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Advice on handing in your notice:

• You should never resign from a job until you are happy with all aspects of your new job offer and until you have written confirmation of the new role. Your references shlould be checked by your new employer, a medical done (if required) and you should have received, signed and returned your employment contract. When you agree on a start date for your new job, that should take into account how much notice you need to give your current employer when leaving. 

• Ask your manager for a meeting (ideally at the start of the day) and then advise your employer that you have received another job offer with another company, which you wish to accept. You can then follow up with an email to confirm your resignation in writing. Some bosses may take the news well and wish you success whilst others may be shocked and disappointed - be prepared for both reactions.

• Be polite but firm as to your desire to move on and resist saying anything negative about your current role. If your manager asks why are you leaving, you can summarise in a positive manner why your new job is a good move for you at this stage in your IT career. That may be related to the experience you would gain, expanding your skill set, moving into a more senior role etc.

• Agree a leaving date and try to give your employer as much notice as possible. This gives the company time to organise a replacement to cover your workload.

• It is a good idea to let them know that you will be thoroughly professional during your notice period and cooperate with any handover and you will help train in your replacement if possible. If this is not possible, leave a clear handover document detailing as much information as you can to make it easy for the new person to get up to speed with your duties. Continue to put 100% into your job and do it to the best of your ability until your last day in your current job.

• Ensure at all times that you behave in a positive and professional manner when working through your notice period.

Handling a Counter Offer:

Sometimes an employer will make a counter offer i.e. offer you an increase in salary or a promotion to stay with the company. You need to have thought through what you would do in this instance before handing in your notice. Ask yourself the following questions: What is the best decision for your long term career progression?  Has anything changed?  Will more money or the promise of a promotion really change things? Will it just be a quick fix? Why did it take you resigning before they offered you a pay rise or promotion? How will your relationship be with your boss if you stay when they know you were willing to leave before? Will you be looking for a new opportunity again in six months?

While it is flattering to get a counter offer, if you find yourself in this situation, try to take the emotion out of the situation and think objectively. Research indicates that employees who accept counter offers tend to be back on the jobs market within six months, so if you’ve already secured a suitable career move, you could spare yourself the hassle of starting from scratch to look for a new role once again.

Date Posted:
2022-08-19 17:26:35

Posted By:
philip@pbrecruitment.ie