I guess I should start with what it does not mean. If you don’t hear back after a first, second, or final round interview…

It does NOT mean that they don’t want to hire you

If you think about it logically, it makes sense. If the company you interviewed with knows they don’t want to hire you, it’s pretty easy for them to just tell you that versus stringing you along and probably fielding many of your emails/phone calls wondering what’s up. If it’s clear you’re not right for the job, there is no harm at all in just letting you know that.

However, in that moment where you’re driving yourself crazy, wondering what’s going on, most of us go straight to doubting ourselves. Don’t do that – if they wanted to turn you down, they’d just turn you down.

That being said, it also means they’re not 100% sold…

Before you start to hate what I’m saying, read on… It doesn’t mean they’re not sold on you, who you are, and what you bring to the table. It often means they don’t have all the information they need to be “sold” and 100% ready to tell you what’s next.

There are lots of things that stand between unsure and 100% sold even if you had a great interview. It can be anything from budgetary constraints, to seeing how other candidates compare, to waiting to test a certain skill, to checking references, to waiting for someone else to come back from vacation to interview.

Remember that every company has their own process and timeline in the hiring process. There is no one size fits all formula to how long the interview process will take or what it will entail. If you try to guess what’s next or why you’re not hearing back, you will drive yourself crazy. Just take comfort in the fact that if they were sure they didn’t want to hire you, you’d know quickly.

It’s when you’re in running that the time starts to drag.

Don’t panic, and follow up appropriately

A few months back I wrote a post about following up after an interview – and when the right timing is. You want to strike the right balance between being eager and excited, yet not annoying. Some people deal with uncertainty pretty well and others start to panic. Even if you’re feeling that panic inside (most of us are) you don’t want to show it, and you don’t want to cross that line.

If a company is on the fence about you as a candidate, bad judgement calls or inappropriate communication is likely to bring them to the wrong side of that fence. Follow up respectfully, listen to what they’re telling you about timelines, and always remind the company how excited you are about the opportunity when you check in.

Even though hearing about a particular job is the #1 important thing on your priority list, it doesn’t mean you interviewers or recruiters are feeling that same pressure.

The pressure is on them to make a thoughtful decision, and not a quick one.

So hang tight, and make the waiting time productive

You’ll most likely get the answers you need in the near future, but sometimes the wait can be lengthy, so if you’re not currently employed don’t stop your process and wait. Put your eggs in lots of different baskets, get more interviews, and continue to put yourself out there. Having multiple options will be the best way to increase your chances of success and help you take your mind off of the waiting game.

The post What does it mean when you don’t hear back after a job interview appeared first on The Prepary.

Alison Elissa Horner specializes in helping young professionals figure out their career direction. You can sign up to receive free tips on navigating your career at www.alisonelissa.com. 

Does this sound familiar? You’re unhappy with your current job. So while ‘working’ on today’s tedious assignment you begin to daydream about something better.

You think, hmm, maybe being a consultant would be fun. And for a few blissful minutes you picture this new life, full of sunny skies, interesting projects, happy clients, and of course, a pay raise. A peaceful smile crosses your face. Why hadn’t you thought of this before?

You furtively pull out your smart phone and start googling “consultant jobs”. In the space of less than a minute your fantasy world comes crashing down. Three to five years of experience? Starting salary less than what you’re currently making? Suddenly you remember that friend of a friend you met who was a consultant. She was miserable. All that travel. The boss from hell. You stash your phone, your head hanging just a bit lower, and return to staring blankly at the computer screen in front of you.

And the cycle continues… each week with a new idea about what’s next.

But months pass. You don’t take any action on making a career change. You start to believe that you don’t know what you want, that there’s nothing out there for you, that your current miserable existence is all there is to life.

The Diagnosis

You’re suffering from a condition I see all the time in my work as a career direction coach for young professionals: early dismissal. Early dismissal is when you mentally shoot down potential career paths before they ever get a chance to be a real possibility for you.

There are three main reasons we give when we’re eliminating our own options.

1. We decide that we wouldn’t actually like the job or be any good at it (based on our own limited understanding of what the job entails).

2. We look at all the steps it will take to transition to a new job or field and decide, why bother, it’s impossible.

3. We get caught up in the opinions of other people. So and so would think I’m wasting my life if I did that.

 The symptoms of early dismissal are:

• you consider new careers in your head only
• you take no action
• you lose your bearings about what would be a good fit for you
• you succumb to doubts, worries, and a feeling of ineptitude
• you feel pretty sure things are never going to change

The Cure

Early dismissal is a sneaky condition because we often don’t even realize that we’re caught in it. We have so many justifications. We think we’re being realistic. We think we’re saving ourselves from disappointment. We think we’re avoiding mistakes.

Your excuses can seem so reasonable that the fact that you’re caught in an ineffective cycle can go right over your head. So the first step in curing early dismissal is to realize that you’re doing it.

The next steps are as follows:

1. Early dismissal only thrives when it is left alone in the depths of your own brain. So pick a confidant before moving on to the steps below. Who is likely to not only be open to your ideas, but also encouraging? A great career coach is optimal here, but a kind friend or acquaintance will certainly do.
2. Write down a few careers that you’ve previously dismissed. These should be the ones that you keep coming back to, the ones that are always somewhere in the back of your mind.
3. Note the reason you dismissed each career. Was it because you thought you wouldn’t like the job, because you thought the steps to get there would be too hard, or because you thought important people in your life wouldn’t support your choice? Categorizing your reason puts you into the position of observing your brain, rather than getting caught up in what it’s telling you.
4. Now, write down three reasons why each of these careers would be a good fit for you. The goal here is to gently re-open your sense of possibility.
5. Talk your ideas over with your confidant. If you picked a good person you should start to feel a flutter of hope. (If you don’t feel this try finding a new person to bounce your ideas off of.)
6. Temporarily forget figuring how to make your career change. Also, for now, forget to care about what other people will think.
7. Instead, focus on getting a test experience. This entails finding a low-risk, low-commitment sample of the career you’re interested in. This may involve freelancing, volunteering, shadowing someone for a day, or conducting an informational interview.
8. Gauge your reaction to this real world data point. Did you enjoy the experience? Did you learn things about the field that you were unaware of before? Go over your experience with your confidant.
9. Continue dabbling in test experiences until you feel more confident about making a career decision.

By talking things over with a trusted advisor and checking your ideas out in the real world you will finally get out of your own head. You’ll stop the endless loop of early dismissal. And you’ll be much better equipped to actually take action on your career change.

The post The big career change: what’s holding you back? appeared first on The Prepary.

Why they’re asking: They want to make sure you are confident that you can do the job and prove that you are the right person to do the job

Why it’s tricky: It’s a very open ended interview question. It’s also sort of a bold question – one that is kind of meant to challenge you a bit and see how you respond to pressure.

How to answer: Explain why you’re great, what you’ve done that relates to the job opportunity, and be really really confident.

Note: This is a pretty similar question to “why are you suitable for this job” so there will be some overlap with that post but this question has a slightly different tone (and therefore a different answer).  When someone asks “why should we hire you” it’s sort of like saying “prove yourself” and the answer should be a bit more powerful, confident, and strong than the answer to “why are you suitable”.  It’s like someone telling you “ok, now close the sale”.

Let’s dive into how to answer this common interview question in the most impactful way possible:

1. Know the job description really, really, well

That’s right. I know I always say this but you absolutely need to know the job description like the back of your hand to ace this question (and any interview for that matter). Study everything from the overview, to the daily responsibilities, to the qualifications. Truly understand what you are interviewing for and know what you’re interviewers are looking for. Think of the job description as a wish-list that your future manager has written.

2. Know how to apply your past experiences to it

Read through the “responsibilities” or “tasks” and be able to talk about similar tasks you’ve done in the past. Look at the qualifications and desired qualities and be able discuss how you meet (if not exceed) them. This question is sort of about you… but it’s more about how your skills line up with what the company is looking for. You probably have many great accomplishments, but you should be focusing on the ones that most closely match the job you’re going after.

3. Talk results

Remember I said this answer should be a little “bold”? If you’re proving yourself to your interviewer you’re going to want to talk about what you personally can bring to the table. Something along the lines of “I see you’re looking for someone to manage X. I am confident I’d be able to execute on that by doing X, Y, and Z.” You don’t want to be just another candidate. You want to be seen as an asset who is ready to add value right away.

4. Make sure you come across as a “good fit”

You’ve already showed off your hard skills and qualifications in the first part of this answer, but I’ve seen even the most qualified candidates not get the job based on that pesky notion of “fit”. Doing well in a job isn’t just about what you do but also how you go about doing it.

In a small or growing company, you might want to express that you’re willing to “get your hands dirty” or “pitch in wherever needed”. In a more structured company, you may want to talk about how focused and task-oriented you can be. Learn as much as you can about the company (and the company culture) before the interview and emphasize why you’d fit in there.

5. Close the sale and make it compelling!

Again, when this question is asked in this way, you should be going into sell-mode, and every good sale has a great closing. Wrap up your answer in a way that is confident, concise, and enthusiastic.  While you don’t want to go totally overboard, make it memorable too.

As you answer this question it’s important to strike the right balance between being confident and being a total egomaniac. It’s always important to gauge the interviewer’s reaction and adjust your answer accordingly as you go. However, this question is someone basically forcing you to explain “why me” so don’t be afraid to show off a bit.

The post Common interview questions: Why should we hire you? appeared first on The Prepary.

Here’s a few articles to get you familiar with the type of resume submissions I’m referring to:

1. 23 Cool Resumes we found on Instagram

2. 11 Crazy Stunts People Have Pulled Off to Get Hired

In terms of the first article, these are mostly nicely formatted resumes (many in infographic style) and then a few pretty out of the box ones (i.e. the origami resume).  The second article is more focused on crazy, out-of-the-box ideas, that actually worked.

Here’s my stance on creative resumes – proceed with caution

• The infographic/heavily designed resume – if you are a graphic design pro, go for it. A really cool, original resume in terms of formatting can be fun to get and catch a recruiter’s eye. However, this is only going to work if you are emailing your resume to someone. If you are applying online, chances are that your resume is going into a database and that database is looking for keywords and just the content. If your resume is in a format where the system can’t get that out, your pretty resume will turn into a bunch of jumbled letters and numbers that make absolutely no sense (and will likely be thrown out). So if you’re going to take this route, make sure you have a regular word version as well for applying online. Trust me, I’ve seen this backfire.
• The “I’m going to send my resume printed on something that’s not paper” route – Especially recruiting for fashion jobs, this is one that pops up a lot. While the origami resume is pretty cool and would definitely get the team talking, I always wonder if it’s in a good way or bad way. When it comes to people assessing your skills (and level of professionalism and judgement) the “all press is good press” saying does not apply. I have to say, unless you do this in the most careful, specific, way and align your item with the company’s culture and business, this is not a good idea. Based on all the resume t-shirts and shoes I’ve gotten, I’ll say that they will get you noticed, but not in the way you want.
• The billboard/website/interactive video route – I mean… apparently this works (at least for the people in that article) but I’ve never seen it work first hand. I know taking risks does pay off, but in my mind, when a company asks for you to submit a resume in a certain way, submit it in that way. To get it seen, network!

If you really feel you must submit a super creative, out-of-the-box resume, here are a few parameters:

• Make sure it’s brand appropriate – Submitting your creative hack to google or a portfolio of your work to a fashion house probably is brand-appropriate. However, look beyond that. Is what you created a brand-fit? In the fashion/retail world, it’s important that not only do you have the technical skills to create something, but also that it feels in line with what you’d be asked to create on the job. 
• Make sure it is really, really good – Doing this is a risky move, so if you are going to take the risk, my advice is to give it 110%. Anything less, is likely going to work against you, not for you (i.e. a video resume that does not look professionally-filmed/edited). Don’t get sloppy here.
• Also apply the traditional way – Being creative is good, but following directions is also pretty important to lots of employers. Make sure in addition to your creative application, you apply in the way the company is asking you to.

So bottom line… I think under most circumstances these tactics will get you some attention – but not always the kind you want. When it comes to put extra effort into applications, I’d recommend putting it into skill-building and networking. For most jobs, no matter how cool your application is, you still need the skills to do the job, and a good endorsement weighs the most out of anything (and is the safest!).

The post Submitting your resume: how creative should you get? appeared first on The Prepary.

On one hand, it should be impressive that you’ve created one and maintained it (and have a big readership?) but on the other hand, it could seem like you’re not 100% invested in the other (primary) jobs you’ve held. As always (I know, I know) it’s not a black and white answer. The answer is sometimes.

I fully realize there are a lot of people out there would straight up say “no, don’t ever include your blog” but in some cases, I feel that doing so can make you a stronger candidate. Here are my guidelines on when you should include your personal blog on your resume.

Include your blog on your resume if…

• The overall presentation, formatting, theme (just the way it looks in general) comes off as professional and polished even if someone were to not read a single word. If you started the blog up a year ago and still haven’t gotten around to branding it, you might want to think twice. The first impression just based on looks alone is a very important one (shallow, I know!)
• The content is mostly geared towards a topic or theme (vs. personal) and you are knowledgable in the area.
• You have a proven following who considers you an “expert” on the topic you are blogging about. The audience itself isn’t so important. However, having a following of readers is a good “gut check” which could indicate whether your interviewer or resume reviewer will also find you to be a reliable source.
• You’ve been working on the blog for a significant amount of time. Showcasing a blog you started last week will not have an impressive amount of content and doesn’t necessarily show any dedication to it. Wait to include your blog until you know you are sticking with it for the long haul.
• It makes you a stronger candidate for the job you are applying for. If your blog is related to the job you are applying for  (and meets the other criteria above) it will likely make you a stronger candidate.

Leave your blog off your resume if…

• Your blog contains mostly personal information. You always want to keep your resume and what you talk about in an interview very, very professional. Therefore, really think about if you want your interviewer reading about what you ate for breakfast or did on Saturday night. I especially want to call attention to blogs with lots of photos of yourself – whether they be pictures from your personal life or you posing for your own blog, be aware that it can come across as a little unprofessional if not done in the right way.
• You feel like your blog is good, but not great. You want to put your best foot forward on your resume so if you feel like your blog is decent but you’re not 100% proud of it yet, consider waiting to include it. If a resume reader sees a blog listed on a resume, they’re probably going to go read it.
• It’s about a topic that would not be considered appropriate for work (enough said).
• Many other reasons – Honestly, most of the time, you probably should not include your blog on your resume. I can’t list (or even think of) all of the reasons here, but the more material you share with a recruiter or interviewer, the more they can find that they don’t like.

I know that sounds terrible, and I wouldn’t want someone to make a judgment of me based on something I worked really hard on and cared about, but you want to save most of your “first impression” for your in-person interview, and not give too much away online.

If you are on the fence about including your blog for any of the reasons above, I’d say skip it. Unfortunately, unless you really have achieved success through blogging, it’s difficult for some interviewers to see the value. Worse, it can make you seem less focused on your day job.

If you do decide to include your blog (because it is awesome, professional, and aligned with the job you are interviewing for), I would generally suggest putting it in an “additional experience” section versus in the section with your primary roles you’ve held (unless of course it was your primary role) and be sure to include any big accomplishments (i.e. readership, awards won, etc.). There are exceptions for this but you still want to lead with your actual full-time jobs and have any additional pieces of your resume (blog included) be secondary.

The post Should I include my blog on my resume? appeared first on The Prepary.

The scenario: Candidate came in for interview at super great company for mid-level role – Interview went pretty well and the team was leaning towards moving candidate forward for additional interviews – during the same day, the candidate friended one of the interviewers on facebook – team took it as a bad judgement call and felt it’d be indicative of other decisions candidate would make on the job – this brought them off the fence and they decided not to move forward

My thoughts…

I actually don’t think friending someone on Facebook is the worst thing in the world and I also understand that different people have different “friending thresholds”. What I mean by that is that some people will friend someone they just met and barely talked to and on the other end of the scale there are others who will only friend actual friends. 

There is also a range of feelings on the other side of the invite. Some people only want to accept requests from actual friends and find any other invites to be on the creepy side. Let’s be honest, your active friends on facebook do get a lot of airtime. There are also people who will accept anyone and everyone and just want to collect contacts.

If it were me…

Now if it was me in the recruiting seat having just been friended, I think I’d probably think it was a little weird, not accept the invite, but move on. But you never know who you are going to get and how they are going to feel about it. Some people might even think it’s inappropriate to friend co-workers on facebook, so someone who hasn’t even joined the company would feel even less appropriate to them.

The bottom line…

By almost anyone’s standards, it IS unprofessional to friend someone on facebook after an interview. Connecting with someone on LinkedIn that soon might be ok (I even think that’s a little soon) but not on Facebook. People generally prefer to keep their FB personal so it can seem like a big invasion of privacy to reach out that way. How would you feel if a recruiter friended you on facebook? I assume you wouldn’t feel too comfortable with that.

As with pretty much any interviewing slip up, if you are the perfect candidate for the job, have the most unique skill set in the world, and crushed the interview, this probably won’t preclude you from getting to the next round. However, in reality, there are usually pros and cons to every candidate so don’t let this judgement call be the deciding factor for you.

The post Interviewing Tips: Don’t friend your interviewer on Facebook appeared first on The Prepary.

No one has seen your application:

Many companies post jobs on their website but don’t have the resources to go through all the applications that have come through.  Yes, I agree that it seems weird to put something out there and not bother to look at what comes back… but it is what it is.  If no one has seen your application, it’s impossible that you’ll hear anything back!

If (and this is a big if) you do meet the qualifications outlined in the job description, I suggest applying online since that is the proper protocol, but also reaching out to a member of the recruiting team via LinkedIn or email to make sure you “get seen”.

You don’t meet the qualifications:

If you apply online for a job, many companies take a “you’ll hear from us if…” approach.  This basically means if your background is a match for the job, they’ll reach out.  Otherwise, don’t expect to hear from them.  If you are not hearing back after you’ve submitted an application take another look at the “qualifications” section of the job description.  If the role asks for 5 years of Finance experience and you have 2, that could be the reason for the radio silence.

The job is open but not “open”:

This is probably the most ambiguous of the 3 reasons but I have definitely seen this happen as a recruiter.  A role gets posted with all the right intentions but then for one reason or another aggressive recruiting is “paused”.  This could be because an internal candidate has expressed interest, a referral came through that is a strong candidate, there may not be budget for the role, and a whole host of other reasons.  You’ll never really know if a job is “on hold” but you should know it happens.  You might not be hearing back from a company due to reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with you.

Since it’s tough to know exactly why you’re not hearing back, follow up is key.  If you’re qualified for the role leverage LinkedIn, your personal connections, and old-fashioned cold-calling/emailing.  You’re much more likely to get your resume seen and get to the bottom of why you haven’t yet heard back.  If you don’t meet the qualifications, wait to use those tactics on a role that is a better match.  You only get to leverage them a few times without coming across as unfocused, so make it count!

The post Reasons why you’re not hearing back after applying for a job appeared first on The Prepary.

Now I know job searching can feel like a full time job, but in reality, it doesn’t need to take up 10 hours a day if you are efficient with your time. If you manage to make your searching time really efficient, you’ll have some hours free to enjoy the city you live in, read that book you’ve been meaning to read, take a short vacation, learn something new, or whatever else. It’s time you never really get back once you start your next job, so enjoying it is not the worst thing in the world!

Disclaimer: All of this is easier said than done and I definitely didn’t “enjoy” my last job search whenI was unemployed! So it all as a suggestion.

I think making your job search efficient comes down to a few things: setting goals, getting into a routine, being strategic about what you apply for, and keeping yourself organized. I’ll elaborate on these and give some tips I/my clients have found to be helpful.

1. Set goals and track them

These are so you can hold yourself accountable to progress. Sometimes when you are in the job search process and not getting any interviews, it can feel like you’re not making progress. Unfortunately there is only so much you can do to control if someone calls you in for an interview but there is lots you can control and setting realistic goals for yourself will help you feel the progress.

One type of goal that really helps people is a daily application goal (for weekdays). For example, you might say I will apply for 3 new roles per day. Doesn’t sound like a lot, right? Well, not yet. However, when we get to the part where I talk about “applying strategically” you’ll see that it’s better to spend a lot of time and energy on the 3 roles, versus sending out 20 applications without any customization/extra effort.

So set a daily goal for yourself you can keep and once you set that goal, figure out how you want to track it. Whether it’s a google docs spreadsheet or a pen and paper checklist, it doesn’t matter. Just keep track and hold yourself accountable. If you keep putting in applications for jobs you are a good fit for, and take the follow up steps I’m suggesting, you will start to get calls.

2. Get into an routine

Attack the job search like it’s a job. Make rules for yourself like “I will start at 9am and end at 12pm”. Within that set time, stay away from Facebook, Gchat, and any other time wasters. This is your job so when you allocate time to it, that’s the only thing you should be doing. Job searching at specified times (vs. whenever you feel like it) helps create structure which will make it more likely to happen and make you feel better about doing it. It will also make the time you spend much more efficient.

3. Apply to jobs strategically

Ok, this is the big one. I can’t say it enough. Quality is so much more important than quantity of applications. Read job descriptions carefully, apply to roles you are really a good fit for, customize your resume and cover letter to that job… and then follow up! To me, you haven’t fully applied for a job unless you have followed up with someone directly at that company. How else are you going to get your resume out of that black hole? There are lots of ways to follow up, even if you don’t have contacts at certain companies.

4. Keep the details very organized

Again, tracking everything about your search will help keep you organized. Which jobs have you applied for? When? Who do you know there? When should you follow up? Keep a tracker (this one is tailored towards internships but you can easily tweak it to work for full time jobs too) where you can reference where you stand with different companies.

Now, by doing all of these things, you are going to have a much more efficient job search. There is no reason why you need to dedicate every hour of a given day to this process. Go outside! Read something, learn something, exercise, do something fun… Burning yourself out and having the search being your single focus will make you miserable, and it’s unnecessary.

The post Tips to make your job search efficient (and enjoy your free time) appeared first on The Prepary.

When an interviewer is asking those more “negative” or developmental questions, it can sometimes feel like they’re waiting for you to shoot yourself in the foot.  From my experience as a recruiter and the one doing those interviews, I can assure you that that’s not what they’re looking for — they just want to find the right candidate for the role.

However, answering these tougher, more negative questions does require a bit more finesse. Here are my top four tips for dealing with negative job interview questions without shooting yourself in the foot. (Full article on Levo League)

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I’ve seen many people leave companies. Some did so on good terms, some on bad terms, some on ok terms. Here are some tips to make sure you fall into that first bucket and keep those connections strong.

1. Give proper notice

I think this is the most important thing out of the broader list. Though some companies won’t necessarily want you to stay after you give notice, the right thing to do is to offer a minimum of 2 weeks. Anything you can offer beyond 2 weeks, is icing on the cake. 3 weeks is seen as very generous and anything over that borders on too much (but why not offer if you are ok with it and it works with your schedule).

2. Tie up any loose ends and transition your projects

Equally important, is to make sure you don’t leave anyone or anything hanging. If you have projects you can wrap up, wrap them up and finish them off. If you’re leaving certain things or projects mid-way explain this to your manager and ask who you should hand the project off to. It’s important that after you’re gone, someone can easily pick up your work (or at least you’ve given the proper info for them to do so).

Leave a list for your team with your personal contact information and any other info that will be helpful to them once you are gone (i.e. where something is located on a shared drive, etc). That way, if they really need to reach you, they can.

3. Return any company-owned items

Obviously you don’t want to accidentally steal things from the company, especially technology. It’s easy to forget certain things but make sure you make an effort to return anything such as your company phone, access card, desk materials etc. to the right person. Sometimes this will be taken care of for you and you won’t need to take the initiative, but it’s still worth mentioning.

4. Connect with your HR team to see what they need from you and what you need from them: exit interviews, benefits implications, etc.

There are some offborading items best handled by your HR team so be sure to touch base with them. You’ll definitely want to know how leaving your job affects your health benefits, 401k, etc. There may be certain things your HR team can share with you that will help ensure a smooth transition.

In some cases, they may also want to conduct an exit interview where you can give feedback on the company. While you never want to “trash” the company or specific people, don’t be afraid to be constructive in an exit interview. This can actually enable the company to know about certain issues and potentially make changes.

5. Thank your manager and team

Even if there were ups and downs, highs and lows, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t thank your team for all they’ve done for you during your time at the company. Whether it’s writing a thank you note, an email, making a personal visit, or a phone call, thank the people you’ve worked closely with and plan to stay in touch.

Your former team will end up working at lots of different companies over the course of their careers and it’s likely you’ll cross paths again.

6. Say goodbye – and share your contact info

You’ll probably want to let a broader group of people know you are leaving and in that case it is ok to send a goodbye email. Unless you work for a really small company, it’s probably not appropriate to send a note to the entire company, but instead better to send the note to those you’ve worked with in some capacity.

Share your contact information with them so you’ll be able to keep in touch once you lose that company email and phone number. Also connect with the people you’ve worked with on LinkedIn (if you haven’t already) so that you can keep in touch “from a distance” and see what people are up to as the years pass.

Doing these things (and hey, there are probably others I’ve missed) will enable a smooth transition out of a company.

There are so many reasons to stay on good terms with an employer. Whether you had a great experience working there or not, there is a lot of value in leaving on great terms.

A lot of people automatically think “oh no, they’re going to hate me” when they give their notice and quit. The important thing to remember is that people quit all the time, and it’s not personal. You have every right to do what’s best for you in your own career. Most employers will totally understand that, and while they may be disappointed, it shouldn’t ruin the relationship.

Would love to hear some of your stories and thoughts as well. Did you leave a company on great terms? Leave some comments and let us know!

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