How to Give Two Weeks Notice

The critical mistake is playing a short-term game. Think long term and do these three things when giving your two weeks’ notice: Be grateful, bring value and think long term.Giving two weeks’ notice to your employer that you are moving on is a sign you’ve made a lot of decisions already. Have those decisions been high quality or low quality decisions? Have those decisions been short-term or long-term decisions? Just like there’s a wrong way to be right and not all money is good money, giving two weeks’ notice is a mixture of science and art. Remember, here at AM the distinction we make between science and art is as follows: science is knowing the rules of something; art is knowing when and where to break which rules. Napoleon knew the science and art of war. Picasso knew the science and art of painting. Seen in this light, giving two weeks’ notice can strengthen your job transition if done correctly but can have catastrophic, long term effects if done poorly.

Giving Two Weeks’ Notice is All About Graceful Transitions

Each of our situations will be entirely different, so I won’t try to address all scenarios. If you do no more than give two weeks’ notice and leave, you are being discourteous, rude and insulting. If the first clue your boss gets that you’re leaving is an email saying you’re leaving in 14 days, you’ll pay in ways you may never even know about. If, on the other hand, you have shaped your reputation in the office over time so everyone knows you’re both professional but also know the importance of staying competitive, nobody will be surprised if you make a smart move to a new challenge. Doing that, though, means being grateful, bringing value even as you leave and thinking long term.

Giving Two Weeks’ Notice with Gratitude

Tell everyone on the team you’re leaving that you will stay in touch. As we all know, one key to professional resilience is building a diverse network of like-mended men who share your values. Tell your team you will use your new opportunity to help the organization you’re leaving. The key? Mean it. As you leave, let people know you will always keep them in mind both as individuals but also as an organization. The beauty of this is that your new organization may need your old organization. You can be a broker, a bridge builder, a connector.

Giving Two Weeks’ Notice while Thinking Long Term

Success accrues to the man who both brings his best to every game he plays but also plays fairly and with passion and conviction across the broadest possible range of games life has to offer. There’s a saying: “At table and at play a man gives himself away.” This means under all circumstances, no matter what we may be doing, we reveal clues to our true motivations and our true natures. If we reveal our character and our convictions in even our most insignificant moments, be aware of the impression you are making during a moment of high significance such as a job or career transition. Don’t think of expedience when you make your move, think of the impact. Ask yourself, “How will I want to see this process when I look back years from now?”Be bold, be authentic, be masculine—the world is counting on you. And make graceful, powerful career transitions with the long term in mind.Respectfully,Shannon McGurk