By Bill Radin of Innovative Consulting and Ken Kuzmitski, CPC and Henry Glickel, CPC of
Sales Recruiters, Inc.
Congratulations. You’ve accepted a new job.
Now take a deep breath and prepare yourself for the challenge ahead. Even though you may be
floating on cloud nine now, there are a lot of emotional and logistical hurdles yet to clear. As
you’ve already learned, the job-changing process arouses all sorts of feelings. During the
transitional phase that begins with your acceptance of an offer and ends a month or two after
you’ve started your new position, the emotional limbo you’ll experience will be especially acute.
Why? Because suddenly, the reality kicks in. After all this time, the changes you’ve been
contemplating are actually going to happen.
Not only fear of cheating on your employer, but what about letting down your co-workers or
subordinates? There is an emotional/personal bond people develop that really affects moving
away from the company because emotionally they are attached to the people! They may think
that they are attached to the company, but reality is that they are attached to the human beings
that for years they have been spending more “waking hours” with than even their spouses! This
is a very tough emotional hurdle as human beings interpersonal relationships are at the core of
their existence.
This jolting realization will be followed by a sense of guilt. Oh, my God, you tell yourself. I’ve
been cheating on my present employer. Having an affair is one thing — but divorce? I never knew
it would come to this!Then the fear of reprisal begins. My boss is gonna kill me, I just know it.
He’s really gonna make me suffer. And if the fear of guilt and reprisal don’t give you enough to
worry about, consider the buyer’s remorse you’ll probably feel. What if I made a mistake? you
ask yourself. I’m gonna ruin my life. Aaauuuggghhh!
Don’t Let the Demons Get You Down
Relax. Everyone who changes jobs is plagued by these demons, to a greater or lesser degree. It’s
only natural.
But rather than dwell on the past, imagine for a moment that you’re in your new job.
Isn’t this great? Think of all the changes you’re making, and how your new life is a huge
improvement compared to what you had before. Think of the new people you’re meeting, the
new skills you’re acquiring, and the new opportunities you have to advance your career.
Now, are you going to let your fears unravel everything you’ve accomplished in the way of selfevaluation,
planning, resume writing, interviewing, and putting a deal together? No way. You’re
not the type of person who’s going to allow cold feet to put the chill on changing jobs. You’re a
person of action, and you seize the moment. You know that those who back away from golden
opportunities may never get another chance.
Self-affirmations like these can do wonders for maintaining your positive energy and high selfesteem.
And by projecting all the beneficial aspects of your new job into the present tense, you’ll
ward off the demons that can distort your judgment, and make you vulnerable to a counteroffer
attempt.
Considering the Counteroffer
Of course, if your motivation for getting a job offer was to position yourself for a counteroffer,
then you’re in the catbird’s seat — you can’t lose either way.
Or can you? Some employment experts point out that accepting a counteroffer is the equivalent
of career suicide.
According to Paul Hawkinson, publisher of The Fordyce Letter, your acceptance of a
counteroffer could very well blow up in your face.
Here’s how. Let’s say you announce your plans to leave your current job. This, in effect,
blackmails your boss, who makes you a counteroffer only to keep you until he can find your
replacement, at which point you’re dropped like a hot potato. In the meantime, the trusting
relationship you’ve enjoyed with your current supervisors and peers abruptly ends, and your
loyalty becomes forever suspect.
Also, if a counter offer is used to play one side against the other (existing employer vs. recruiting
employer), this can be a lose/lose. The process becomes an “auction” not an exercise to find a
great new opportunity for career enrichment. Both sides have to really question the character of
the recruit.
Is this sort of scenario accurate? I guess it depends. My experience has been mixed. That is,
some of the candidates I’ve known who’ve accepted counteroffers have remained at their old
jobs for years, and have smoothed over whatever difficulties caused their split in the first place.
It’s precisely for this reason that I’m so cautious when I work with currently employed job
seekers. I want to feel confident that their motives are pure before we both invest a lot of time
and energy in testing the market.
However, there’s a lot of evidence to support the theory that candidates who accept counteroffers
become damaged goods once they’ve been herded back into the fold.
Here Come the Three Stages
If your intention to make a change is sincere, and a counteroffer by your current company won’t
change your decision to leave, you should still keep up your guard. A counteroffer attempt can be
potentially devastating, both on a personal and professional level. Unless you know how to
diffuse your current employer’s retaliation against your resignation, you may end up
psychologically wounded, or right back at the job you wanted to leave.
The best way to shield yourself from the inevitable mixture of emotions surrounding the act of
submitting your resignation is to remember that employers follow a predictable, three-stage
pattern when faced with a resignation:
1. They’ll be in shock. “You sure picked a fine time to leave! Who’s going to finish the
project we started?”
The implication is that you’re irreplaceable. They might as well ask, “How will we ever get the
work done without you?”
To answer this assertion, you can reply, “If I were run over by a truck on my way to work
tomorrow, I feel that somehow, this company would survive.”
1. They’ll start to probe. “Who’s the new company? What sort of position did you accept?
What are they paying you?”
Here you must be careful not to disclose too much information, or appear too enthusiastic.
Otherwise, you run the risk of feeding your current employer with ammunition he can use
against you later, such as, “I’ve heard some pretty terrible things about your new company” or,
“They’ll make everything look great until you actually get there. Then you’ll see what a sweat
shop that place really is.”
1. They’ll make you an offer to try and keep you from leaving. “You know that raise you
and I were talking about a few months back? I forgot to tell you: We were just getting it
processed yesterday.”
To this you can respond, “Gee, today you seem pretty concerned about my happiness and wellbeing.
Where were you yesterday, before I announced my intention to resign?”
It may take several days for the three stages to run their course, but believe me, sooner or later,
you’ll find yourself engaged in conversations similar to these. More than once, candidates have
called me after they’ve resigned, to tell me that their old company followed the three-stage
pattern exactly as I described it. Not only were they prepared to diffuse the counteroffer attempt,
they found the whole sequence to be almost comical in its predictability.
How to Tactfully Resign
The first thing you need to consider is the timing of your resignation. Since two weeks’ notice is
considered the norm, make sure your resignation properly coincides with your start date at the
new company.
You should always try to avoid an extended start date. Even if your new job begins in 10 weeks,
don’t give 10 weeks’ notice; wait eight weeks and then give two weeks’ notice. This way, you’ll
protect yourself from disaster, in the unlikely event your new company announces a hiring freeze
a month before you come on board.
And by staying at your old job for only two weeks after you’ve announced your resignation, you
won’t be subjected to the envy, scorn, or feelings of professional impotence that may result from
your new role as a lame-duck employee.
Some companies will make your exit plans for you. I placed a candidate once whose employer
had the security guard escort him out of the building the moment he announced his intention to
go to work for a direct competitor. Fortunately, he was still given two weeks’ pay.
You should suggest to make an announcement to people you work with. This should help you
avert rumors and make the transition to the new position better for your previous employer.
Your resignation should be handled in person, preferably on a Friday afternoon. Ask your direct
supervisor if you can speak with him privately in his office. When you announce your intention
to resign, you should also hand your supervisor a letter which states your last date of
employment with the company. Let him know that you’ve enjoyed working with him, but that an
opportunity came along that you couldn’t pass up, and that your decision to leave was made
carefully, and doesn’t reflect any negative feelings you have toward the company or the staff.
You should also add that your decision is final, and that you would prefer not to be made a
counteroffer, since you wouldn’t want your refusal to accept more money to appear as a personal
affront. Let your supervisor know that you appreciate all the company’s done for you; and that
you’ll do everything in your power to make your departure as smooth and painless as possible.
Finally, ask if there’s anything you can do during the transition period over the next two weeks,
such as help train your successor, tie up loose ends, or delegate tasks. Keep your resignation
letter short, simple, and to the point. There’s no need to go into detail about your new job, or
what led to your decision to leave. If these issues are important to your old employer, he’ll
schedule an exit interview for you, at which time you can hash out your differences ad infinitum.
Make sure to provide a carbon copy or photocopy of your resignation letter for your company’s
personnel file. This way, the circumstances surrounding your resignation will be well
documented for future reference.
In all likelihood, the human resource staff will want to meet with you to process your departure
papers, or cover any questions you may have concerning the transfer of your medical insurance
or retirement benefits.
Relocation Specialists
Now that you’ve gotten your resignation out of the way, you need to shift your attention to the
new company.
If a relocation is required, and you haven’t done your house hunting, let me make a suggestion.
Work with a relocation specialist, to give you a hand in finding a place to live in your new city or
town.
Relocation specialists are brokers who make their living by matching candidates and locations,
similar to the way recruiters match candidates and employers. Relocation specialists will
interview you and your spouse (or significant other). Once they discover your housing and
lifestyle needs, they’ll refer you to Realtors who are familiar with the local communities that
satisfy your needs. Relocation specialists receive a commission or finder’s fee from the Realtor,
once a property is sold. There’s no charge to you or your new employer.
Often, relocation specialists will be able to pre-qualify you for a mortgage loan, or refer you to
an amenable mortgage broker or lending institution. Relocation specialists can also be good at
handling unusual situations. For example, a relocation specialist I was working with a few years
ago was able to help a candidate’s wife transfer her teaching credential from California to
Michigan. Without the transfer, the candidate wouldn’t have been able to accept my client
company’s offer.
The following relocation checklist is designed to help you plan.
• To help organize your move, print this page, keep it handy, and check it off as you go.
• If possible, allow up to 30 days to plan your move and schedule any activities you want
to complete before moving day.
• Avoid peak periods for moving, if possible: the first few days and the last few days of the
month are times when everyone wants to move.
• Start planning early and you’ll be surprised how smoothly things can go.
Two months prior to Moving Day
• Get estimates from moving companies if you will use a mover.
• Get costs from at least two truck rental companies if you will move yourself.
• Create a floor plan of your new home for furniture and appliance placement.
• Make an inventory of your household goods and begin to remove clutter (start with the
basement, attic, garage, and other storage areas).
• Start a file for all your moving paperwork (estimates, receipts, etc.).
• Arrange to transfer school records.
• Choose a mover (or truck rental company).
• Schedule a moving sale for items you won’t move. Donate other items to charity getting
receipts for tax records.
• Arrange for prior employer to forward tax withholding records.
• Gather personal records: medical, dental, school, birth, baptism, marriage, etc.
Six weeks prior to Moving Day
• Obtain and fill out change-of-address cards for: Post Office, Social Security, Insurance
Companies, Credit Card Companies, Magazines, Mail Order Accounts, Friends and
Relatives.
• Subscribe to the paper in your new hometown to learn more about your new community.
• Make arrangements for storage if necessary.
• Ask your doctor or health plan for referrals and obtain all medical records.
• Have antiques, pieces of art, and other valuables appraised.
• Clean all closets and drawers.
• Start using foods and cleaning supplies that cannot be moved.
• Discontinue lawn, pool, and other household services.
Four weeks prior to Moving Day
• Contact all utilities for service disconnection at your old home and connection at your
new home. Be sure disconnect is the day after you leave and connection is the day before
you arrive. Check for possible refunds.
• If you are moving yourself, reserve a rental truck.
• If you are packing yourself, obtain packing materials and start packing items you won’t
need until after you arrive at the new house.
• Arrange for special transportation of your pets and plants if necessary. . Get
immunization records for pets.
• Check with your insurance company to see how your possessions are covered during
transit.
• Make any travel plans necessary for your move.
• Check to see if you need any moving permits.
• Plan your moving sale.
Three weeks prior to Moving Day
• Dispose of items that cannot be moved, such as inflammable liquids.
• Prepare auto registration for transfer (if moving to another state).
• If you are moving in or out of an apartment, arrange for use of the elevator.
• Make child-care arrangements for moving day.
• Hold your moving sale.
Two weeks prior to Moving Day
• Arrange for disposal of anything not sold at your moving sale.
• Service your car in preparation for the move.
• Return any borrowed items (including library books) and retrieve any loaned items.
• Cancel newspaper delivery.
• Notify any creditors of your move.
• Fill, transfer, and pack prescriptions for family and pets
• Assemble a file folder of information to leave for the new owner of your home.
One week prior to Moving Day
• Defrost refrigerator and freezer, plus allow air-drying to prevent mildew. Dispose of
frozen foods.
• Drain furl from lawn mower and other power equipment being moved.
• Drain garden hose.
• Send clothing, draperies, curtains, and rugs out for cleaning and leave in wrapping. Take
down curtain rods, shelves, and TV antenna
One day prior to Moving Day
• Transfer your bank accounts.
• Take animals to vet for immunization if necessary.
• Close your safe-deposit box. Gather valuables from box, drawers. jewelry cases, and
personal records and pack safely to travel with you.
• Settle any bills with local businesses.
• Drain power equipment of oil and gas.
• Drain water hoses.
• Find new homes for plants that will not be moved.
• Confirm any travel reservations.
• Two to Three Days Prior to Moving Day
• Drain your waterbed.
• Defrost refrigerator and freezer, propping doors open.
• Let movers pack your belongings (unless it’s a do-it-yourself move).
• Disconnect and prepare major appliances for move.
• Set aside anything that will travel in your car so it will not be loaded on the truck.
• Pack a box of items that will be needed first at the new
• house. Clearly mark this box “Load Last.”
• Obtain cash or traveler’s checks for the trip and pay the movers.
• Confirm arrival time of your moving van.
• If moving yourself, dismantle beds and other large furniture.
• Remember to pack a box of basics you’ll need on move-in day (tools, paper products,
household cleaners, etc.) Either load on truck last or take in car if driving.
Moving Day
• If using a mover, be sure someone is at the old house to answer questions.
• Note all utility meter readings.
• Read your bill of lading and inventory carefully before signing. Keep this paperwork in a
safe place.
• Conduct a last minute walk through of house with mover. Make sure windows are closed,
closets empty, light out, and all doors locked.
• Walk trough truck before it departs to check inventory and condition of packages.
Delivery Day
• Again, be on hand to answer any questions.
• Check your belongings carefully and note on the inventory any damaged items.
• On an interstate move, be prepared to pay the driver before your possessions are
unloaded.
• Supervise unloading and unpacking.
• Be prepared to pay your mover with cash, certified check, or traveler’s checks unless
other arrangements have been made in advance.
In another instance, a relocation specialist was able to pinpoint the exact housing needs of a
candidate and his wife, show them the perfect property, qualify them, and arrange a 5-percent
down mortgage loan with a bank — all in one morning. That afternoon, the candidate went to his
final interview with my client company and accepted their offer, secure in the knowledge that his
relocation wouldn’t be a problem.
If your new company has a relocation specialist on staff, fine. If not, ask for a recommendation.
Your relocation is too important to leave to chance, or entrust to a randomly selected real estate
agent. In the event you’re unable to find an independent relocation specialist, you can probably
hook up with a realtor who works mainly with executive corporate transfers. Century 21, for
example, does an outstanding job of matching out-of-town buyers with desirable, local
properties.
Before your start date, request product information used in training to get up and running faster.
Also, schedule weekly reviews for the first 2 months to ensure matching expectations.
Culture Shock and Task Clarity
At last, you’ve arrived! Welcome aboard.
In the beginning, your new job may seem overwhelming. After all, there are new people to meet,
new systems to learn, new schedules to keep, and new personalities to adjust to. In many ways,
culture shock might be the best way to describe your first week.
The real key to early success with your new company boils down to the issue of task clarity. Task
clarity refers not to your ability to do a certain job, but to your understanding of how the job’s
defined.
Task clarity is dependent upon the quality of communication between you and the person
assigning the task. Any breakdown of task clarity will result in frustration or poor performance,
or worse.
To illustrate, let me tell you the story of John, a technical writer I placed with a high tech client
company in California. Three weeks after John started in his new position, I called to ask him
how everything was going.
“Fine,” he answered. “They love me here. I’ve completed the documentation on everything
they’ve assigned me.”
Later that day, I placed a call to John’s boss, expecting him to heap praise on me for my
recruiting genius. Boy, was I in for a surprise!
“Bill, I’m afraid I have some bad news for you,” said the manager. “I’m going to fire John this
afternoon. It looks like we’ll have to start the search all over again.”
“Really?” I was stunned. “What seems to be the problem?”
“John hasn’t produced any of the documentation we need for our customers, and we have to get
the work done to meet our deadline. If John can’t do the work, I’ll have to find someone who
can.”
“That’s odd,” I said. “I talked to John this morning and he’s under the impression that the
documentation he’s producing is exactly what you asked for. When was the last time the two of
you sat down to discuss his assignment?”
“Oh gosh,” replied the manager, “it must have been about three weeks ago, right after he started
to work here.”
“Well then, let me make a suggestion. The two of you should talk this through, because there’s
obviously been a communication breakdown. As far as John’s concerned, he’s doing a terrific job
based on his perception of the assignment.”
Changing Jobs: A New Beginning
A simple failure to communicate the task clearly in the beginning had almost resulted in John’s
termination three weeks after he started his new job.
Fortunately, we were all able to dodge a bullet. After my call to the employer, John and his boss
sat down to discuss the project. The assignment was quickly clarified, and John went on to
complete the documentation needed to meet the deadline.
John was lucky that my intervention helped save his job.
If you’re working with a recruiter, make sure he or she keeps in touch with the company, to
monitor your progress.
You owe it to your career to sharpen your task clarity. Ask for a weekly review for the first month
or so of your employment, and try not to let things get set on automatic pilot, especially in the
beginning.
With a little bit of planning, it’s possible to make a smooth transition from one job to the next.