No matter what the reason is for resigning, your letter reflects on you as a professional and a person. Whether you love the company you are leaving or you cannot fathom a scenario in which you would ever walk through the doors again, there’s no need to burn bridges. Here are a few tips for a successful career change.
Be Polite & Informative
Your letter must inform your boss. You must include the date you will be leaving, how you intend to wrap up the remainder of your workload and leave a forwarding address and other contact information, even if you are sure they already have it.
Do Not Air Grievances
There is no reason and nothing to gain. What if your worst enemy there is your supervisor at your new job in six months? Leaving on good terms is always the best course of action during a career change.
Explain Yourself
Taking your career in a new direction, or be closer to home are all nice and neutral reasons for leaving a job.
Do Not Resign by Text or Email
You can offer to email a copy when you hand-deliver your letter, in case your employer prefers a digital form for a file or something. Anything but face to face delivery of the letter reflects poorly on you.
Quitting a job to head off on a new horizon is an exciting adventure. Submitting that resignation is the last awkward hurdle. Handle it correctly and you leave without regret.
Resume
Now you’re back to the world of resumes and interviews, which is both exciting and terrifying. Confidence is important. Maybe you’re incredibly qualified, maybe you’re stretching it. Regardless, you must exude confidence in order for someone to want you on their team, representing their business.
If you aren’t word-savvy, a resume service is worth the investment during a career change. Polishing your resume means the difference between steak dinners or peanut butter sandwiches on the table next week, so don’t underestimate refreshing your resume and your interview skills.
Update Everything
Don’t be impulsive and shoot off an old resume. This is easy to do when you’re trying to get some submissions under your belt. A bad submission is like you never applied at all, but worse, because you’ve also removed that opportunity from your list of potential positions. Instead, take the time to polish one great resume and then you know you have a great summary to submit to the masses.
Always Personalize
You have to draft a custom cover letter for every job that you apply for and change your resume slightly in some way to show you are considering only them. Imagine all of the resumes they receive with errors and monotony. Stand out for the right reasons.
Followup
This may sound like pestering, but in the world of business, it really does come across as ambitious and devoted. You can’t just submit a resume and wait. Who wants to hire that person? Unless you are specifically asked to stop, give them a call. Always be interview ready. Always speak politely and acknowledge that their time is valuable. They have a job and you do not.
How Important Is Presentation?
Yes, there are people who put their resumes on pretty pink paper and spray them with perfume. That’s going a bit overboard. Think of your resume as the title page of a book or the cover of a magazine. It needs to project organization, a sharp look, and modern fonts. It isn’t Disneyland.
Find More Tips for a Successful Career Change
Contact us for advice on leaving one job in the past because we can help you on your path! For more tips regarding a job change, check out this blog post.
