This. Always best to leave on a positive note.

I've always given 2 weeks notice, and at least in IT, that time is spent turning over documentation, processes...etc. to either management, a co-worker, or another expert in the field.

Years ago, I left a company - on good terms - with 2 weeks notice. A few years later, I was hired back in the same company (different division though). Had I left in a huff, my chances or returning would have been much lower.

NEVER burn your bridges.

-Z-man.

Always a good thing to do. I usually take the last day off as well to avoid awkward forced social situations and stuff like that.

The one time I violated that rule I worked for a firm I utterly couldn't stand. I got one week of accumulated vacation after a year, so I set it up so my week's vacation started exactly one year minus one week from my hire date. A week before that (two weeks before my one year hire date) I gave my two week notice, meaning I only had to work one more week and I got to claim that I'd worked there for an entire year (not as bad on the resume).

I left a previous job on great terms, HR head thanked me for how I did it, said I was re-hireable, just to leave my badge on my desk before I left on last day, co-workers took me to lunch, boss hugged me on the way out the door. Then about two mos. later when it came time to get the previous quarter's commission payout, they shorted me by 50%. It got kind of ugly and I had to file a wage complaint with the state. Knowing they were going to lose, they offered to pay up if I'd sign an NDA and drop the matter with the state, which I did. Old boss wanted me back, but NDA said I could not apply for a job there again (I would never work there again) and could not mention the NDA. So I couldn't even tell the boss why I couldn't come back.

I believe that notice to leave is based largely on what field you're in and how valuable you are to other companies. It's a constantly changing environment these days and depending on your worth, either way is OK. Especially in the trades, as a guy told me once, "We're not lawyers or doctors........................................... ........when it's time to go........you go"

My experience with this has been more about control and ego on the employer's end..........

I always ask potential hires how much notice they intend to give.

Anything less than 2 weeks is a checkmark in the negative column.

Depends on the industry. If you will be going to work for a competitor, chances are you'd be walked out the door upon giving notice. Seen it plenty of times and with employees who were well thought-off and got along well with their bosses. Maybe it's better to tell the new employer you need to give two weeks and just plan to have that time off when your current employer walks you out the door. At my last job we had access to some pretty sensitive info, so it was common to not even be allowed back at your desk when you walked over to tell your boss you were quitting. Though everyone knows you could have done plenty of damage before telling anyone you were leaving.

I suppose I could leave the company I have worked for 16 years with no notice, but that wouldn't get the new person trained or have any hope of being re-hired......let's face it, unless you are retiring, you'll be looking for another job, and that won't reflect well on your character.

A friend of mine gave our company 2 weeks notice to take a job 2 miles from his home (previously had a 40 mile one way commute). After a month of bad training, bad hours, and hating the new job, he came back to our company and got rehired with low seniority, no pension, and no insurance for 90 days. (he must have really hated that other job).

The intent of the question and my interest in the response is to get a feel for the individuals character.

Yikes, having an employer asked me a question during an interview about my quitting habits would be a HUGE negative in my column. That would immediately make me assume they deal with large turnover and don't know how to retain workers.:eek:

:confused:

"When can you start?" is a standard question asked of every prospective employee.

I work in local government, and it is a very small world. The City Managers of my county have a regular lunch get together, and issues of personnel and people who bail out or burn bridges is certainly a topic of discussion. That being said, when I took a new job last week, I gave a two week notice to my employer.

My two week notice turned into almost three weeks, and I am also going to be contracting with my current City for Planning services through the hiring of a new Planning Director. It will make the next 6-8 weeks crazy, but the contract pay rate is double my hourly wage, so it will be a nice little bonus for the summer. The new job understood that transition time was key for me, so they were good with letting me start nearly a month after accepting the position.

For me, the best part of all of this has been leaving on good terms. I know that I could re-apply at this City and be rehired. They tried hard to keep me, and they told me to apply in the future if the new job doesn't work out. I have left three jobs now on good terms, and I have strong relationships with my previous employers. I intend to work in local government in Utah for my entire career (pension benefit is too good to pass up). I pay attention to maintaining relationships in my very small industry...it is important to me.

Ah, I took that as you asked what their plans would be if they left your employment.

So really it's only anyone stupid enough to not say "2 weeks" or more since they could easily tell you 2 weeks then do as mentioned earlier in the thread and quit on the spot and fish for 2 weeks.:D

Several years ago I gave 2 weeks notice to my manager. I had found a better gig. There were no issues whatsoever when I left. Well several years after that I find another gig and used that manager as a reference. He gave me a bad reference because I left in the middle of the project. I was stunned! I asked him to lunch because I thought we had parted on good terms. Turns out that my leaving was such a big deal (unbeknownst to me) that they were contemplating lawyering up to get me to stay. I told him that I had no idea my position was that critical noting that there were others in my team who could pick up the work. He said that I was the main architect. Well anyhow, we made ammends. Several years later, I'm back working for him.

My question to him would have been that if I were that important, such a key person, why then was there not a counter offer or a least some discussion prior to leaving? They had 2 weeks............ certainly enough time to do this.

+1
Its not fair if the company throws you out but life's tough. Life is tougher if you're stupid and burn bridges. It can only make things worse. Yeah I know, you'll never need them again...
NEVER say never.

I asked this question. His response was that in his mind if an employee wants to leave they are probably dissatisfied with the gig and are ready to go and, therefore, they would not be very productive if they stayed. Likewise, if they did something to try to keep me there then there would be resentment and I wouldn't offer them help if they needed after I left, which I did end up doing soon after I left. I told him that he should have talked to me about it. Anyhow he's an awesome manager. He actually went before the board to get special permission for me to work from home. So he backs up his team and we pretty much jump as high as he wants us to. :D I only see him maybe once a month now.

I really don't have a lot of experience with changing jobs.
When I left my employer in '79, I didn't have anything lined up but gave two weeks notice. He wasn't happy I was leaving, but made sure I got my vacation days paid out after I left.
By the time I worked my last day, I had another job which started the next morning.

Twenty four years later, I was sitting across the desk from my boss and a person from HR being told my position would end in eight months and there was a package for me after that. I believe they treated me so well because one of our competitors had screwed a key person for their organization and it came back to bite them where it hurt.
In effect, I was the beneficiary of their corporate callousness.

Now I am semi retired and do contract work for a couple of organizations.

Best
Les

FYI, you could have sued and probably easily won if that was taken to court. That manager blocked your capacity to earn a living based a bad reference that turned out to with no reflection on your job work, just the inconvenience of you leaving the company.

Now you see why HR departments instruct employees to only answer with yes/no!

I wouldn't give anyone's name as a reference unless I had asked them first and were sure they could and would give a good and credible reference. A math teacher in high school told us all to be sure he was the best one to ask for a college reference, as he'd write an honest one. My last two bosses would give me killer references, but the HR depts. probably would not.

True story - don't burn bridges...

(I was a fellow employee at this company.) SW Developer had worked for the company for less than 6 months - planned to take some vacation and got the okay from his Mgr to take the vacation on "credit." Just a few months later - before developer had actually built up enough vacation time to account for his time away - he turned in his notice so he could go to work for a start-up immediately. Mgr asked developer about that credited vacation time - developer basically said he didn't owe anything in return.

Mgr went to HR, told them of agreed upon arrangement - informed them they should withhold pay equal to the balance of the vacation still owed, but HR decided to play it safe - told Mgr he was at fault for making arrangements such as that.

Not long after Developer has left, Mgr gets opportunity to work for another company out of state with a big promotion. Mgr moves away - 2000 miles. About 6 months later, Mgr has several SW developer positions open in his group and gets a call from his HR dept for a candidate that has ideal qualifications - they conference candidate in on the call. Want to guess who this candidate was? He had no idea he was being "introduced" to the same Mgr he stiffed earlier at previous company. Mgr cuts interview short - explains that he has no positions open for someone of his qualifications.