Giving two weeks Notice when You find another Job

[JanetRose]

One of my co-workers told me that you should never let your boss know that you're looking for another job and if/when you do get another one, that's when you give him/her your two weeks notice.

I guess it makes sense as they would probably not be happy that you're looking.

Any other opinions on this?

 

[monkeyboy]

Most require 2 weeks, but yet a company can fire you with now warning.

 

[ols386]

I would agree with that. Why would I tell my current employer that I'm looking for another job. I wouldn't be job searching during business hours of my job though. If I find another job, I would definitely give my current employer at least 2-weeks notice.

 

[golfgal]

Do NOT let a current company know you are looking for another job or you may find you have NO job. Once you have a signed offer, ie in writing, give your notice. Do not give notice even with a verbal offer as they have no legal standing and could easily rescind the offer.

 

[mickeyboat]

I have never told my current employer I was looking for a new job, except when my employer was getting ready to close its doors. It was nice for my current boss be able to give a recommendation to employers I was interviewing with.

I have always been able to give more than two weeks' notice.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

It depends on your relationship with your employer, and the level of trust. I have told my boss the last two times, but that is because I really felt valued as an employee and knew that my job would be safe if the job search didn't pan out. In one case, it led to a promotion, as the company was surprised that I was upset enough to want to leave and worked with me to get me to stay.

 

[Christine]

The general practice is that you never let your employer know you are looking and you only give notice when you have a letter of offer in hand from the prospective employer.

Having said that, if you have a really, really good relationship with your current boss and have been open all along about why you might move to another employer, it is probably okay to do so.

 

[Tiggeroo]

how do you deal with telling the companies you are interviewing with where you work? Can you disclose where you work and know they won't contact that employer? DH was out of work and took a job with a huge pay cut. He needs to look for work closer to his pay rate. He will give fair notice with his current employer. And it's possible that they will offer him a raise closer to his normal rate and he would stay. But he doesn't know how to word his resume so that companies know he is employed in a good position of some responsibility without his current employer knowing he is looking. If he were to disclose the type of work he is doing now it is very specific and the companies he is sending his resume to could probably guess where he is working. Right now the resume says he is working in a position of his field of considerable responsibility and that the info would only be disclosed to very serious enquirers. Even that doesn't really work because he would be uncomfortable giving his present employer unless he knew he had a job that he planned on accepting.

 

[MrsPete]

Did you sign anything specific about this when you were hired? I ask this because many professional jobs require such things.

I am required to give two months notice before I leave my job. If I don't, my principal has the right to have the state recind my teaching license. Obviously, lots of things come into play with this. A teacher who is in good standing and who leaves for unexpected reasons isn't going to have any problem. On the other hand, a teacher who withholds information and puts the school in a bad spot (without a replacement) might find herself without a license.

Speaking only for myself and my job, if I were looking for another job, I would tell my princpal upfront. I'm assuming I'd be looking for something the following school year -- not mid-year -- and if I were looking to switch schools within my own county, she'd find out anyway. I'd always rather tell things like that myself than have her find out second-hand. When I switched schools a couple years ago, I did tell my principal upfront; I explained that I was moving during the summer and I wanted to teach at the school nearest my house /where my children would attend eventually. He wasn't happy, but he understood.

Way back when my husband started his job, he signed an agreement about whether he can/can't go to a competetor within a certain amount of time. I don't really know the details, but he isn't completely free to go just anywhere. Also, he can't take something he invented on company time along with him (and he holds numerous patents).

 

[Tiggeroo]

Did you sign anything specific about this when you were hired? I ask this because many professional jobs require such things.

I am required to give two months notice before I leave my job. If I don't, my principal has the right to have the state recind my teaching license. Obviously, lots of things come into play with this. A teacher who is in good standing and who leaves for unexpected reasons isn't going to have any problem. On the other hand, a teacher who withholds information and puts the school in a bad spot (without a replacement) might find herself without a license.

Speaking only for myself and my job, if I were looking for another job, I would tell my princpal upfront. I'm assuming I'd be looking for something the following school year -- not mid-year -- and if I were looking to switch schools within my own county, she'd find out anyway. I'd always rather tell things like that myself than have her find out second-hand. When I switched schools a couple years ago, I did tell my principal upfront; I explained that I was moving during the summer and I wanted to teach at the school nearest my house /where my children would attend eventually. He wasn't happy, but he understood.

Way back when my husband started his job, he signed an agreement about whether he can/can't go to a competetor within a certain amount of time. I don't really know the details, but he isn't completely free to go just anywhere. Also, he can't take something he invented on company time along with him (and he holds numerous patents).

Most employment is not contracted. Many states are at-will and employers can let you go on a moments notice. I don't believe you owe your employer any loyalty but you do owe them a fair notice if you choose to leave. The fear many employees have, and they'd be right is that if their employer found out they were looking for work, they'd hire somebody else for their position and they'd be without a job before they found something else. This is even more of a concern in an economy like this. My husband is required to give two weeks notice in order to collect unpaid time. You would be crazy to sign a non-compete contract if the company doesn't also have to give you decent severance if they let you go before your contract is up. The question is, how does one go about looking for better employment while protecting the job you have until you are sure you have something else. Tough to do.

 

[HOGFAN]

I have a friend who officially is parttime but her company is working her fulltime. She gets parttime benefits. She has employed a headhunter, told her company she is looking for another job. She told company that they need to give her fulltime benefits or she is leaving.I told her GOOD LUCK. They will let her find something else and hire another parttimer and work 'them' to death. I feel she is taking a big chance and they will call her bluff.

 

[MrsPete]

Most employment is not contracted. Many states are at-will and employers can let you go on a moments notice. I don't believe you owe your employer any loyalty but you do owe them a fair notice if you choose to leave. The fear many employees have, and they'd be right is that if their employer found out they were looking for work, they'd hire somebody else for their position and they'd be without a job before they found something else. This is even more of a concern in an economy like this. My husband is required to give two weeks notice in order to collect unpaid time. You would be crazy to sign a non-compete contract if the company doesn't also have to give you decent severance if they let you go before your contract is up. The question is, how does one go about looking for better employment while protecting the job you have until you are sure you have something else. Tough to do.

Neither of us is contracted, but many professional jobs have clauses about leaving the job.

I do believe you owe your employer loyalty; that doesn't mean you should never leave, but you absolutely are morally obligated to treat your current employer right as you leave. You should never burn bridges.

Yeah, the company's end of things (severence pay, etc.) is also included in those "start to work" agreements. What happens if you're laid off, etc.

The real question -- how to protect your current job while searching for another one -- is tough, and there's no one standard answer.

 

[prncess674]

The general rule of thumb is 2 weeks notice.

The only time I have ever clued my employer that I was looking for another job was when I was looking for my first "real" job. I worked as a bank teller while in college and shortly after. My branch manager and colleagues knew that I wasn't going to stay since I had a BS in an in demand field. My branch manager was actually one of my references and gave a glowing recommendation.

Also, most companies would fire you on the spot if they find out you are even talking to the competion for job offers. In my field if you accept an offer (or they even sense you are talking) to a competitor as soon as you give your notice your computer is immediately confiscated and a security officer escorts you to the door. They forward your office personal effects via courier.

 

[onelilspark]

I recently switched jobs (start my new one in a week, have already left my old one.) I didn't let my boss know that I was looking elsewhere. He didn't respect me at all, my main problems at that job stemmed from my boss, so it made no sense to let him know I was looking. So I gave my 2 weeks notice (actually 2.5 weeks) and he was shocked. Can't say I wasn't pleased I didn't let anyone know at my old job that I was looking either, so unfortunately they were also surprised.

Personally, I would never jeopardize my job by letting my employer know I was looking elsewhere. In the above situation, I was looking in a different industry. They probably could have found out that I was looking by searching resumes on CareerBuilder, I did run the risk. But quite frankly, I was so fed up that I didn't care at that point.

 

[Tiggeroo]

You owe it to your employer to give them sincere full days of work while you are there and to give them a fair amount of notice before you leave. You don't want to burn bridges and you do want references. Unfortunately the days of an employer keeping you on for life are over in most companies. Because employers can and do let employees go with no notice if it benefits them financially you need to have your first loyalty to your family. There are some exceptions. Some small family owned businesses treat their employees differently. I work in a school and we are contracted and I would never leave in the middle of a school year unless it was a terrible emergency. I would actually be unlikely to leave at all unless forced to move or a conflict that could not be resolved. My dh has worked in contracted positions that came with an obligation for a period of time. I would never violate a contract or leave with no notice. And 25 years ago I would agree that you had some loyalty to your employer. Today it is much different. I would not tell an employer I was looking for work unless I was quite sure I would have a job. I would also be prepared when giving two weeks notice of the possibility that the employer would let me go immediately leaving me without the two weeks pay.

 

[tvguy]

. My husband is required to give two weeks notice in order to collect unpaid time. .

That varies from state to state.
A previous employer had that policy in our handbook. A guy gave 13 days notice, and was told we would not be paid for the 4 weeks vacation he had on the books since he did not give 2 full weeks notice. He did a little research, pointed out in California requiring notice to leave a job was illegal. He pointed out that under California law, the fine was $10,000 from the state, plus the company would owe him 10 times what the 4 weeks vacation time was worth as damages. Amazingly, he got paid on the spot for his 4 weeks vacation. Our corporation has 58 locations, ours was the only one in California. A few months later we got a 15 page supplement to the employee handbook just for our location. After a little research, they discovered a dozen of their "policies" were illegal in California.

 

[tvguy]

It depends on your relationship with your employer, and the level of trust. I have told my boss the last two times, but that is because I really felt valued as an employee and knew that my job would be safe if the job search didn't pan out. In one case, it led to a promotion, as the company was surprised that I was upset enough to want to leave and worked with me to get me to stay.

I agree. I know that is encouraged by my current employer. The company mindset is employees need to do what is best for them. It also gives them time to plan to hire replacements, if necessary. It's just smart on the part of the local managers, because they really are limited in what they can do to retain employees. We laid off 30% of our staff in 2008, did furloughs and pay cuts in 2009, so we are really down to the minimum staffing (or less) to get our jobs done.

 

[ahutton]

When we look at moving out of state to be closer to family, I let my boss know I was traveling for an interview , and why we were looking at moving. Once offered the job, I gave three weeks notice and worked to train the people who took over various aspects of my job duties. I left on a great note, and he's been a great reference over the years.

That said, under most circumstances I would NOT share with my current employer that I was looking. In fact, if I were, I would probably include in my cover letter submitting my resume that I ask for confidentiality when it comes to my current position.

 

[manning]

I have a friend who officially is parttime but her company is working her fulltime. She gets parttime benefits. She has employed a headhunter, told her company she is looking for another job. She told company that they need to give her fulltime benefits or she is leaving.I told her GOOD LUCK. They will let her find something else and hire another parttimer and work 'them' to death. I feel she is taking a big chance and they will call her bluff.

I belive there is federal law addressing this. Have her look into it.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

When I started looking for a new job I told my boss. I knew it would take a while to hire a replacement for me and get them oriented to the position. I preferred to leave on a good note and not leave them high and dry. I simply wanted to try something new, I had been there for ten years and was on good terms with everyone but it had gotten stale for me. It all worked out well. I found a new job within a few days of starting my search but the hiring process (extensive background check) took a couple of months. That actually was preferable so my old boss could hire my replacement and at least get them started before I left so everyone was happy.