How to Quit Your Job - Two Weeks Notice - The Muse

How to Quit Your Job - Two Weeks Notice - The MuseHow to Quit Your Job - Two Weeks Notice Well, youve gone and done it. You landed a new job (congrats), and now youre more than ready to go light the world on fire. Terrific- except, theres one thing left looming Youve got to resign from your current job. (And thats making you feel a wee bit unnerved.)How do you calmly and professionally ensure you get the outbound right when quitting your job and bidding farewell to your current employer? Consider these steps to help assure your exit much more resembles a graceful sashay than a clunky mishap.1. Think About the Likely Response and ReactionIn a perfect world, youre going to politely give two weeks notice, suggest a reasonable amount of time during which youll stay to wrap up projects, and perhaps train a replacement. And your soon-to-be-ex-employer will embrace this plan joyfully.In the real world, it often doesnt play out quite so swimmingly. In particular, sometimes your boss will tha nk you for your work, ask you to kindly turn in your laptop, phone, and ID badge, and then show you the door. Before you resign, prepare (mentally and logistically) for the possibility that your two weeks-notice offer will be declined. Have your boxes on standby, just in case you need to leave ASAP.2. Follow the Right Chain of Command When AnnouncingIf your company has a formal procedure for resigning, know it- and follow it. Even if it doesnt, be sure and alert the right person or people first, because news almost always travels like wildfire when someone quits. Generally speaking, you should tell your immediate supervisor first, in private and- if practical- in a meeting that youve scheduled in advance. No one loves being ambushed with unexpected news. And your boss certainly wont appreciate hearing it through the grapevine.3. Clarify and Formalize Your Intentions, in WritingEven if you work in a small, casual office, solidify your intention to resign in writing. Clarify your desi red departure date, and then outline how you propose to use your final days or weeks. Got a project to finish? Lay out how youll do that here. Offering to train a replacement? Spell it out. Need to make a couple of final customer visits? State your intentions in this letter.Your employer wont always want you to use the time in the exact way youre offering, but you look both professional and like you have your act together when you present a strong, thoughtful resignation letter (heres a template you can use).4. Be Wary of the CounterofferWhen you resign, you very well may be thrown a curveball- in the form of a counteroffer. Sometimes, especially when youre a vital asset to a particular company, project, or client account, the counteroffer will be mighty tempting. (Ever hear the expression throw cash at the problem? This is often exactly what panicking employers do.)While there is never an absolute black and white answer to Should I take a counteroffer? realize that employers may be relieved for a moment if you agree to stay, but resentful in the long run. You may also become known as the company or department flight risk, and thats almost never a good thing, especially if your employer faces budget cuts or layoffs down the road. Guess whos the easy one to cut then? If youre mentally out of there, finish the process and depart as planned. (Heres some further reading on counteroffers.)5. Tie up the Loose EndsYou dont want to be known as the guy who left the place a disaster, right? Of course not. So tidy up your files and your affairs before you hit the road. Make things as easy for your employer- and your successor- as possible. This will go a long way, both from a short-term logistical standpoint and in terms of your long-term reputation. 6. Leave StrongThis ties into your long-term reputation and is an important last step when resigning and moving on to a new job opportunity. Leave strong. Im not saying storm out in a blaze of glory, not at all. Im saying le ave confidently. Be gracious and appreciative to your supervisor and colleagues. Be constructive and honest (but not pissy) in your exit interview. Dont feel that you have to over-explain to everyone why youre leaving and where youre going if you dont want to, but certainly say goodbye. Close out this chapter elegantly, and then- celebrate all that is to come.Photo of person walking down hall courtesy of Shutterstock.

New 2013 Forms for Employee Background Checks

New 2013 Forms for Employee Background ChecksNew 2013 Forms for Employee Background ChecksNew 2013 Forms for Employee Background Checks Berkowitz, Esq.Do you conduct employee background checks on prospective employees? Have you ever had to investigate a rumor of potential employee misconduct? If so, when was the belastung time you reviewed or updated the forms required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)?Now is the time to take a look at the procedures you have in place for background checks, in advance of 2013 changes to the authorization forms that all employers must use.In case you need a refresher, the FCRA says that any employer that uses an outside company (called a consumer reporting agency) to conduct an employeebackground check mustProvide the target of that check with certain notices.Obtain written authorization to conduct the investigation.The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has previously overseen employment matters under the FCRA, has passed some of its authori ty to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). This means that anyone who wishes to contest the outcome of an employee background screening or get any other information regarding the check must contact the CFPB instead of the FTC.Three important notices that are part of the background check process will help you understand the change of authority from the FTC to the CFPBConsumers Summary of RightsNotice to Users of Consumer Reports of their ObligationsNotice to Furnishers of Information of their Obligations Under the FCRAThe main change to the forms is to explain how individuals and businesses can contact the CFPB. All employers must use the new forms in their background check procedures beginning January 2013.Read mora Employment Law Small Business Updates

16 Google interview questions that were so tough the company eventually banned them

16 Google interview questions that were so tough the company eventually banned them16 Google interview questions that were so tough the company eventually banned themSometimes the hiring practices of even the most successful companies can feel outright wonky.There can be strange interview questions that seem to have no answers, and standards that will knock candidates out of the race right off the starting line.Google used to be a big example of this, with a reputation for head-scratching questions.In fact, some of Googles questions were so bizarre, they were eventuallybanned from being asked altogether.In 2009, Lewis Lin, a job coach in Seattle, put together a list of 140 questions his clients were asked by Google. Weve picked 16 of the wildest.Future Google employees should be grateful these questions are no longer on the table.How much should you charge to wash all the windows in Seattle?Why are manhole covers round?You need to check that your friend Bob has your correct phone num ber, but you cannot ask him directly You must write the question on a card and give it to Eve, who will take the card to Bob and return the answer to you. What must you write on the card, besides the question, to ensure that Bob can encode the message so that Eve cannot read your phone number?How many piano tuners are there in the entire world?Every man in a village of 100 married couples has cheated on his wife Every wife in the village instantly knows when a man other than her husband has cheated but does not know when her own husband has. The village has a law that does not allow for adultery. Any wife who can prove that her husband is unfaithful must kill him that very day. The women of the village would never disobey this law. One day, the queen of the village visits and announces that at least one husband has been unfaithful. What happens?How many times a day do a clocks hands overlap?How many vacuums are made per year in the US?plan an evacuation plan for San Francisco.Explai n the significance of dead beef.If a person dials a sequence of numbers on the telephone, what possible words/strings can be formed from the letters associated with those numbers?You are shrunk to the height of a nickel and your mass is proportionally reduced so as to maintain your original density. You are then thrown into an empty glass blender. The blades will start moving in 60 seconds. What do you do?How many golf balls can fit in a school bus?You have two eggs and access to a 100-story building Eggs can be very hard or very fragile, which means they may break if dropped from the first floor or may not even break if dropped from 100th floor. Both eggs are identical. You need to figure out the highest floor of a 100-story building an egg can be dropped without breaking. The question is how many drops you need to make. You are allowed to break two eggs in the process.You have to get from point A to point B. You dont know if you can get there. What would you do?Explain a database in three sentences to your 8-year-old nephew.This article was originally published on Business Insider.