Giving notice at work

tenchi-fan

Hi all!

I'm giving notice at work tomorrow. My final day will be 29th October.

I'm dreading giving notice! My manager is just back from annual leave.

I was in a callcentre role for 18 months in the company despite having 18 months experience in accounting and my accounting exams. They gave me a chance by transferring me to an accounting role. 18 months later and I'm now qualified.

Now here's the downside. When they transferred me they didn't give me a payrise despite the added inconvenience and extra cost of living in dublin.. so I ended up moving back to Dundalk and commuting. I don't have much of a life and I'm reluctant to attempt the move to Dublin again!

The next problem is that the job itself is pretty stagnant. There are no trainees as everyone has qualified and no one is leaving. Everyone has their own jobs. They promised a year ago to take on a new trainee to take some of the crap off me and let me take on new jobs, then set Jul-Sept 2010 as the date, now I find out they aren't really considering it any more. They try to give me the odd new job but over the past 6 months I have achieved so little.

I'm nearly 29 so I'm worried about just plodding along, in a junior job, going through the motions without doing any work that would be valued in another company! I've worked with people in their mid-30s before who just seem to be trapped in low-skill jobs because they started too late or plodded along too long.

Hmm the other problem is just how gloomy this country is at the moment.

So yea, I'm heading to Canada on a working holiday visa in November. Have my ticket and all. What's the best way to break this to the employer? I don't want to come across all doom and gloom. I don't want to say "it's not you, it's me" even though a lot of it comes down to how I'm feeling.. I don't want to blame them, as they helped me get back into accounting.. but at the same time "I'm fed up of this job and I'm willing to pack it in to see if I can make it big in Canada" will come across as very naive.

Any advice? I'd prefer to keep the door open rather than burn bridges.

drunkmonkey

Tell them your travelling for a little while, there's nothing wrong with that, just be sound not a bag of nerves, wait until you think the time is right, give plenty of notice saying you want to give good notice and not leave them hanging as you may be back in 12mts or so but would be hoping to go into a position that now more suits your qualifications.
Don't be afraid to ask would it be ok to give him a call when you get back and see has anything more suitable or progressive popped up.

Enjoy, have fun and remember it not about the destination it's all about the Journey.:)

I agree with everything Drunkmonkey said!

Just bear in mind your minimum notice date. It may be 6 weeks so this might not be relevant, but if it is a month, I'm pretty sure that they can ask you to leave after the month. In other words, if you give in your notice tomorrow, your final day may be the 15th October.

tenchi-fan

Giving too much notice shouldn't be a problem.

At my interview they actually asked me "how do we know you're not going to pack it in after 6 months to go travelling again" ..

I told them I had no intentions, but at the time I didn't realise just how low the pay was or how stagnant it would be!

Argh..

Anyway, so you reckon the best advice is to acknowledge that the role isn't progressive enough?

What if they ask why did I decide to go to canada with nothing lined up rather than simply job seek in Dublin?

trishasaffron

Don't sweat it - tell them you're leaving - thank them for the opportunities - be flexible on the end date and try and end on good terms. Employers have people leaving all the time - if you are determined to go just say it - they'll be more pissed off if you leave them thinking you can be persuaded to stay and then don't.

Keep it simple and pleasant.

Beano

why not just be honest with them?

drunkmonkey

tenchi-fan wrote: »

What if they ask why did I decide to go to canada with nothing lined up rather than simply job seek in Dublin?

Tell them you want to see a bit of the world before you settle down and you've a fondness for coors light, think Avril Lavine is a beaut and you want to see Bryan Adams on home turf.:)
Tell them you might also travel somewhere else, you've no real set plan your off on an adventure to meet new people and have new experiences.

tenchi-fan

thanks for the replies, guys. i like the positive spin, drunkmonkey.
i'll work on the script on 95 minute bus journey in the morning!

seachto7

To be honest, if they start getting snotty with you, or try to belittle you, or say "hmmm, yeah, you're not really the right fit" etc. , I would be straight, and give it to them between the eyes, about exactly why you are leaving....you owe them nothing...

tenchi-fan

seachto7 wrote: »

To be honest, if they start getting snotty with you, or try to belittle you, or say "hmmm, yeah, you're not really the right fit" etc. , I would be straight, and give it to them between the eyes, about exactly why you are leaving....you owe them nothing...

Yea. I keep telling myself that. I'm not going to go in looking for a slagging match and I really doubt it would go that way. But if it did all I need to do is smile - they already know why I'm leaving regardless of what I say or don't say.

Mrs OBumble

[QUOTE=tenchi-fan;68009007all I need to do is smile - they already know why I'm leaving regardless of what I say or don't say.[/QUOTE]

You've been in the job for 18 months and it's perfectly reasonable after that time to be looking for a change.

So just say as little as possible: you aren't required to give them a reason, so DON'T.

(Ireland a small village, you never know who you'll end up working with again.)

pow wow

You could say you've gone as far as you think you can with the company, I'm sure they're not unaware that there's nowhere for anyone to progress to. Of course they may then offer you something better where you are and trying to weigh that up against Canada would be a nightmare decision :P

Good luck with the resignation, and the traveling!

tenchi-fan

Thanks guys!

I gave notice this morning. One of the girls at work gave me a pep talk. I went up to the manager and said "XXXX, can I have a word in the meeting room"

She was making small-talk on her way over and sounded so nervous!
So when we got in to the room I just said I was giving my notice.

It went really well. I said I was going travelling, hoping to gain experience in different areas, would like to be considered if a position was available when I got back (they don't do career breaks), etc etc. And I told her I had the flight booked.

She wished me all the best, was happy with the amount of notice, said she would do it herself if she had the chance and will give me a good reference, and that in a years time "who knows" there might be a position available & she would have no problem recommending me.

I think she knew there is a lack of opportunities on the team at the moment as she was apologetic about it at my last couple of reviews.

That's pretty much it! So, yea, it went well. Just 7 more weeks of it!

Well done and good luck in canada!