How to Quit Your Job Without Burning Bridges

The average person will have 12 different jobs in their lifetime, ranging from jobs you may have done as a teen to senior-level positions prior to retirement. Changing jobs is a normal and expected part of any career, whether it’s for the positive (you find a better position) or negative (you’re laid off or fired).

No matter the reason you’re leaving your current role, doing it respectfully will pay dividends in the future. You truly never know when or where you may run into someone from a previous job, so you always want to be sure you leave gracefully without burning any bridges. Here are some tips to ensure you leave on the best of terms.

• Give plenty of notice
• Do not plan vacation time during your notice period
• Wrap up or hand off all projects
• Train your replacement if possible and never talk badly about the company or role
• Put in your full effort until the very end – your notice period does not give you permission to flake out
• Do not recruit other employees from prior company without notifying your prior supervisor – it is just the right thing to do
• Do not recruit customers or clients to your new company