Many candidates find resigning to be a stressful and difficult experience. We have been told numerous times that candidates found this process so difficult that they have declined offers, and stayed after accepting a counter-offer, just to avoid having difficult conversations with current line managers.

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Please see below to arm yourself with the knowledge and confidence to navigate this daunting time in your job hunt.

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1 - MAKE YOUR DECISION

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Before you even consider handing your notice in you need to ensure this is the right decision for you. It is important to say that it cant be stressed enough how bad an idea it is to hand your notice in, in order to achieve a payrise or promotion. There is not another way to foster longer term resentment from your company than to use the resignation process as a means to achieve these things. Take a few days to make your decision, but once you have made it, stick to it.

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If you decide that you actually just want a payrise and some more attention where you currently work, then we suggest you have that conversation with your boss. Using an offer as bait to force this payrise will at best solve your issues temporarily.

 

 

2 - STICK TO YOUR DECISION

 

Once you have made your decision, you need to be single minded and not allow difficult conversations to change things. Most resignations go smoothly and without incident, but there is a chance you will be met with a range of reactions and emotions, from aggression to over friendliness, and even attempts to make you feel guilty. Try to block this out and take control of the situation, this is just human emotions coming into play.

 

 

3 - TAKE CONTROL OF THE PROCESS

 

Make sure you take control of the process to avoid being messed around. It is common for companies to delay the resignation process in order to figure out the best strategy to get you to stay (particularly sales people who may have deals to come in). Put your resignation in writing, including your proposed leave date, make sure both your manager and HR receive this on the day.

 

 

4 - BE PROFESSIONAL BUT FIRM

 

Until the day you leave you should work your hardest for your soon to be ex-employer, however do not let your professionalism be mistaken for weakness. Your employer may try to enter into negotiations over salary & working conditions. Your best course of action is to continue to be professional, but make it clear you are leaving.

 

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5 - DO NOT ACCEPT COUNTER OFFERS

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This topic is so vast, we cannot do it justice in this guide. If you are in this situation, whether a candidate of ours or not, please do call to discuss further.

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Accepting counter offers generally works out badly in the medium to long term. Approximately 93% of candidates who accept counter offers are back on the market within 12 months.

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Firstly a counter offer needs to be recognised for what it is - your company paying you more than they feel you are worth, usually in exchange for something they want (Access to your sales pipeline, delivery of a key project etc).

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However the problem is that the underlying reasons you were looking to more will not change in the medium to long term. There is a big chance you will be stuck in an unhappy situation with a slightly higher salary, which probably wont make up for it.

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