How to Tell the Boss You’re Moving On
It can be challenging to figure out how to tell your current boss that you are moving on to pastures new and leaving your current job behind. How you do this will largely depend on the circumstances involved in your decision to leave. It can look different depending on whether you went out to find a new job within the same sector which had better prospects or pay, decided to return to studying for a while, chose to have a career change, or if you’ve won the lottery and will never work for anyone again!
If you are moving on to a new job and your boss is unaware that you were even looking, this is often because you were dissatisfied with the current job, and perhaps the relationship with the boss wasn’t what it could have been. This may be down to work-related pressure, personality clashes, or being overlooked when it comes to promotion or a pay rise. Many factors can breed discontent at work, and these all feed into how best to approach the moment when you tell the boss that you are leaving.
When deciding how to have the conversation, it is also good to note that you will probably have to serve a notice period, so it makes sense to factor this in, planning your timing around the start date with the new job so that you don’t lose out on money. When telling your boss about your intention to leave, here are some things you should remember.
You Will Probably Still Need a Reference
It is in your own best interests not to have too acrimonious a time of it as you are leaving. The boss will still have the ability to make your last few weeks of notice harder than they have to be, and you will probably still want a reference from them. That means you should make it as non-confrontational as possible, even if there are aspects of the job that you really hate or the behaviour of specific team members leaves a lot to be desired.
If the boss is one of the factors in your decision to leave, it probably isn’t the best time to tell them. It would be better for all concerned not to make too big a thing of that when you tell them your decision to go. Your new employer may still need a reference from your current employer, so they could be in a position to sabotage your move if they were so inclined.
Be Blunt and Factual
When you tell your boss that you are moving on, try to keep the conversation quite generic and let them know that you have received a better offer that pays more, or has better prospects for advancement etc. Being factual and blunt about the reasons for leaving prevents there being any room for misunderstandings.
It is usual to have a face-to-face chat about it and then follow up via email with an official letter of resignation, setting out the notice period that you will work before moving on to your new job. It is usually considered to be bad form not to tell them in person before formally resigning via email, and some workplaces frown upon this.
However, if you are unable to get hold of them in person in time to trigger your notice period appropriately, it makes sense to send an email rather than wait a week or two for an in-person conversation. It depends on how easily approachable the boss is at your business and whether it is difficult to get an appointment to speak to them face-to-face about work matters.
Be Prepared for an Offer
Depending on how much they value you as an employer and how much of a budget they have at their disposal, they may be prepared to offer you more money to stay on at the company.
This is increasingly likely because businesses are finding it challenging to find suitably qualified people for many of the tasks that they undertake, and there is now a much more focused effort at staff retention. Previously, most of the focus was on recruitment and finding the next big talent. Still, businesses are belatedly realising that they should also be placing value on the employees they already have. The UK skills gap has brought this home with some force to many employers who are struggling to fill vacant roles with people who can do the job.
Be prepared to be asked to stay and know what you will say if different salary amounts, perks or advancements within the company are offered to you as an incentive to stay. The fact you looked for another job and did well enough to win it would suggest that now is the time to move on, regardless of what you may be offered to stay.
Help With a Transition
Make it clear to the boss that you are more than willing to help with the transition plan and help to prepare the rest of the team for when you leave. If you are leaving quite suddenly, it is possible that some of your duties may fall upon other team members who are already overloaded, so don’t expect your last few weeks to be all smiles and hugs and puppies. Some co-workers will probably feel like you are deserting them, but there comes a time when you simply need to put your own interests first.
If there are tasks that you do that nobody else on the team knows how to do, now would be the time to share that knowledge so that when you leave, they are able to pick up from where you left off in a seamless transition. Being willing to help in this way speaks volumes about how much of a team player you are and your willingness to skillshare with your colleagues and help them to upskill so that your departure doesn’t have a massive negative impact on their productivity.
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