Hi Everyone-

Quite a few of you have asked for the Resignation Package.  Here it is.  As Lisa said, Jeff Skerteny (sp) is responsible for most of it:

DEAR MEAN, CRUEL AND NASTY BOSS"

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  Give notice  as soon as you sign the offer. Pasted below is the

 prescribed steps to follow

 in your resignation process.

Candidates who have used this have found it quite helpful.

* A word about counter offers: Counter offers are made not because a 

 company likes you-its because they don't like your timing. NY Times article states that

 75% of all those who accept counter offers leave that company within

6 months.

 The best time to give notice is in the afternoon

at about 4 PM. Then notice can be given and you won't have to spend the

 rest of the day answering the boss's or co-workers' questions about

 why you are leaving and where you are going.

Second, you will also need to write a letter of resignation and give

 to your boss to open the resignation meeting. I use a very simple

 four-sentence, two-paragraph letter of resignation that is direct

and to the point. The letter reads like this:

Dear Mean, Cruel and Nasty Boss,

 Please accept this letter as my official notice of

 resignation. I appreciate the work we have been able

 to accomplish together at (company name), but I

have

 now made a commitment to another organization, and

 plan to begin with them in two weeks.

Know that it is my intention to work diligently

you to wrap up as much as possible in the next two

 weeks to make my resignation as smooth as

possible.

 If you have any suggestions on how we can best

accomplish that goal, I hope you will share your

 thoughts with me, as I am eager to leave on the

 most positive note possible.

 Sincerely,

 The final item is the verbal icebreaker needed

 to open the "giving notice" meeting. It is merely a

 simple paraphrasing of the resignation letter. I

 suggest that with the above letter in hand they

open their resignation meeting conversation by saying:

 "Boss, I have made a commitment to join another

 organization and will begin working with them in

 two weeks. Please accept this, my letter of resignation.

I would ask that you to take a minute to read my

letter before we discuss together how we can make

my transition as smooth as possible."

 I remind the resigning employee that almost every

 boss in the world knows what is about to happen

 when their employee walks into their office with an

 envelope in their hand. The opening I provide them

gets right to the point without unnecessary small

 talk. It also makes it clear that you are not

 planning to talk about your decision to leave.

Instead, it is clear that what you plan to discuss

 is the transition now that you have made a

commitment to leave. It makes the transition the

 most important item to discuss in the conversation

 that is about to occur.

 The Next Step . . .

I have them send me a fax or email a copy of their letter of

 resignation. Next, I ask them to call me so I can

 coach them through some of the more difficult

 aspects of this resignation meeting. My main goal

 is to remind them that the conversation need not be

 about where they are going and what they are doing

 next. Rather it should focus on their transition

 during the next two weeks. I tell them that every

 time the boss asks anything not related to

ensuring a smooth transition, that they deflect the other

 questions simply by saying:

 "I know you may be curious about that, but it is

 not my intention to discuss where I am going or why."

My decision is made, I have made a commitment to

 another organization which I plan to keep. If it

 is really important for you to know where I am going

and why, let's talk about it when it is not an

 emotional issue for us, say a month from now.

 Today, my goal remains to discuss how to make the

 transition as smooth as possible."

To help my candidates feel comfortable about using

 the above deflector, I ask them why it is that on

 the day they give notice that suddenly their

 opinions are so important to their boss? That

 perspective usually reinforces that there is no

purpose to the resignation meeting except to leave

on as positive a note as possible through a

carefully-planned, smooth transition. That is the

 resignation meeting's sole purpose.