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Tips for Quitting Your Job Gracefully

Urvashi Pokharna
There comes a point in everyone's life when they realize they are not happy with their work or their workplace. Regardless of the reason to leave, one must maintain a high level of professionalism and civility while going about the formal issue of resignation, in order to move on to the next job.
Today, finding your dream job and being happy with it is like finding a soul-mate you can spend the rest of your life with. There was a time when people hesitated from changing their jobs too often. But, now these decisions seem to be made in the blink of an eye.
There are many reasons why you may be planning to quit your job. May be you don't get along with your colleagues, you are burnt out by the job pressure, you have decided to re-locate or your boss may be simply making your work life miserable.
But, then resigning from your job always gets tricky. You don't want to annoy your present employer because if your prospective employers were to ever make a background check on you, your previous employer's unhappiness towards your behavior while resigning could pretty much send your resume flying into the rejection pile of your new interviewer.
And the idea of leaving your company without serving the obligatory notice period or even without giving a prior notification of your intentions to quit your job is not right. If you do that, you will be classified as an absconding employee. Not such a great reputation for your career growth in future.

How to Resign Gracefully from a Job
The first person at your workplace who should know that you are resigning from your job is THE BOSS! Most of us often make the mistake of not informing the boss FIRST.
Do not tell any of your colleagues that you are quitting before you tell your boss, even your closest friend at work. People gossip and your boss hears it all from the office grapevine. It will be very ugly and uncomfortable for you if your boss asks you about it even before you tell him/her on your own.
If you don't leave a great impression, he/she will end up being annoyed. Do not even ask about the things angry bosses can do.
The worst part about the process of resigning from your job is announcing to your boss about your decision. It will come as a shock to him/her and you need to make it as smooth as you can on both of you.
Politely explain why you have decided to quit the job with a believable reason. Don't end up being aggressive no matter what your grievances may be. Adopt a policy of keeping mum about them now that you have decided to quit.
Present a formal letter of resignation to your boss. Request their acceptance. It is good to have a legal document as a record for future's sake. Keep your resignation formal and to the point. You can do the explaining verbally. Do not forget to express your gratitude towards the company and your boss.
Your last month on the job, how are you expected to behave? It gets a little awkward to serve the last month of your tenure in the company. The entire management is informed that you have planned to leave.
People will ask you several questions. Answer them patiently. Be affable. You certainly don't want to be the new subject of their tea-time gossip.
Since you are leaving now, friends can turn foes. Well, it is a rare case but someone who has hated you all along but been nice to your face, may just jump with their claws on you now. The tension may just worsen at the end.
Never ever be bad even when you are leaving. It is just a matter of few days before you will be gone. But, mostly your colleagues will be nice to you during the end of your term.
Fulfill the formalities of an exit interview. Most companies have a procedure for processing the resignation of an employee.
When you leave, they will formally ask you about the reasons for your resignation. Don't start with a list of complaints towards your bosses, colleagues and the company's management. No one takes it that well. Don't use an exit interview as an opportunity to vent your anger and job frustrations.
Meet your targets even for the last month of your tenure. Just because you have decided to quit your job, doesn't mean you can do whatsoever you like.
Complete all your work commitments before leaving the job. Doing so, you will also earn the appreciation of your seniors and bosses and they will be more co-operative with you. You will also set an example for other employees in the office.
If you are amidst a project, it is recommended to wait for it to get over before you announce your resignation.
However, if it is absolutely necessary for you to leave your job now, make a blueprint of the project, compile all the work done so far, make a list of the future goals along with all your tasks and responsibilities, so that the company is not left to start work from scratch.
Making an employee referral for filling up your job position will save up recruitment costs for your company.
Also, they will thank you for your assistance and co-operation to prevent any inconvenience to the company because of the job vacancy.
If your employer tries to retain you by offering an improvised salary package or a job promotion, you can decide to stay if the paycheck was a problem and you are interested in the offer. It's not odd if you decide to stay after previously making a decision to leave the company. But, if you don't want to stay back still, politely refuse the offer.
If you quit your job gracefully, you will always leave a possibility for yourself to be able to return to the company in future in case a great position opens up. Companies often hire ex-employees to fill up better job positions, it greatly reduces the training costs for them. But, you need to leave scope for that in future when you quit your job now.
And, think about it. You are most likely going to take up a job in the same industry. So, you do not know what contacts your bosses may have in their networks. Don't forget to submit any property given to you by the company as a serving employee.
If things go well when you quit your job, you could probably ask for a reference too. Even when the circumstances under which you submit your resignation may have been difficult, always resign gracefully.