Changing Jobs in Product Management: Leaving, Starting, and Building Bridges (Part III of III)

This post is part of a three-part series about changing jobs in Product Management.  Part one was about doing a self-evaluation and farming your network.  Part two was about interviewing and evaluating offers.  In this final part, we will discuss how to leave the right way, start on the right foot, and build bridges for the future.

After you have gone through the entire process of self-evaluation, farming, interviewing, offer evaluation, and acceptance, you will probably be mentally exhausted.  There are still important steps to take before you can close the chapter on your current company, which must be done with grace.

No matter what kind of relationship you have with your current company, boss, or peers, leaving the “right way” is critical.  It is a small World, and people have long memories - you want to be the person that they remember for all of your good traits, not for storming out the door or telling your boss to “take this job and…”  …No matter how good it might feel.  Remember, these people are your future references, and there is a fair chance you’ll run into them again in another role, or on the street, and you want that to be a pleasant meeting.

After you have accepted your new offer (double check with the recruiter that the paperwork is in place), discreetly empty your office of your personal effects and write your letter of resignation.  Your letter should be short, and to the point.  It will go into a permanent file that the company keeps on you, so don’t write anything you don’t want memorialized forever.  Your letter can say nothing more than:

This letter serves as notice of my resignation from my position as <your title>.  My final day will be <today plus 2 weeks>.

Sincerely,

<Your Name>

The company doesn’t need to know why you are leaving - it is your choice to tell them verbally or not.  If you have a major issue with the company that is driving you to leave, and you don’t want to discuss it, just keep your answers vague by saying “I feel I have an opportunity that is more in sync with my career goals.

Two weeks notice is somewhat controversial, but it goes with the theme of being “Old School.”  You will probably need some time to wrap up final tactical activities and process handoffs to other people and groups.  Ideally, you should leave in two weeks with the company in a position to succeed without you because you’ve set them up with what they need until they find your replacement.  Your manager will appreciate your willingness to make the handoff smooth and it will make your leaving much easier to swallow.

Counter Offers

At some point, you may be counter offered.  At first, your manager or HR will likely probe you with the code phrase “Is there anything we can do to change your mind?”  That is code for “are you looking for more money?”  Choosing to entertain a counter offer is a highly personal decision, but it is one that I can not recommend under most circumstances.

If you did a self-evaluation and decided to leave your company, what is it about the counter offer that changes the equation in your favor?  Are they temporarily buying your happiness with more money, and will you regret that decision later?  Another factor in accepting a counter offer is that you’ve overtly signaled that your primary loyalty is to the Dollar (or Pound, or Yuan, etc), and the company is now on notice that you are on the lookout for something new.  At this point you can count on being high on the list for replacement whenever the company does evaluations or needs to reduce force - why would they keep someone who they know isn’t loyal?

As you wind down your two weeks, be respectful.  It’s easy to become a “short timer,” but you still are an employee, so don’t balk at helping out on the tactical activities that will probably find their way to your door.

Be Prepared

At any point after the moment you give the company your letter of resignation, the company may choose to escort you to the door, collect your badge, and send you home.  Laws vary, but in most of the U.S. the company has broad latitude to “walk” you at any time.  It may not be personal - the company now sees you as a security risk, and you have access to sensitive strategic and roadmap information that the company probably does not want to go outside their walls.

The company also has the right to fully examine their items like PC’s and software after you leave, so make sure to clear off any personal information you don’t want the IT to read.  Technically you are probably not supposed to have any personal information on your laptop (even though everyone has a few things), and there are actually lawsuits out there where ex-employees were sued for deleting personal information from their PCs before returning them.  Use your best judgment.  One of my lessons learned as I step into my next role is that I’ll keep any personal files on a USB stick, it’s easier and more portable - any my property.

Perform your exit interview with HR, collect your final paycheck, and make sure that your insurance is sorted out for the gap between jobs.  COBRA is an excellent resource in the U.S., and you should never have to experience a lapse in coverage.

Building Bridges

The most important part of the entire career change process, and the part that you must spend real time and diligence getting right is building bridges.  We succeed and fail on our own merits, but the bridges we’ve built provide people to mentor us when times are tough, avenues to find new opportunities in the future, and countless other benefits.  In my measure, nothing is more critical.

The good news is that building and maintaining your bridges to your network (just like farming) is not hard.  A well built bridge is solid and ready to be traveled in the future - exactly how you want to setup your relationships with the people you are trying to build with.  I have found that the best way to build bridges is to follow the process described in these posts, and then to add a little extra touch.

That extra touch can be anything.  At a minimum it is a well thought out and personalized, hand written thank you note.  In my recent career change, I wrote over 20 thank you notes to various people that I worked with.

Think about it - when was the last time one of your co-workers left the company, and sent you a note thanking you for the opportunity to work together?  It doesn’t happen often enough, and these little touches go a long way towards making people remember you in a positive light (Note: Be genuine.  You aren’t writing these notes in order to be remembered - you’re writing them to thank people for what they did for you).

The best thank you notes are personal.  My favorite tactic is to pull out a key detail of that person’s work style that you enjoyed, and recall a specific example of seeing him or her put it to use.  For example, in the role I just left, our CTO was a highly passionate about our technology’s potential, and I could recall several strategy sessions where he would enthrall a room full of Executives with conversations about what “could be.”  In my note to him, I thanked him for the opportunity to work together, and told him I really enjoyed watching him in action, and that I would strive to emulate his passion for technology and ability to excite and audience as I developed my career - all true and accurate statements.

People like to hear that they’ve made an impact on you, and you will make them feel good about calling out

their most positive aspects.  When you call on them again as a mentor in the future, you will have the added advantage of knowing that they think of you fondly and they will be more likely to help you.

Treat your mentors that guided you through the process as extra special cases.  In addition to writing them thank you notes, send them something that let’s them know that their advice was special to you.  I like Finca El Retiro Malbec, so I enjoy giving wine.  Your mentors will tell you that it is unnecessary and not to send them anything, and that is the point - you are going above and beyond, because that is the person that you are, and that is what builds bridges.

If you’re lucky they may choose to share the bottle with you.

Starting

As part of the negotiation process, you controlled your start date, so you gave yourself some downtime between roles.  Enjoy this time; there is no more carefree vacation than one where you are in between jobs and can completely decompress.  You will need this decompression because starting a new job is stressful: for the first few months you will log long hours as you work your way up the learning curve, discovering the structure, politics, lingo, people, and business.

As you start your new role, but humble, but confident.  They hired you for a reason, and don’t be afraid to speak your mind.  Sometimes a fresh perspective can inject new life into an organization, so be that catalyst for change; if something seems obvious to you, it may be because the rest of the team has gotten so close to the forest they can’t see the trees - call it out.

Finally, as you start your new role, don’t forget to start the whole process over.  Schedule at least yearly self-evaluations (I try to do them quarterly), and always be farming your network.  It is difficult during the new job ramp up to keep tending your farm, but your contacts will reward you for keeping in touch.

Best of luck with your new role - I hope that you are both prosperous and successful!

20 July 2008 | Development, Executives, Lessons Learned, Marcomm, Personal, Product Management, Product Marketing, Sales, Tactics, Theory | Comments