by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: November 22, 2010

It can sometimes be tempting to quit your job on the spur of the moment, as you decide that you’ve had enough and want a change. However, in most cases you have to formally hand in your resignation and give so many weeks’ notice before you can leave. Thus, it is something that you have to give serious consideration to before you do something drastic, as you won’t be able to take it back. There are certain issues you have to think through before telling your boss what you really think of him and where he can stick his job.

Indeed, you may not get along with your boss, but if you’re aggressive when quitting your job this won’t help you in future. If you have just got into an argument with your boss about leaving your job, who are you going to turn to when you need a reference? You may be able to find someone else to act as referee, but any future employer will probably want to know why you didn’t put down your former employee. Even if you explain the situation, it isn’t going to look very good to a potential employer that you were unable to get along with your old boss.

Besides, it isn’t a very good idea to quit your job without first considering your plans. What are you going to do with your time once you no longer have a job to go to? You may plan to have a break and go travelling or you may not be able to afford to do this. If you need another job straightaway in order to be able to pay the bills you can find yourself in a rather desperate position, especially if there aren’t that many jobs around. It might seem like a good idea to quit your job, but if you don’t have any savings or much chance of getting work you may want to put your plans on hold.

You may intend to go back to school, but again, you can’t simply drop whatever you’re doing and change direction completely without having first thinking it through. You have to think about what you’re going to study and where, as well as if you’ve even got enough education and experience to get on to a course.

You may be thinking about how to improve your future prospects, but quitting your job without a realistic plan isn’t going to help, especially when you have no idea how long you’re going to be unemployed for. You might be okay at first, but eventually you’re finances will dwindle and you will be bored without any kind of routine to keep you going, and so you shouldn’t rush into anything.

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