Just because you’re on your way out of the door, doesn’t mean you’ve not got plenty of tasks to tick off your to-do list…
You’ve been offered your dream job and have handed in your notice.
You’ve now got a set number of weeks left before you switch to the new role. While you might be thinking about winding down, think again. There’s still plenty to do before you go.
Here’s our week-by-week guide to leaving your job.
4 weeks to go: Check the ‘boring stuff’
Once you start probing you’ll be surprised by how much your company or organisation controls parts of your life. From pension contributions to childcare vouchers and other benefits, there’s a lot of untangling to be done.
Many of these will automatically stop and it’ll be up to you to get them going again. Doing this now and having a plan in place before you leave means you can budget for things like missed payments.
With pensions, for example, you have 3 main options: transfer the pension, get it as a refund, or simply have it paid out when you retire.
Speak with both the HR teams at your current role and your new one to see if they can help make the transition smoother.
3 weeks to go: Email clients
Just because you’re heading out the door, doesn’t mean you need to burn your bridges.
Letting your clients know well in advance will help make the transition between you and your replacement smoother. This will leave your clients feeling like you appreciated their business and maybe they might come calling in future if they need a hand.
Speak with your line manager to see if the company has any way of dealing with this issue – due to confidentiality agreements, you might not be able to contact certain clients or say that you’re leaving until a specified date.
2 weeks to go: Back up important stuff
Over the years, you’ve probably worked on a number of projects, created lots of valuable things for your company and sent thousands of emails. Some of these you might want to take with you.
Check the company policy, as if you created something at a company it’ll probably belong to them. But there might be a few examples you can take to include in your portfolio.
And of course, once you’re gone you won’t have access to your desktop, so make sure you’ve backed up anything important from it. The same goes for client contact details. If they’ve emailed them across, make sure to forward them to a personal account if you’re allowed.
1 week to go: Provide handover
Don’t leave your colleagues in the lurch when you go – even if you’re leaving on bad terms. It’s not their fault. Providing an in-depth handover briefing will make their job much easier in the future.
It should include:
• any projects you were working on and their current status
• key contacts
• ways of working with specific clients
• forthcoming deadlines
• your contact details at new job – just in case
If you were the only person in the company with a set of specific skills, it might also be worth providing a bit of training in these to others before you leave – if you’re feeling generous.
Last day: Clear desk
Remember to bring a big box in on the last day to clear out your desk. Don’t forget to check drawers, shared storage spaces and kitchens for items.
Anything you don’t want to take either offer to colleagues or send to the charity shop. And if you’ve been nice, you might even get a leaving present.
