[mikester]

Nope...been there done that.

I used to get a pretty hefty bonus at a company I worked for...it was hard to leave but I managed to use that income number in future negotiations resulting in a higher overall salary. So now my salary basically includes that bonus in a way. But...4 weeks man...If your new employer can't wait for you the questions are is the new job so good that another one like it can't be found?

Lots of hard questions on it, my general advise is to never give more than 2 weeks notice. Maybe make up a little excuse to stay that is reasonable for the new employer (assuming you haven't already accepted). Maybe something like you had some classes that obligate you to the current employer for X number of months and you only have 1 month left or you have to pay the whole chunk back. Generally I'm not for lying but there are occasions where you may be required to bend a little.

My most recent employer waited patiently for me for an extra 2 weeks after the job offer. I was waiting for an educational benefit to pay out at the employer I planned on leaving. It was a few thousand and I had been fighting for it for a few months. The fact that I had to fight for the benefit itself (paperwork, numerous phone calls, redo the paperwork, etc) was a major reason I left the first company to begin with.