Making a good impression is important, not only when you start your job, but also when you leave it.

Handing in your notice is never an easy decision. You have to pick the right time and expect that it will be a shock to your boss. But you can make the most out of an awkward situation.

“If it is a really good relationship I recommend complete honesty”, advises Roz Sullivan, owner of the holistic therapy centre Float. “That way nobody is going to get upset.”

When Roz decided to develop her own business, she knew that her position as PA to the manager of Pink Floyd Management was only temporary. Her manager knew this too, because Roz had told her from the start. Although she had to give only one month’s notice, Roz told her boss three months in advance, “so she had as much warning as possible and then I helped her to find somebody else and train them up. It was about being honest and upfront.”

Making sure that your boss is clear about your motives and does not take your resignation personally is also important. Ellie Smith worked as a PA to the production manager of Martin Grant Homes for three years until she decided to travel the world.

“I think they were shocked and didn’t know that I was serious about going,” she says. “I did discuss it with my boss before I handed in my notice and I explained it was not a personal thing, but something I needed to do.”

In the weeks before she left she showed a temp how to do the job. Her last weeks in the company turned out to be pleasant. “My employer was really kind and they just did not want me to go.”

Ellie made sure that she left her job with a positive impression. “You never know if you need to go back or may need them for a reference or want to work for them again.”

When a company merger reduced the scope of Joanna Knight’s job as a training liaison/co-ordinator for the computer company Computill, she felt she needed a new challenge. Joanna was sad to leave her colleagues and boss and still keeps in touch with them. She now works as an office manager for the media and research agency Ciao.

How would she react in her role as office manager if one of her team members wanted to leave?

“I am always supportive because it is their decision to leave, no matter what the circumstances. There’s no need to make their remaining time uncomfortable. I would discuss the matter with them but if they are set upon leaving then that is their decision and I would accept that.”

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