To admitted students, when will you notify your boss that you quit?

[tingschu]

It seems 3 options possible:

1. My boss wrote me a recommendation letter. He knows I will quit sooner or later, so I keep him updated on my latest appliation status anyways.
   
2. Nobody in my workplace knows i am applying for grad school this year, so I will wait till the last minute before I tell everyone.
   
3. In-between? Exactly when then?
   

I really don't know when to tell my boss that I am leaving the company...but it seems it is a moral thing to do it as soon as possible, to leave enough time for the company to find my replacement. Does it make sense?

Edited March 13, 2012 by tingschu

[greendiplomat]

I've kept my boss in the loop at each step from thinking of applying to admissions decisions, so she's known that I'm quitting in the fall. I'll confirm the exact date when I decide on the program I'm attending.

[rebmaLS]

I've kept my boss in the loop at each step from thinking of applying to admissions decisions, so she's known that I'm quitting in the fall. I'll confirm the exact date when I decide on the program I'm attending.

Exactly the same for me. Everyone here knows about my plans, though they are still trying to convince me I should stay and work part-time (no thank you). I'll likely try and work until the very end for financial reasons.

[hudwa]

My plan is to let him know as soon as I've sent in a deposit. Then it's pretty much set in stone and you can lead off with "I've just paid my deposit to X school, the school year starts in September and I'm planning on leaving work on X day." That said, everyone has different dynamics with their bosses and coworkers, so you probably know best what your boss is looking for from you, especially if you know him well enough that he wrote you a recommendation. Good luck!

[alainray]

I told my boss about 2 and half months before my resignation. He was well aware of the process, since he had written one of my recommendations. However, I decided to quit before I even had an acceptance, since I was working on a for-profit corporation and it wouldn't make sense to keep going if my plan was to pursue a career in the public sector.

[psychgurl]

It seems 3 options possible:

1. My boss wrote me a recommendation letter. He knows I will quit sooner or later, so I keep him updated on my latest appliation status anyways.
   
2. Nobody in my workplace knows i am applying for grad school this year, so I will wait till the last minute before I tell everyone.
   
3. In-between? Exactly when then?
   

I really don't know when to tell my boss that I am leaving the company...but it seems it is a moral thing to do it as soon as possible, to leave enough time for the company to find my replacement. Does it make sense?

Don't wait until the last minute...this is the worst thing you can do for your company, and it could sever any relationships you have there. As others have mentioned, I would say as soon as you officially accept your offer, you should tell your boss that you officially accepted. Give an approximate "end date": mine is mid-August (I want to work right up until school starts for the $$$). As I get more materials about orientation, I will set a hard end date. I suppose I have an easy way out, as my boss assumed from the time she wrote my LOR that I would be leaving in the fall. As a result, she has known since October not to give me any year-long projects...I'm lucky in this respect. It's also important to keep people in the loop so you can start training your replacement(s). And hey, why not let people know?! IT'S GREAT NEWS!

[rose1]

THE EARLIER THE BETTER. Nobody panics about something that's happening in six months - "I'm quitting in six months" will elicit a bored "Oh, that's too bad." If you wait until the end, people might panic. YOU'RE LEAVING IN TWO WEEKS? Suddenly they will remember that moment in your interview when they put you on the spot and you promised to work there for at least a decade. Tell people now and then drop it and get back to work. You still have half a year.

[rose1]

Also, act really excited about the opportunity to go to grad school! Present the news as if you expect a celebratory cake, not a stern talking-to about responsibility. Nobody wants to be the downer that criticizes someone for following their dreams, even if they secretly hate that you're leaving. And everyone loves cake.

[wasistdas]

if you haven't told them, tell them ASAP, especially if you plan on using them as a reference down the road.

As someone that has had the opportunity to write recommendation letters for interns/employees applying to various other jobs/schools you want the people working for you to be successful, and any boss worth having will be supportive as long as you don't waylay him/her with the information in the form of a two-week notice.

[ahoskins321]

Any advice on what to do if you just recently started a new job and have only worked there for a month or so? Would it be better to tell them early or wait until I have worked here longer so at least I have the chance to present myself well before bailing? I just graduated in December and had no choice but to work until I start school again. Ah stress...

[psychgurl]

Any advice on what to do if you just recently started a new job and have only worked there for a month or so? Would it be better to tell them early or wait until I have worked here longer so at least I have the chance to present myself well before bailing? I just graduated in December and had no choice but to work until I start school again. Ah stress...

Did you give a time commitment when you took the job? I would still tell them as early as possible, otherwise it appears that you are just too cowardly to tell them. If you committed to, say, 2 years but can only put in 8 months total, I would gear up for some heat from your boss....I still feel like it's the right thing to tell them early, though.

[senatorsmith85]

Telling tomorrow that I'll be leaving in May (want to take some time off to travel). Have my annual review tomorrow so figured that'd be an appropriate time. From my experience, they can hire six weeks if they really want to make it happen.

[ahoskins321]

Did you give a time commitment when you took the job? I would still tell them as early as possible, otherwise it appears that you are just too cowardly to tell them. If you committed to, say, 2 years but can only put in 8 months total, I would gear up for some heat from your boss....I still feel like it's the right thing to tell them early, though.

I didn't commit to a certain time period and was told when I was hired that the grant that funds my project was up for renewal in June, and that they might not be able to offer me full time after that point if they didn't get funding. They have since received a new grant and so that's no longer an issue, but I don't know if that will change how they view my leaving since they were the iffy ones in the beginning. I think that I may tell them in mid-April after my final decisions are made so that they have some time to replace me and hopefully they will know me a bit better.

[hello.operator]

my current boss wrote one of my recs, but i'm faced with kind of an uncomfortable situation right now: she's way more confident than i am that i'll get in somewhere (haven't heard back from anywhere yet), so she's already started asking around for my replacement

now i'm just holding onto my office chair hoping some other person doesn't swoop in to take away my fallback plan if i don't get in this year.

[mellowyellow03]

A couple people in my workplace know of my plan, but we've left the boss out of it. I figured I would let my boss know once I made a decision and sent in my deposit. When I tell him, I want to have a tangible outline of my plans. I am planning on working until mid to end of July so this should be adequate notice.

[psychgurl]

my current boss wrote one of my recs, but i'm faced with kind of an uncomfortable situation right now: she's way more confident than i am that i'll get in somewhere (haven't heard back from anywhere yet), so she's already started asking around for my replacement

now i'm just holding onto my office chair hoping some other person doesn't swoop in to take away my fallback plan if i don't get in this year.

Can you tell her ASAP to wait until April 15th? That's what I would do!

[rose1]

my current boss wrote one of my recs, but i'm faced with kind of an uncomfortable situation right now: she's way more confident than i am that i'll get in somewhere (haven't heard back from anywhere yet), so she's already started asking around for my replacement

now i'm just holding onto my office chair hoping some other person doesn't swoop in to take away my fallback plan if i don't get in this year.

Aww that's actually really sweet.

[ajl]

This is one of those very few situations in which it's better to be gainfully unemployed. I mean FUNemployed!

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We laugh because it hurts.

[mirandaw]

This is one of those very few situations in which it's better to be gainfully unemployed. I mean FUNemployed!

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We laugh because it hurts.

ugh, this. Yes.

[KJ90]

I have a question. I am coming out of undergrad and would like to have my first job. Is it a bad idea to defer a decision, accept a full-time job, and then quit a year later to attend graduate school?

[piquant777]

I have a question. I am coming out of undergrad and would like to have my first job. Is it a bad idea to defer a decision, accept a full-time job, and then quit a year later to attend graduate school?

No - in fact, it's a really smart idea. You should always get some work experience before grad school. 1) It makes your goals for grad school clearer; 2) It makes you infinitely more employable when you graduate. Defer your acceptance for a year and go for it.

[KJ90]

No - in fact, it's a really smart idea. You should always get some work experience before grad school. 1) It makes your goals for grad school clearer; 2) It makes you infinitely more employable when you graduate. Defer your acceptance for a year and go for it.

What I am worried is that most people work for 2 years before going to grad school. The job I am looking at will require at most four months of training, which means I will be contributing real work for only a year. Should I tell the supervisor that I intend to go to grad school in a year? I feel that will impact their decision to hire me.

[piquant777]

Don't tell them until you yourself are sure. What if you love the job and want to stay? And no, most people keep that kind of information to themselves in job interviews. Unless you're giving up your deferral spot and starting all over again to apply, I don't see why it matters that most people work for 2 years if you're already in somewhere and want to go (in a year).

[KJ90]

Don't tell them until you yourself are sure. What if you love the job and want to stay? And no, most people keep that kind of information to themselves in job interviews. Unless you're giving up your deferral spot and starting all over again to apply, I don't see why it matters that most people work for 2 years if you're already in somewhere and want to go (in a year).

Right, thanks. One of my letter writers is probably one of the reasons I got into SAIS. He really wants me to go to SAIS and if I choose not to it will damage our relationship I think (though I did send him a gift basket). At the same time, if I work and then quit early I will probably also damage some relationships (I was referred by someone). Financing my education is a issue too.

[senatorsmith85]

I'd also say that I think deferral is overrated--why do you think you won't get in again with more experience?! Programs might become slightly more competitive next year, but you'll be a much better candidate with 1-2 years of experience.