How to leave your job with professional relationships intact

If you have decided it’s time to leave your job, making a strategic exit is key. And this is how you can do it while keeping your professional relationships intact.

Sometimes burning bridges is unavoidable and that’s not because of you.

You just have to do the right thing and know you have done the right thing.

But as a general rule, when you start to get unhappy in a workplace, don’t start complaining about the job within the job.

Don’t tell staff or managers you are unhappy because word will get around and it will look like you are the toxic component in the workplace.

Stay professional and do your job right up until the last day.

Have everything up to date, make sure all projects are completed and create a handover document for the next person in your role then make yourself available for the first four weeks for them to call and ask questions.

Put yourself in their position: If you were in that role or the boss, what would you like?

Something people don’t think about is to give your boss and team a thank you gift and card. and thank them for the time you spent there and what you learnt.

Amanda Rose says departing employees should think about it from their boss’ perspective. Picture: Supplied

Regardless of the situation, they did pay you, you had a job and you were learning something.

Once you have left, still don’t complain.

Don’t tell the new place about the old place and why you left.

It’s about career advancement and that is it – the other stuff is emotional, you don’t need to bring it up. It’s a small world.

You have no idea who knows who or how quietly people can open doors for you behind the scene but they can just as easily close and lock them.

So much happens behind the scenes that you don’t know about.

Doors can open for you purely because of how you treated people. If you are young and reading this, start taking this advice now and you will be decades ahead of your peers in the future if you can keep your mouth shut.

I guarantee you will come into contact with past colleagues down the track and you want to be able to hold your head high.

Don’t be stepping on toes, you never know your tomorrows.

Amanda Rose is a business consultant, workplace trainer, LinkedIn influencer and founder of six organisations – and now she is tackling your career questions for SMART Daily every Monday.

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