Leaving Your Job

By Kenzie

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For almost everyone, there will come a time in their life when they decide to leave their job. This can be for many different reasons - they may have found a new job, they may be moving, they might be retiring or they might just feel like it’s time for a change. Whatever the reason is, it often isn’t an easy decision to make or a pleasant experience to go through.

I very recently left my first ever job. Since October 2018, I have been working at a college as a digital innovation assistant, supporting staff in using technology in the classroom with learners. I loved my job, and the people I worked with - however, I really hated the people I worked for. I’m talking about the big bosses at the top of the pyramid and the company in general. They made a lot of decisions that I didn’t agree with and it got to the point where it was damaging to my mental health to stay. I’d been browsing LinkedIn for a few months and interviewing for the odd job and in March 2022, I was offered a new position as an e-learning customer service advisor at a qualifications organisation. It was pretty much everything I had been looking for so you can bet that I leapt at the opportunity. It was such a relief to be surrounded by new people and new challenges. One thing I didn’t look forward to though, was going through the leaving process in my current role.

The leaving process can be really difficult, for both the person leaving and the company they are leaving. No matter if it’s the right decision or not, it can be really uncomfortable and upsetting to leave. The following points will talk you through the process I had to go through and how to make each step a little easier.

      1. Hand your notice in
The first thing and most important thing I had to do was to make my resignation a formality and hand in my notice. This is a written letter to your employers telling them that you are leaving. Within this notice, you can give them your leaving date and you can also thank them for the time you’ve spent there if you wish. I had to hand in my notice to my immediate line manager and my HR/human resources department. I found this really difficult because I was scared. Handing in my notice made it real, made it so there was no turning back, and I was worried that my boss would be angry, but, I needn’t have worried - both were very understanding. To make the whole notice process easier, do it as soon as possible. Don’t try and procrastinate or put it off because of fear. Simply bite the bullet and go for it. If you don’t know what to say, there are plenty of templates online and the main thing to remember is to be polite.

     2. Tie up any loose ends
Once my resignation was accepted, I still had a month to go in my role. It was time for me to start tying up any loose ends I had. I loved the people I worked with so it wasn’t fun telling them I was leaving. I felt guilty that I was moving on and leaving them behind. The most crucial thing to me was to make sure that these people who had relied on me for support weren’t left high and dry. I wanted them to still feel supported and I feel that this goes for any profession. Make a list of your ongoing jobs and responsibilities before you go and finish any jobs that you can before you go. Anything that you can’t finish, make a note of it and have a comprehensive handover with someone before you go and make sure it is clear who you’re working with, what you’ve covered so far and what is left to be covered. It will mean a lot to those you’re leaving behind.

     3. Say goodbye to your colleagues 
My colleagues are some of the kindest people I have ever met and I knew from the start that the hardest part of leaving was going to be leaving them. They are all incredible people and I miss them but it was just an inevitable side effect of my resignation. However, because they were and are still so special to me, I knew I had to give them a proper goodbye. The day I left, I wrote them a long email thanking them for everything and within that was an invite to my leaving party. It was important to me to still see them after we stopped working together. If your colleagues are as amazing as mine were, make sure to organise a time to meet up and celebrate your time together and keep in touch. We even have a group chat which we use to talk. It’s really lovely and it’s the perfect way to make sure that those special people are still a part of your life.

     4. Exit interview
The final part of my role and the last task I would ever do for the college was to fill in an exit interview form. This was by far the easiest part of my role because I just had to tell the truth and speak from the heart. The form came from HR and it asked me lots of questions about what my favourite part of my job was, what my least favourite part was, what I thought about the wage, what I thought about the company as a whole etc etc I didn’t find this difficult as I didn’t particularly like the company or have a good impression of them so I wasn’t afraid to tell them what I truly thought without repercussions. But I know for some people, an exit interview could be difficult especially if it’s in person. My only advice is just to be polite (even though I maybe wasn’t as polite as I should have been) and be honest. Things won’t change if people are lying to them about what they can improve on.

Now I’m in my new role and it’s great. I have never been happier and leaving was definitely the right decision for me, even if it was difficult. 
Don’t be afraid to take the leap - the next best thing could be just around the corner.​