Take This Job AND…Nevermind.

Four Tips on How to Leave Your Soon-to-Be Former Job Behind.

Outstanding advice from one of our Emerging Leader bloggers, Annie Kelley.

I hate quitting. Jobs included. At one job, I dreaded leaving behind colleagues who were also dear friends. At another, I was a little more than excited to be moving on, but I still bore the burden of knowing my departure would cause additional stress on an already stressed-out boss and stretched thin three-person firm.

If there is anything I’ve observed and learned over my job transitions, it is that it’s important to finish strong by finishing out your notice (and hopefully you gave one!) with the energy and the effort that you first applied when you started the job.

Of course, if you like your job and your coworkers, it’s relatively easy to leave your soon-to-be former position in a good position. But how do you finish strong when your employer is angry, annoyed, or just downright rude about your departure? Or how do you give your best when you feel like you’ve only received their worst?

Here are four tips on quitting well and finishing strong that I’ve learned and that other friends have shared with me to share with others, so you can give your best, even if you believe your employer is at their worst.

1. Now is not the time to let it all hang out.

I absolutely dread “the talk” in which I tell my boss I’m leaving. Dread it! However, once that critical conversation is over, the relief sets in. Feeling relieved is fine; feeling at liberty to begin sharing your opinion on every decision made over the next two weeks is not.

When discussing this topic of “quitting well” with a friend and former colleague, she shared her perspective: “If you are asked for your opinion on how things should be done, give it; however, if you are not asked, keep your opinions to yourself.”

This is sage advice, especially for those of us who might have been biting our tongue for some time. The truth is in many respects, once you’ve given notice, you’re a lame duck. While it is important for you to finish your work, with one foot out the door, your opinions on future policies or programs really aren’t going to count for much. Unless asked, don’t offer them.

2. Avoid the shoulda, coulda, wouldas.

I’ve left one job as a result of a long series of really bad decisions made by top leaders, and when that happens it’s easy to fall in to the “coulda, shoulda, woulda” trap. “If they wouldn’t have hired so-and-so…If they wouldn’t have fired so-and-so…What they shoulda done is…” and so on. The truth is that as sad or as disappointing or as aggravating as those decisions are, it’s a done deal.  Don’t waste your energy agonizing over it. If you’re a person of faith, remember, God often uses challenging times to grow our faith. You don’t have to like it, but you do have the opportunity to try and learn from it.

3. Don’t brag about the future.

There’s nothing wrong with briefly sharing why you’re excited about your new opportunity. However, let me be frank and say there is nothing more annoying than a departing coworker who spends their last two weeks bragging to anyone who’ll listen about the awesomeness of their new employer. How much better the pay is. How much more relaxed the dress code is. How every Friday is “Bring Your Pet to Work Day.”

First, it’s disrespectful to your soon-to-be former coworkers. If they’re also unhappy, they don’t need you reminding them of just how unhappy they are. If they are happy in their current job, then they don’t need to be tainted by your dissatisfaction, and most don’t want to hear another coworker talk condescendingly about a place where they like to work. This advice extends to social media as well. Don’t spend your notice telling your Facebook followers and Twitter fans how you “just can’t wait to get out of this place!” Vent to a close friend, but keep your rants offline. Social media has a very long shelf life online and in others’ minds.

Instead of bragging about your new gig or spewing your frustrations about the old one, be humble! Your soon-to-be former position, no matter how irritating or frustrating, allowed you the opportunity to earn a living while you were there. Chances are at some point you were very happy to have that job, so don’t forget it!

4. Leave everything in good shape.

You probably cannot complete every project in your final two to three weeks, but there are a lot of things you can do to leave everything in good shape upon your departure:

• Your work. Create a document that summarizes everything that you’ve completed and who’s taking care of what upon your departure, so you minimize confusion and the risk of anything falling through the cracks after you leave.
• Your files. Clean up your folder and file names so that if someone needs to find something you worked on, it will be easily accessed. Make sure someone else in the organization has access to all the usernames and passwords of accounts that you set up.
• Your integrity. You can be a stellar performer for 8 years, but if you spend those last few weeks showing up late, leaving early, and not getting much done in between, it won’t matter how talented you were. Those last two weeks will be what many of your colleagues remember most about you and your work ethic.

If you think your employer doesn’t deserve your efforts, then you owe it to coworkers who’ll be picking up the slack in the wake of your departure. You also owe it to yourself, so you can look back and know that no matter the circumstances prompting your departure, you left with your head held high and your integrity intact.

Annie Kelley is a public relations and marketing professional who spends her work days helping organizations communicate their messages with impact. Her passion for great leadership was born out of her own experiences working for and with great and not-so-great leaders. When she’s not working, Annie spends her time hanging out with her young child, working on various yard and home improvement projects with her husband, and reading.