Q:Hey! I'm faced with a tough predicament, as I'm quitting my first 'real' job in the face of an offered promotion. Another company has offered me almost 3x my current salary & excellent career progression opportunity; though I feel quite guilty for leaving this company, especially since they just offered me a promotion. Could you give me some tips on what steps I should take in my resignation? I don't want to burn any bridges, so to speak.

0racles

I know it can be hard to leave that first job, but it really isn’t that big of a deal.  You don’t want to anyone in a bind, but if you give plenty of notice (at least two weeks), you’ve done all that anyone could reasonably expect of you.  Just explain the situation, and they’ll never fault you for taking it.  Heck, they might even fight to keep you.  

Of course, you never want to burn bridges, but in today’s world, being overly loyal to a company will only end in disappointment on your end. 

At my wife’s former company, a woman she worked with once took a pay cut so that someone else wouldn’t get laid off.  The company promised her that they would reward willingness to be a team player with a promotion at a later date.

Less than a year later, they laid her off.

19 Notes/ Hide

  1. financial-reader said: Good story. While you always want to be professional & not burn any bridges, you can’t rely on your employer to “take care of you”. Most employers are going to put business first. By nature, I am a “loyalist”, but trying to get out of that mindset!
  2. mnstone said: I was in the same situation before, your current job has to understand you have to make choices that better yourself. You can’t just stay somewhere because that’s where you’ve been for so long. I strongly believe everything happens for a reason. Go for it! :))
  3. matthallock said: It’s business. You make your best deal going in — the company may offer you more, but they won’t be able to match the offer at hand. They’ll understand if you’re forward and honest.
  4. 0racles said: Thanks a lot for the helpful advice.
  5. moneyisnotimportant posted this