1. Never write your resignation letter in haste
Yes we know. That promotion was supposed to be yours. We also know how badly you wanted to be sent to Singapore for that training instead of that newbie whose father is one of the directors on board. And that award? It had your name written on it. Your reasons maybe plenty and all justified, but when your neurons are sending impulses to spit venom, it’s better to be kickboxing or crying into your pillow than writing that letter. Chances are your resignation letter will come across as incoherent ramblings of an emotional fool and that is not really much of an impression to be leaving before you quit.

2. Don’t threaten
Never use your resignation as a threat to have your way. “If you don’t give me that corner office, I’ll quit” will probably work. But your organization will never trust you enough to hold on to that job. It betrays your priorities and loyalty towards the organization. If they don’t value you enough to give it to you without threatening, then maybe it isn’t worth fighting for.

3. Don’t consider bargaining
Your current employer may try to match the offer of your place of employment or try to bargain you into staying. But if you give in that would be perceived as a sign of vulnerability that could be exploited in the future. When they find someone with your capabilities and experience for the same salary you were paid earlier, they’ll drop you like a hot potato and you won’t know what hit you.

4. Don’t let your honesty be too brutal
A resignation letter may seem to be the easiest way to vent your frustration. While stating the reason for your resignation, one is overcome by temptation to list a 100 reasons why working there sucked. Well, you could do that OR just be critical without being petty. Keep your criticism constructive, and don’t forget to thank them for employing you. No matter how terrible your experience may have been, it did teach you something and that’s something to be always grateful for.

5. Never burn your bridges
Murphy’s law is probably the most clichéd and oft repeated adage in the world. But you can’t deny it will sneak upon you when you aren’t watching. Always leave on a pleasant note, with a warm hand shake. Should the tides turn against you, you can always consider swallowing your pride and burning bile and return to the organization without short selling yourself. If not for networking, at least karma is a very good reason to not stomp your feet, throw a fit and slam the door shut on your way out.

ENGAGED employees – work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company. They drive innovation and move the organization.

NOT-ENGAGED employees are essentially “checked out”. They are sleepwalking through their workday, putting time – but not with energy or passion into their work.

ACTIVELY DISENGAGED employees – aren’t just unhappy at work; they’re busy acting out their unhappiness. Everyday, these workers undermine what their engaged co-worker accomplish. This kind is an extension of not-engaged employees. If the Manager or the HR or the employee himself/herself is able to nip the not-engaged employee in the bud, this situation could be avoided.

So where would you put yourself amongst the three? If you are an actively disengaged employee and cannot find drivers to motivate you, the first suggestion would be to look for another opportunity. Your dream job with the dream salary might take a while but once the opportunity knocks at your door, voila! You are ready to put your papers down.

1. A verbal resignation is always difficult but if you have shared an open relationship, your superior(s) will probably respect a verbal resignation more.
2. You should rehearse what you want to say and then make sure it doesn’t sound rehearsed when you say it. It is important to choose your words carefully. Don’t give too much information and don’t try to justify your move to the extent that your relationship with the employer turns sour.
3. A verbal resignation must be supported with a letter or email that will go into your file, or you can simply submit a letter or email alone.
4. If you are going to submit a letter alone (in print or by mail), you must be very cautious about explaining the circumstances (if at all you need to explain them). What you write because that letter will remain on your file for years to come. So, don’t be negative in any way.
5. Make sure that the resignation is received by your boss as well as the HR manager. If in print, make multiple copies and send it to both. If on e-mail, mark a carbon-copy to the HR manager.
6. You must extract and keep an acknowledgement of receipt of your resignation letter in print or by e-mail. You never know when things may turn awry and it’s always good to have an acknowledgment of your resignation on record.

Discussion with the resigned employee – As soon as you resign, the next thing you will almost immediately expect is a call/email from the HR. This might be an exit interview or just a brief discussion to understand your reason for resignation. It would be best to be honest and genuinely answer what is asked, lest you strongly feel you shouldn’t.

Analysis of your criticality in the company –The Manager along with the HR analyses your performance, previous appraisal rating, and criticality in the current project. Based on the same, retention strategies are worked out along with the consent of the Top Management. However, if the situation cannot be helped, your resignation is formally accepted and your notice period commences from the date of resignation.

Notice period – Notice period usually varies based on the company policy – might be just 2 weeks or even 3 months. You may be asked to vacate your desk immediately after you submit your letter – indeed, these days you may be urged briskly off the property by large and unfeeling gorillas. If you are asked to work out your resignation period, and you agree to do so, keep a low profile. During this period, most of the work involved will be dealing with handing over what you were doing earlier.

Clearance – Mostly on your last working day, you would have to get a clearance from all relevant departments along with your Manager that there aren’t any dependencies on you.

What is an Exit Interview?
In human resource terms, an exit interview is a survey that is conducted with an employee when he or she leaves the company. The information from each survey is used to provide feedback on why employees are leaving, what they liked about their employment and what areas of the company need improvement. Exit interviews are most effective when the data is compiled and tracked over time.

What’s the Purpose of an Exit Interview?
While many exit interviews are considered as more of a post-mortem, the results of these however immensely help as inputs into betterment of processes. Human resources departments conduct exit interviews (also called exit surveys) to gather data for improving working conditions and retaining employees. However, a hidden purpose is to help employers avoid costly litigation down the road, caused by “disgruntled” employees. In other words, your comments and the notes an HR rep takes during your exit interview might be used against you in court, should you decide to sue your former employer.

How are Exit Interviews conducted?
The exit interview may be conducted through a variety of methods. Some of the methods include: in-person, over the telephone, on paper, or through the Internet – more popularly known as WebExit.

What are the most commonly asked questions in an exit interview?
1. What factors have led you to decide to leave the company?
2. What factors were most important in choosing your new job?
3. What was the biggest trigger that made you look out for a new job?
4. What are your views on the management? What is the management doing right or wrong?
5. Did you feel you were given enough support in your job?
6. What did you most like about the company and what did you like the least?
7. What are views on the way we treat our employees? How could we improve effectiveness and morale?
8. Is there any way that we could improve the business?

Important processes post your exit interview:

Issuance of relieving documents – Your relieving documents usually comprise of your relieving letter (printed on a company letter head), your salary certificate, payslips and statement of accounts for that current year. Based on the company, the time-period required to issue the same varies from a week to 45 days. You however could get a print-out of your resignation as a temporary document for your new employer to keep until you receive the former.

Your 401 (k) / Provident Fund savings – There are two ways of handling your 401(k) / PF account once you are moving on – either through a transfer or a withdrawal. While you are in service, it is advised to transfer and maintain the account rather than withdrawing the savings. Before leaving your current organization, one must complete the necessary formalities for the transfer.

Also do go through these sample exit interview forms – Questionnaire 1 | Questionnaire 2 | Questionnaire 3.

Follow these six rules when trying to gain a good reference:

1. Timing – When should you provide references?
References should be provided only on request. Give out the names and contact details of referees once your potential new employer asks for it. Your current boss may otherwise wonder why he/she is suddenly receiving a call from the head-hunters about you. And you may end up having to leave the organization long before you planned, with nowhere to go. so, there’s no point in volunteering this information too soon.

2. Probables – Who should be your references?
You must choose your referees carefully. They must be people who can make a professional assessment of your suitability. This includes managers, supervisors, mentors and colleagues, or even a business partner/client.

3. Selection – How do you choose the references?
Prepare a list of potential references in your current and previous assignments as mentioned above and score (high, medium, low) them on three parameters – designation (seniority), level of interaction and competence. By competence we mean the competence to judge you the way you wish to be perceived. In an ideal scenario, choose the ones that score High on all three parameters. A High score in competence is an absolute must.

4. Number – How many references should you provide?
In most cases, the headhunter would ask for a specific number of references and your should stick to that number. The number would never exceed 4 and so that is the number of referees you should have to fall back upon if needed. If the number is not specified, provide 2 references. You should ensure that half or more references are from your current assignment.

5. Discuss – What should your references be prepared for?
Prepare the ground and inform your referees about what questions to expect. Refresh their memories with anecdotes that they could use when called. Also, Apart from your strengths, also mention the weaknesses that they should speak about if asked. It might be useful if you disclose what you’re likely to be doing next so that they can judge your suitability for the new role themselves. All of these measures will help to determine what your referees actually say about you when they take the call or start writing your reference. Your discussion with them will make life a lot easier for everyone. Also, make sure that there is a consistent image portrayed by all your referees backed with unique anecdotes.

6. Credit – Give credit where it is due
Once your references are consulted and they speak proudly and at length about your abilities / achievements / personality, remember to thank each one of them individually. Because you never know when you may need their help again. Finally, Don’t be surprised if they ask you to return the favour.

Here’s a 10-step checklist that will guide you in the clean-up of your work computer, after which it can be turned in.

1. Remove your Browser Data
For Firefox, go to Tools > Clear Private Data. Check all the boxes i.e. Browsing History, Saved Form and Search History, Cache, Cookies, Offline Website Data, Saved Passwords, Authenticated Sessions; and then hit Clear Private Data Now.

For Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Internet Options > General > Browsing History. Click Delete and you then have the option of deleting your entire browsing history by hitting Delete All.

2. Download and run Crap Cleaner
The software is available here. It removes unused files from your system. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner.

3. Run a Disk Cleanup
Go to Start > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup

4. Remove All Wireless Networks
Go into the Windows Wireless Network Connection Settings (or IBM’s or whatever app is managing your wireless) and remove all the wireless networks, especially your home one. There’s no reason to leave your system automatically trying to get on your home network.

5. Uninstall Softwares
If you downloaded software that is only relevant to you, not to the job, delete it. Delete any Instant Messaging programs you’ve downloaded, as well.

6. Remove Passwords
Remove saved passwords from all the applications that came with the computer, including Live Messenger. Ensure that you uncheck the Remember Me option on these applications.

7. Deactivate Licensing
Deactivate any applications that have licenses over the Internet that are specific to your hardware. For example: Deactivate iTunes from the Advanced menu; Deactivate licensing and remove saved keys from Windows Media Centre.

8. Backup your email
Refer the following backup creation instructions for Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird.

9. Backup everything else you want from your work computer
If you want to save yourself the headache of weeding out the important stuff, go and get yourself a Portable Hard Disk (more than 250 GB) and copy everything from your work computer to it. And then delete everything that exists on your work computer (assuming you have already handed over necessary data to the person taking over from you).

10. Logout and turn in your machine
It is clean and usable for the someone else.