Resigning Professionally
One of the things I read last week was the story of Richard Charkin, Director of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc and how he didn't get the job of CEO at Oxford University Press. It's disappointing that it's in the Harvard Business Review, which gives it legitimacy as a way to behave. http://blogs.hbr.org/silverman/2010/02/the-day-i-didnt-become-ceo.html
In my opinion, the story is not of 'quitting is enjoyable' but of unprofessionalism. He fails to communicate clearly during the interview process and then spends a friday afternoon trying to find people to resign to 'because I've been wronged'. He follows up with a sarcastic letter making a 'bridge well burnt'.
It isn't professional to quit with no notice, it isn't professional to interrupt other people's interviews so you can quit and it isn't professional to send sarcastic letters to your ex-employers. Richard Charkin may have gone on to a successful subsequent career, but that doesn't mean his behavior should be copied.
Of course, there is a podcast on how to resign professionally: http://www.manager-tools.com/2006/07/how-to-resign-part-1-of-3
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resigning profesionally
I am astonished behavior such as this can be held up and studied as the mark of a leader. Describing the act of resigning, no matter the circumstance, as fun is unconscionable to me. We might think it, might even dream about it, but most of us don't have the pedigree that will absolve us from acting on such impulses. There are other more constructive, and certainly more professional ways to communicate a point beyond demeaning and demoralizing others in your wake. This is not the mark or testament of a leader, for sure.
All most a completely different story
I think Richard Charkin was very lucky that he isn't telling a very different tale, about the importance of not burning bridges. Had he not gotten the other position and had to do a regular job search, his results and outcomes would have come out very differently. Clearly this is a case of confusing things that he has been successful because of, instead of things he has been successful despite. Imagine telling this story in an interview about why you left your last job.
When I resigned almost two
When I resigned almost two years ago, I said more than I should have not overly damaging stuff but I was upset. Luckily I had a new position to move too, but looking back on it I wish I handled it differently. I was mad, it felt like I was being pushed out and I loved my job and my co-workers. Sadly it made moving to a new job feel like I was running from something rather than moving to something better.
What were the outcomes of being too open in stating my reasons for leaving. My old boss was dealt with in the shot-term, yet she is still there. We didn't have a good enough relationship for me to go back and work for her, but I don't know if I could ever go back now. Really did I think she would be fired; no. Could they afford to let her go? No, with two people leaving a department of 10 at the same time, they needed to keep everyone else to keep the place running.
Would I do it differently next time. Yes, but I should have known better.
Totally unprofessional....however...
Yes, his behaviour was totally unacceptable and I would have thought it could have been written in a way that made it more of a cautionary tale about clear communication during interviewing. However, there is something he did well here that we could also look at. He had a good-enough network, and we are all aware of just how important that is. Look how it served him here. It may have been touch and go for a while, but it was his relationship that got him a new job at a company that his acquaintance was not sure he could get. He must have gone into bat for him. A clear lesson that networking is a very valuable tool in your Career Management.
Thank you for your comments!
Thank you everyone for contributing to the discussion.
Tuatara - thank you for pointing out the lesson! You make a good point.
Wendii