How To Deal With Leaving A Good Job

There comes a time when, regardless of how much you love it, you must say farewell to a good job.

Career progression, increased pay or better hours are calling elsewhere and so you find yourself bidding a sad farewell to a position you enjoyed.

This is a big event in your life but it needn’t be too traumatising!  Here are a few suggestions on how to deal with leaving a good job.

 Let yourself grieve

Leaving a job can feel like a break-up. You knew it was for the best but leaving behind the comfort and familiarity of the office, routine, colleagues and even your old commute can hurt.

When applying, you look for similarities to your old job and you constantly compare. The first few weeks at a new job will feel strange and uncomfortable. This is natural; humans fear change. But like everything, we get used to it in the end!

It’s important to remember these feelings are normal, so don’t try and fight them.

Stay in Touch

Whether or not you like a job is often down to the people you work with.  If you enjoyed a role it was probably because you had a good relationship with your colleagues.

Research by Lancaster University  found that even people with little in common, when faced with a stressful workplace became close friends.

Therefore, staying in touch with them when you move on is a great way to deal with leaving a good job.  Have meals out, go for drinks or do something together like a cinema trip.

Just because you don’t work together anymore doesn’t mean you must say goodbye completely.  They will provide familiarity at a time when change is beckoning. Furthermore, some colleagues might become life-long fr

Prepare

Your experience of a role also determines how much you enjoy it.  Taking on something different can feel challenging and scary just because it’s new to you.

This means preparation is the key to creating a smooth transition from one job to another.  Research your job role, find out about the company you are now working for, have a look at LinkedIn.

These little steps will help you leave your old job feeling confident and self-assured about the new one.

Reflect

Before you begin a new job think about what you liked about your old one and what you gained from doing it.

There will be new skills, experience and tasks it has taught you so use these to move forwards into your new job with courage and ease.

Handing in your resignation from one job and beginning in a completely new one will always be challenging time.  However, these few simple steps should help make the move a smooth one.

Louise Baillie is a History graduate with a love for writing. Her blog, which covers a whole variety of topics, can be found here.

Louise Baillie writes for Inspiring Interns, which specialises in finding candidates their perfect internship. To browse our graduate jobs London listings, visit our website.