“I QUIT!”

Most of us have probably daydreamed about the day we would utter those words. We’re sick of the company politics, tired of feeling unappreciated, or just can’t take that stupid good-for-nothing printer for one more day. The unforgettable, fax-bashing scene from Office Space becomes a dream we start to pursue. Or maybe we’re just ready to move on to something more challenging, something more meaningful, or just something else.

I don’t remember ever quitting a job from my so-called adult life, or a job that I actually cared about, until this last October.

I remember that morning very well - although I suppose I should, since it was just a couple months ago. It was the morning I had to tell my boss that I was leaving after just a few months of working for her.

Trying to figure out how to start the conversation was agonizing. “Hi, how are you? Oh, by the way, I know I just got here but I was just offered an amazing opportunity so I’m moving to the other side of the country next month.” That didn’t seem to have a nice ring to it. I went over what I wanted to say a million times during the week before. The Jewish holidays kept getting in my way of telling my boss, but I knew that telling her of my plans over apples and honey while we were simultaneously coordinating religious services for a few hundred college students wouldn’t exactly go over very well. Perhaps the mental rehearsals didn’t prepare me, but when it came time to tell her, the words just didn’t seem to come out like I had planned.

The moment I had been dreading came and went…finally. I was surprised and lucky (and immensely grateful) that my boss understood why I was taking this new opportunity. I was even more surprised when the students I worked with were actually sad that I was leaving. I had only known them for half of a semester, but some of them genuinely cared that I was leaving. That only made me think about how difficult it would have been to leave them if I had been there for a couple of years. This is a situation I am also familiar with.

I had been at Towson Hillel for two years. It was my first job out of college- the JCSC fellowship. Mere days before the training conference, I had packed up my car and driven the 1700 miles from my home in Colorado to Maryland, a state I had never even visited before. I welcomed two freshmen classes to Towson, was supervised by two different directors, facilitated more programs than I could count and had so many one-on-one conversations over coffee I could have single-handedly supported a Starbucks franchise. I would have stayed there forever, or so I told myself. But, alas, it was a contracted job with no position to move up to and, after two years, it was time to leave.

I remember needing to leave the information necessary for a good start for my successor. I had put so much work into my fellowship that I had to make sure that I could leave her with the best information possible. On my last day, I emailed my supervisor with no less than 15 documented transition reports.

Perhaps it was my exit from Towson, or my memory of entering my last position with a feeling like I didn’t have enough information or my guilt of leaving my position after just four months, that made me want to leave behind enough usable information as possible.

Despite our sudden, sporadic- or even constant, depending on the position- need to just proclaim, “I quit!” and storm out, there is a professionally desirable way to leave a job. While I don’t pretend to exude expertise in that situation, I can offer some helpful hints. However, these hints do depend on the situation you’re leaving so you’ll have to use your own (or your best friend’s) judgment on the final decision:

First, in most situations, it’s best to give your current employer the most notice possible. Ge them as much time as possible to find a replacement–not necessarily before you make a decision (although some would argue otherwise if you’re up for re-negotiating your current salary and/or benefits), but definitely as soon as you know you’re leaving,

Before you tell your current boss, make sure you can logically explain why you are leaving the position and what you are capable of doing prior to leaving. Don’t make promises you can’t keep- those last days will remain the freshest to those you leave behind. It’s natural that your professional priorities will change so, as long as they’re still beneficial to the company, be upfront about them.

After you verbally tell your boss of your plans, give him or her written notice. (See your company personnel codes for the required time of notice but a standard job is two weeks.) I’ll admit that I had no idea how to write a resignation letter so I- honest to gawd- Googled it. I found lots of sample letters and what I learned is that such a letter is simple and short. Generally, it just states that you were grateful for the opportunity, that you are leaving, and when your last day is. No biggie.

Lastly, ask your boss and co-workers what they would like from you before your last day and do your best to complete those tasks prior to your leaving. Depending on how much notice you give, how much they ask of you, and how many last-minute projects are dumped on you, you should work as hard as you can to complete these things.

It is very easy to let go of a job, an apartment, a state, as soon as you know that you are leaving it. This is a normal and necessary occurrence. However, it is also easy to- as the kids say- totally check out. Days of rolling out of bed “whenever,” showing up in sweatshirts and spending all day surfing online- while tempting- is not a good idea. A) Because it’s a colossal waste of time and, B) because I’m betting you don’t get paid to just hang out all day. But also? Doing nothing on the job is actually stealing.

I’ve recently learned that it is very easy to leave a job or situation angry. When you’re mad at the people that you’re closest to, it makes it so much easier to just peace out and forget emotions. Maybe this works temporarily, but this world is extremely small and, chances are, you will meet up again. If nothing else, it will give you something to think about come next High Holidays.

Above all, just remember that your decision affects many more than you will ever expect and that- Google says- you may need a reference even 15 years down the line. Just breathe - you’re almost out of there.

Johanna Karasik is the Program Director of Brandeis Collegiate Institute (BCI) in California. She received a Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Colorado State University and spent the following two and a half years working for Hillel. She also writes for interfaithfamily.com and has a new article coming out in February.

Resources
www.salary.com: Find out what you’re worth across the country.
www.cobrainsurance.com: Make sure you have health insurance between jobs.
www.randymcnally.com: In case you find yourself driving across the country for your new job.
The Brandeis Collegiate Institute occupy your summer with an amazing Jewish experience.

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