhaps in tandem with your manager, to hand over unfinished projects to another team member. This review of your to do folder and drafts will provide helpful reminders of unfinished business.

Not only does this support a more successful handoff of duties, it also supports team members as you depart, and you can leave knowing you didn’t leave anyone hanging. 

Close out communication loops with any external partners where needed, and also take this opportunity to introduce those partners with other team members to smooth the transition as much as possible. 

More Leaving Well Recommendations

The final six tips on this list are not a direct response to Alison’s article in The Cut. 

5) If you’ve been fired, made redundant, or the response to your notice is an immediate separation, read this article on navigating job loss. 

6) If you’re in the nonprofit space, caretaking professions, or social services, I highly recommend Dr. Jaiya John’s book Your Caring Heart: Renewal for Helping Professionals and Systems. (This is an affiliate link, so your purchase will support an independent bookstore through Bookshop and will also provide a small bonus to support the Leaving Well podcast!)

7. If you are able to, plan as much time as possible before starting your new project or job. We need rest–and we’re often pressured into jumping from one job to the next without any break to prepare for the new role. If the economics of your situation require you to start immediately, consider small ways that you can decompress in the time available.

8. If you do have some time before starting your next thing, build in items and activities that you are most prone to avoid or postpone because of work. Maybe that’s an art museum, or a leisurely lunch. Perhaps you choose to turn off your alarm clocks, or spend an entire day catching up on a streaming show. Whatever you choose, let yourself fully enjoy some time or rest and relaxation.

9. Journal, journal, journal. Even if the concept of journaling is not typically something you do on a regular basis, the cathartic value of jotting down your thoughts as you navigate your departure can be extremely beneficial. You can choose whether to revisit your notes at a later date or otherwise destroy the captured reflections. 

10. Anticipate some grief and loss. Even in circumstances where the departure means you are heading somewhere really exciting, there will likely be some waves of grief as you process the end of your time at the old job or project. Having grace for the ups and downs is a crucial part of getting through it in one piece. 

In Closing

Whether you take one piece of advice from this article or several recommendations, know that your Leaving Well practices will take practice–nobody does this perfectly. Implementing Leaving Well into the way you say goodbye to a project, role, job, or title is not a quick fix or necessarily simple. But you can choose small, incremental components that will add up to a more pleasant, humane, and even joyful goodbye.

If you are an organizational leader, board member, or a curious staff member, take the Leaving Well Assessment to discover your organization's transition readiness archetype at  naomihataway.com/assessment.

Listen to Episode 10 of the Leaving Well Podcast: 10 Things to Do Before You Resign: the Leaving Well Edition.