two weeks notice 3

[wellman]

I am a young engineer. Right out of college I went to work for a manufacturer that I worked for part time throughout college. In the beginning I loved it there was alot of design work to do and I got to run the machine shop side of the bussiness. Recently I have interviewed with a couple of con sulting firms and feel fairly confident I will get an offer from one. I have worked for this small family owned company for almost eight years and want to leave on good terms. I have not yet informed them that I am looking. How much notice do I need to give them and should I tell them I am looking before actually getting another job?

Thanks

 

[ivymike]

How much notice to give depends on the duration of the project you are committed to, for one thing. If you're working on relatively short-duration jobs, then two weeks or the end of the longest program you're on at the moment (whichever is longer) would probably be adequate. If jobs are much longer, you obviously won't be sticking around for years to complete them if you want to leave now, so give them a little time to look for a replacement.

I wouldn't tell them I was looking unless I thought they would (and could) convince me to stay. I'd wait until I had an offer, and then give notice and move.

 

[TheTick]

You can't be expected to finish everything. The best guideline is however much time you need to tie up your projects for a good handoff. That alone can amount to a solid 2 weeks of work!

Family-owned firms can be strange animals (speaking as a stakeholder in one such venture). They are more likely to take it personally that you are leaving. I would not tell them until you have accepted an offer.

Above all else, maintain your professional conduct. Keep your game face on.

I could be the world's greatest underachiever, if I could just learn to apply myself.

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[ctopher]

TheTick is correct. I have experienced this with family-owned co. Get the new job first, then turn in your notice.

Chris
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[M1Can]

"should I tell them I am looking before actually getting another job?"

Tough question of which I have mixed feelings about:

1)When I first finished community college I got a job as a draftsperson but decided I wanted more and applied to university. As soon as I was accepted I told my employer that I was going back to school in the fall , thinking it was fair to give as much notice as possible (3 months). Two weeks later the engineering manager called me to his office , told me they had found a replacement and it would be best if I resigned. I stood my ground and explained I needed the income for school and finished working the summer and actually came back for a couple of summer work terms. In this case it turned out OK, but my employer could have insisted I leave and left me in a rough spot.

2)After I went into business for myself one of my former colleagues from my last employer joined me as an employee. After a year he informed me that our previous employer had contacted him about returning. He kept me informed of his discussions and when he decided to accept a position (with our former employer)he worked with me in establishing a suitable time for the change. Being a small business I really appreciated his openess and maintain a good relationship with him.


I think it really comes down to your relationship with your employer but you need to be carefull as you can get burned.


M1 Engineering

http://www.m1engineering.ca

 

[HVAC68]

Get the offer for the new job in hand. You will probably know that you will be getting the new job much ahead of the actual date of receiving the formal letter. Plan your work accordingly so that when you actually leave your present employer can't hold you morally to complete something. Obviously, you may still have to give some notice period - planning ahead within yourself, without anybody else knowing about it can save you some time. 2 weeks or 4 weeks will depend on what your responsibilities are. I agree with you that you should leave on good terms. It's a bit tricky to deal with family owned bosses, since they tend to take things more personally.

Good luck.

HVAC68

 

[Creeker]

I recently (this week!) went through the same thing. When I told my boss about that I was leaving for a different job, he obviously wasn't happy, but he understood. I think one of the important things is to keep a positive attitude. You don't want them to think that you're leaving because you hate your current job. In my case, I emphasized the fact that the new job is a great opportunity for me to move up faster than I would here, as it was a smaller, growing firm. It also pays more, which he understood (though saying so might make you seem very mercenary). I was worried that people would think I was jumping ship, but it's been pleasantly surprising to know how many people are genuinely happy for me.

I gave four weeks notice (required by my contract), which seems about right to finish up short term work, and prepare the long-term stuff for hand-over to someone else. I am finding it hard to stay motivated, so it will be a bit of a challenge to stay professional for the last few weeks.

 

[vonbad]

All good advice. Work with your current employer as much as possible to avoid burning any bridges.

Definitely, get the job in hand (preferably in writing). Word of caution, even though you plan on giving adequate notice, be prepared for "thank you for your notice, your services are not required any longer".

 

[ajack1]

In the UK it is clearly stated in your contract and the usual thing is it is the same for both employer and employee, this seems a fair system to me as it stops the scenario as describe where you give notice in good faith only to be told your services are no longer required.

It also allows the employer to stipulate how long they think it would realistically take to get in a suitable replacement by your length of notice.

This length of time seems to be increasing, for example despite not holding a senior managerial role I am on 4 months notice, which is sometimes longer than a possible employer would want to wait, however on the plus side it means that if they want me to leave I have time to look around or if they ask me to leave there and then I walk away with a four month pay cheque.

This does not apply if you are fired for gross misconduct and most companies allow the notice to change through mutual consent.

Are these terms not stated in your contracts in the USA?

 

[IRstuff]

nope.. generally, employment is "at will." either side can legally terminate the contract at a moment's notice.

The only delta is that there was a law passed in the 90's that required employers to given 60day notice for plant closings. Since many companies are adverse to lawsuits, they've applied that rule to smaller layoffs. But individual ones are still at whatever is customary at that company. In some cases, you're only given enough time to remove personal belongings. This is to prevent any mischief from the disgruntled employee.

TTFN

 

[Blazerdog]

I have quit two jobs as an engineer in my 10 year career. The first was in plant design for a manufacturing company and I gave two weeks notice and left on very good terms. Two weeks was a good time frame because I did not loose interest by the time the two weeks were up. I went to a small consulting firm and when I left there I gave five weeks notice because I thought it would take that long for me to tie up the loose ends on my projects. Five weeks was way to long because I lost interest after the third week like Creeker said he was going to have trouble not doing. It is very hard to remain professional when you are leaving, I do not care how moral and professional you are. I would recommend giving three weeks notice unless you think you can get by with leaving after two. Incidentally I am now working for the original manufacturing company so the two weeks notice did not hurt their opinion of me.

 

[Maury]

Two weeks notice seems to the most common. I have known companies that don't want an employee to stay around after notice has been given and tell them to leave right away, sometimes paying for the two weeks and sometimes not. With eight years at the company, the employee should know how they will respond.

 

[corus]

When leaving a job bear in mind that you may need to go back there at some time. It appears that in the US there is no protection for either the employer or the employee in terminating a contract of employment, strangely. With that in mind give them 'reasonable' notice of terminating your contract just as they would 'reasonably' inform you that you had lost your job, but never tell anyone that you're looking for another job.

corus

 

[whyun]

Companies has the right to terminate an employee just as the employee has the right to resign with or without a reason. Most firms would have this written in the employee's handbook. Look into your company's employee handbook and find out what your company expects from you.

I agree with Maury's comment about two weeks notice. Company may request you to stay longer and how long would be at your discretion.

It all depends on the company policy. Like many suggested, leave on good terms and never burn any bridges. You may need someone from your current work to verify the employment when you apply for the license.

Best of luck.

 

[PSE]

To echo some of the previous posts, two weeks notice is pretty much "standard" in the US. I would also wait until I had at least a signed letter with the offer from a new employer before giving notice. Once you have a written offer, you can work with both companies on a reasonably equitable termination and starting date.

I have also worked in a family run business and from my experience TheTick is right on target with the statement that they are likely to take it a bit more personally. You may be able to ease the situation if you can help them find a suitable replacement for your position. For a small employer, it is a considerable expense to find and hire people.

Good luck and regards,

 

[sms]

Me too, don't say anything until you have a signed offer from the new employer, give you current employer two to three weeks notice, and since it is a family run operation be fully prepared to be escorted out the door immediatly upon delivering notice. Might not happen, but it might.

 

[ScottyUK]

I likely to be in the position of moving on this year, and I'm contracted for three months notice. A lot of former colleagues had similar terms, but were history within a month. In my position I'm tied in to a lot of major projects which will run far beyond the three months and I think I might have to work most of the notice period. I half-wonder if the company has set a precedent by allowing so many others to go earlier than their notice would suggest, and I could argue for the same? I don't want to depart on hostile terms as power generation is a small world in the UK and many paths cross and recross, so I might be in for the full period.

At a previous employer I worked right up to the last minute of the last day on a commissioning job, and then stayed back for an hour or two with my newly ex-colleagues until the job was done. I still have a lot of friends at that site and they would love to have me back, although I don't really ever see it happening. Personally I think it's much better to go out on a high - that way the top brass see what a great employee they let go.



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If we learn from our mistakes,
I'm getting a great education!

 

[ajack1]

Scotty I doubt that the fact that they let others go early would count for much. I certainly wouldn’t agree to start the new job in less than the three months stated, however it might be worth asking your new employer if they would want you to start early if the opportunity arises.

I assume the three months works both ways? If so and they want you leave early you would get paid, so it would be a chance to catch up with the garden, play some sport, spend some time with the kids, travel a little or any one of the thousand things that you never seem to get enough time to do when at work. Or is that just me?

 

[ScottyUK]

ajack1,

We must be in similar jobs. It would be ironic if I end up having some time to myself because the company pays me off early. The lack of such time is one of the reasons I'm looking at alternative ways of paying the mortgage!

I totally agree about not agreeing to start ahead of the three months, but taking the chance if it arises.



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If we learn from our mistakes,
I'm getting a great education!