This is Part 1 of the series entitled “A Job Quitter’s Primer”.

quit your jobOne way to get to the front page of Digg or some other social news site is to write a letter. Any kind of melodramatic, funny or even crude letter will do, as long as it provides sordid amusement of some sort. Say for example a resignation letter like this one, or an “over 18 only” divorce letter, or even just the kind that simply threatens the loss of one’s job as follows:

Work… Thursday Morning, weekends near and really just can’t be bothered doing any work. Didn’t have time for breakfast on the way out, winter weathers bringing on yet another cold… fed up! surely I’m not alone!

This morning, came into work, to find my work had been handed back to me, only to find it is apparently unsatisfactory, despite putting hours of effort into the project in question and completely satisfying the customers needs.

But, I have a deal for digg users! I will go and tell my boss where to get off and what I actually think of her. The way she looses everyones work (sic), the way she never shuts up when you want her to and finally, but not lastly, how she looks like a man, sounds like a man and laughs like a man, on one single condition.

Most people won’t take this post, seriously, but… If this post reaches the homepage of digg, I will tell my boss what I honestly think about her and that I quit… and go to the pub.

Happy Digging!

Edit: Due to popular demand, I may even post a video!

Such a letter was indeed submitted to Digg some time ago. At one point, the writer of this letter (”Jimbob”) became a Digg celebrity of sorts by receiving over 8,000 votes, surprising him into making good his promise of quitting his so-called job. And though he planned to follow up with a posted video of his resignation, he claimed he was unable to do so due to a threat of a lawsuit by his former company. At least, that was the story he had come up with. In the end, it just looked like a stunt to try to get some attention and land on Digg’s front page. For a while there, the author had set up a web site called GeekCapital.com that offered a blog about his exploits, but since then, it’s been taken down for reasons unknown. Who knows, lawsuits do get in the way of running sites, though I can imagine a myriad number of factors to cause such a shut down.


Ultimately, it turned out that this letter writing scheme was branded a sham aimed to get some ad revenue, but that’s beside the point I’d like to make here. So let’s move on.

There are right and wrong ways to quit a job, and somehow I don’t think a dramatic departure, in any way, shape or form, would qualify as a recommended way to do it. So to shed some light on a situation that no doubt has touched most of us at some point in our lives, I’ve compiled a primer based on various sources (see credits below) including this great Top Ten list from About.com, as well as my own experiences and observations for all you job quitters out there.

When To Quit Your Job

The Good Reasons

  1. The company is suffering some hardships and looks like it’ll fold.
    When the ship is sinking, you’re allowed to bail.

  2. You’ve got a bad relationship with your boss or colleagues.
    Could you be in a hostile work environment? If you’re having issues with anyone at work or if nobody likes you, then you’d be hard pressed to last much longer at your position. Unless of course, you’re a difficult person to deal with no matter where you go. In which case, I’d suggest a bit of self-reflection that hopefully leads to personal growth and change.

  3. You’re facing life changing experiences.
    Perhaps you need more flexibility or your priorities have changed due to some life altering events that have befallen you. Your job may now have to work around your new schedule but if it does not afford you that flexibility, then it may be time to go.

  4. Your personal thoughts and views are not in line with the company’s culture.
    If you’re the odd person out and you stick out like a sore thumb, and you find it difficult to blend in no matter how much you try, it may not be worth hanging around in your uncomfortable state and being in constant stress. At least, I wouldn’t bother.

  5. The company is in a questionable business.
    If you start noticing shifty behavior and underhanded schemes going on behind the scenes, this is not a healthy environment to be in. Some people have gone as far as to whistleblow. Proceed with caution.

  6. Your reputation has soured at this job.
    So why not start fresh elsewhere? Unless of course you’re content with your mediocre standing at your job.

  7. The job is affecting your physical or mental health.
    If you are constantly overworked and your job is becoming detrimental to your overall health, well-being and relationships, then it’s best to take a break from it so you can unwind and reflect. This great article from About.com discusses this further.

  8. You are bored stiff and your opportunities for advancement are limited.
    You’re in a rut and you need a new place to cultivate your skills and increase your knowledge.

  9. You’ve received a tightly clad offer for a higher position and/or more money elsewhere.
    This is the #1 reason I’ve left my previous employers. It must be one of the most common reasons for leaving, if not the most common.

  10. You are being ignored and unappreciated.
    You work hard but nobody notices. It’s a shame, but it happens everywhere.

  11. If you realize that your benefits are insufficient.
    1 week of vacation and no 401K is just not good enough anymore is it?

  12. Your job security is somehow threatened.
    It’s time to set up Plan B if your company is starting to outsource.

  13. Your commute really sucks.
    A long commute will be tolerable for a certain amount of time, then it’ll take its toll. But wasting many hours a day in traffic is just not worth the extra pay sometimes. But sometimes, there just isn’t a choice, such as when you live in the Bay Area’s bedroom communities. To ease your pain, you can either move to where your current job is, or quit your long-distance job and find something closer, say if new jobs pop up in your town.

  14. You need to relocate.
    There’s some reason you need to leave your neighborhood. Your job will be just one of the casualties of your move.

  15. You’re planning a career change.
    Would you like to do something else altogether? Perhaps you always dreamed of becoming a chef or teacher. Or you may just want to start your own business.
-ooOoo-

The Wrong Reasons

Basically, if the cause of your leaving a job is unreasonable, silly or ridiculous, then you should think twice before pulling the plug. But “silly” is subjective such that most people who have silly reasons to quit are difficult to convince otherwise and won’t know better anyway…at least, by my experience.

  1. You haven’t gotten a raise in so many months.
    You’ll need to establish a track record at your position before you can start expecting rewards. Take into consideration the entire job market too, in order to determine if you’re in the same boat as everyone.

  2. You’re not being assigned the tougher projects.
    Again, you’ll need to prove yourself first at many places before you’re given the challenging responsibilities. If you do a good job with the small stuff, then in time, you’ll be given the harder assignments. Of course, if you’ve waited a long time and you’re really not being put to good use, it may be time to bail out.

  3. You think the job market is hot and so are you.
    I knew a highly paid director of software development who left his company in a huff, thinking he would be rehired promptly. Well, it turned out much harder than he thought. It took 9 long months, $3,000 out of his pocket to hire an executive placement agency that got him nowhere, desperate attempts at getting any sort of job including that of a shopping clerk at Best Buy (which didn’t pan out), and a close call with foreclosure before he eventually received an offer to become a traveling consultant for 70% of his previous pay. Moral: Don’t fall from the frying pan and into the fire.

  4. You didn’t get that promotion after the big project you just did.
    Once more, you need to take everything into consideration before thinking of leaving. Many times, getting ahead in a company takes more than just one feather in your cap.

  5. You discover you’re not getting an office.
    Need I say more? Everyone lives in a cubicle these days.

  6. You think you won the lottery but really you didn’t.
    This actually happened to this man. Don’t leave your job until you’re sure you’ve really won.

  7. American Idol is in town, you’re set to audition and you made it to the Hollywood round.
    So you think you have certain talents that deserve to be showcased on a different platform. An opportunity presents itself and you need to act fast. Before you quit your day job, assess your situation and look at your realistic chances at getting anywhere with this opportunity. Tread this path carefully.

  8. You’ve been in a job for only a week, you’re a frequent job hopper and you’re itching to leave again.
    Given your history, you may want to think twice before quitting. It may be the case that the problem no longer lies in the companies you work for, but rather in your tendency to move around. You’ll need to do some self-reflection on this one: are you even in the right career?

  9. Somebody dared you to.
    You know who you are.

Here are some other reasons why people quit. Hint: it can be all about the management.

-ooOoo-

 
Think carefully why you need to leave your place of work as there are legitimate reasons to go, as well as stupid reasons. I always go by the saying: Wherever you go, it’s the same #$(%@!, different faces. There’s always this grand honeymoon one experiences at the start of any job which for very many of us will diminish in time and will be replaced with cold, hard reality. The key is to weigh all your job’s issues and saving graces, and see if you can last and carve out a future with it. Hopefully you’ll find a place where that’s the case.

Part 2 of this article has been published!

 
 
Featured Books:

< By the way, this post is part of our Casey Serin (I Am Facing Foreclosure) Theme Week. Check this introductory post for the week. I asked Casey about his work background, and this is what he shared with me about his employment history established right after high school: “I was going to go to college right out of HS but was offered a salaried position at a dot com company … and decided to go for it. When the company went out of business in a year I did freelancing website design and small business ventures, held W2 computer/web development jobs, got married, and then held another web developer/programmer job for a while (1.5 years I think, which is the longest regular job I’ve ever had) after which I quit and went into real estate investing full time.” >

 
< Source: SF Chronicle, who wrote a series on Jimbob, the job quitting Digg guy: here, here, here, and finally here; MonsterTrak, About.com, CBN.com, Bankrate. >