How to Quit Your Job Gracefully
There are right and wrong ways to head for the exits.
There are right and wrong ways to head for the exits.
The Great Resignation is coming.
A wave of employees looking for promotions, better pay and more flexible working arrangements say in surveys that they’ll be seeking new jobs in the coming months. About 26% of workers said they would search for a new gig when the threat of the pandemic decreases, according to Prudential’s Pulse of the American Worker Survey conducted in March.
Workers around the globe are sending similar signals. More than 40% of those who responded to Microsoft’s Work Trend Index, a global survey of over 30,000 people in 31 countries conducted in January, said they were considering leaving their employer this year.
Whether you’re entry-level or experienced, there are right and wrong ways to make your exit. It’s important to leave a job gracefully. Play it wrong now, and you might lose out on a positive reference or even job opportunities later. Career coaches and former human resource experts say you should follow these tips before you put your resignation in writing.
While it can be tempting to leave a bad job as quickly as possible, it’s important to resign professionally. Schedule a meeting with your boss before you put anything in writing. When you schedule the meeting, tell your boss you have something important to discuss, but don’t explicitly say you’re quitting, says Christy Noel, a career coach and co-author of “Your Personal Career Coach.” The meeting should take place face-to-face or over a video call as a professional courtesy.
Your boss should be the first to know about the departure. While it might be tempting to tell your work friends, some of whom might know you interviewed elsewhere, this can backfire, says Melody Wilding, an executive coach and author of “Trust Yourself: Stop Overthinking and Channel Your Emotions for Success at Work.” Ms. Wilding has had clients whose work friends spread the news of their departure, which has resulted in their boss finding out about the new position through the rumour mill. This not only strains the friendship, it can be embarrassing for the manager, who then has to scramble to respond. “It’s really a gesture of respect to your boss,” she says.
Prepare for a range of reactions, Ms. Noel says. “They may have suspected something or they may be totally caught off-guard,” she says.
Your resignation letter is primarily meant to serve as proof in your HR file that you left the company, Ms. Noel says. Because it serves as a follow-up to the conversation you have with your boss, less is more. Most resignation letters run only a few sentences, and are addressed directly to your direct supervisor, not to their boss or the HR manager.
Make sure you’re locked into your decision to resign before hitting send. Once it’s sent, the company will begin its offboarding process. “The resignation letter is irrefutable,” says Cara Heilmann, chief executive of the career coaching firm Ready Reset Go, based in Walnut Creek, Calif., and a former HR professional.
In her many years of reading resignation letters, Ms. Heilmann says she’s seen three approaches. Some people spell out every reason they’re leaving, others concisely state when their last day will be and some take the time to cheerfully reflect on their time with the company. “Those that are straightforward or cheerful are seen in a more positive light than someone who feels like they want to help the organization as they leave,” she says.
You don’t have to tell your employer what you’re doing after you leave the company or why you’re moving on if you don’t feel comfortable. “Don’t air your grievances,” Ms. Noel says. “Just say, ‘I really appreciate the opportunity you’ve given me.’ ”
If you can’t muster the energy to write a positive resignation letter, then Ms. Heilmann suggests using what she calls a “Just the facts, ma’am” resignation. It can be one sentence that says you are resigning, followed by your intended last day.
Even if you feel like you can’t spend another minute at your workplace, experts say the age-old adage holds true. The customary thing to do is give at least two weeks’ notice, but those in executive positions often give more time to allow the company the chance to find a replacement.
Many of Ms. Wilding’s clients give three to four weeks’ notice to help manage their transition. But even if you give two weeks, she suggests you offer to help put together a transition plan. It can include your current projects, as well as next steps. Include as much detail as you have time for.
“Having that one source of truth that’s a transition document for your successor demonstrates that you’re being proactive, you care about the organization and will help leave everything on a good note,” she says.
Your resignation letter is the last impression you leave with the company. Ms. Heilmann has known people who have been terminated for cause, but have left in such a positive manner that they have been rehired in the future. “If you can muster the energy to give a more positive one, it does help you out,” she says.
Ms. Heilmann recalled a resignation letter that started with, “It’s been an amazing ride,” then went on to thank the manager for the opportunity and for all he had learned.
After you send off your resignation letter, take some time to reflect. Sometimes taking a break between jobs can help you reset. But even if you can’t take time off, it’s important to let go of any negative feelings you may have about your former job so you don’t carry that baggage with you into a new position, Ms. Heilmann says.
If you bring these negative feelings to your new job, it will affect your relationships with your co-workers, as well as anyone who reminds you of your old boss. “If I could give any words of wisdom, especially to those who are early-career, it’s to figure out a way to manage that transition so you start completely baggage-free,” she says.
Reprinted by permission of The Wall Street Journal, Copyright 2021 Dow Jones & Company. Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Original date of publication: 13, June, 2021
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Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta pour billions into artificial intelligence, undeterred by DeepSeek’s rise
Tech giants projected tens of billions of dollars in increased investment this year and sent a stark message about their plans for AI: We’re just getting started.
The four biggest spenders on the data centers that power artificial-intelligence systems all said in recent days that they would jack up investments further in 2025 after record outlays last year. Microsoft , Google and Meta Platforms have projected combined capital expenditures of at least $215 billion for their current fiscal years, an annual increase of more than 45%.
Amazon.com didn’t provide a full-year estimate but indicated on Thursday that total capex across its businesses is on course to grow to more than $100 billion, and said most of the increase will be for AI.
Their comments in recent quarterly earnings reports showed the AI arms race is still gaining momentum despite investor anxiety over the impact of China’s DeepSeek and whether these big U.S. companies will sufficiently profit from their unprecedented spending spree.
Investors have been especially shaken that DeepSeek replicated much of the capability of leading American AI systems despite spending less money and using fewer and less-powerful chips, according to its Chinese developer. Leaders of the U.S. companies were unbowed , touting advances in their own technology and arguing that lower costs will make AI more affordable and grow the demand for their cloud computing services, which AI needs to operate.
“We think virtually every application that we know of today is going to be reinvented with AI inside of it,” Amazon Chief Executive Andy Jassy said on Thursday’s earnings call.
Here is a breakdown of each company’s plans:
Amazon said a measure of its capex that includes leased equipment rose to a record of about $26 billion in the final quarter of 2024 , driven by spending in its cloud-computing division on equipment for data centers that host AI applications. Executives projected it would maintain the fourth-quarter spending volume in 2025, meaning an annual total of more than $100 billion by that measure.
The company—which gets most of its revenue from e-commerce and most of its profit from cloud computing—also projected overall sales for the current quarter that missed analysts’ expectations. Its shares slid about 4% in after-hours trading Thursday. The stock rose more than 40% in 2024 and was up nearly 9% this year before its earnings report.
Jassy said AI has the potential to propel historic change and that Amazon wants to be a leader of that progress.
“AI represents for sure the biggest opportunity since cloud and probably the biggest technology shift and opportunity in business since the internet,” Jassy said.
Google shares are down about 7% since its earnings report Tuesday, which showed disappointing growth in its cloud-computing business. Still, parent-company Alphabet said it is accelerating investments in AI data centers as part of a surge in capital expenditures this year to about $75 billion, from $52.5 billion in 2024. The spending will go to infrastructure both for Google’s own use and for cloud-computing clients.
“I think part of the reason we are so excited about the AI opportunity is we know we can drive extraordinary use cases because the cost of actually using it is going to keep coming down,” said CEO Sundar Pichai .
AI is “as big as it comes, and that’s why you’re seeing us invest to meet that moment,” he said.
Microsoft has said it plans to spend $80 billion on AI data centers in the fiscal year ending in June, and that spending would grow further next year , albeit at a slower pace.
Chief Executive Satya Nadella said AI will become much more extensively used , which he said is good news. “As AI becomes more efficient and accessible, we will see exponentially more demand,” Nadella said.
Growth for Microsoft’s cloud-computing business in the latest quarter also disappointed investors, leaving its stock down about 6% since its earnings report last week.
Meta, too, outlined a sizable increase in its investments driven by AI, including $60 billion to $65 billion in planned capital expenditures this year, roughly 70% higher than analysts had projected. Shares in Meta are up about 5% since its earnings report last week.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said investing vast sums will enable it to adjust the technology as AI advances.
“That’s generally an advantage that we’re now going to be able to provide a higher quality of service than others who don’t necessarily have the business model to support it on a sustainable basis,” he said.
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