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How to Quit Your Job on Great Terms

quit your job on good terms

Leaving a job can be difficult and stressful. But quitting your job on good terms is essential to maintain your professional reputation and network. There are several vital tips for making the transition as smooth as possible.

First and foremost, having a transparent and honest conversation with your boss about your decision to leave is essential. Give them as much notice as possible and explain your reasons for leaving respectfully and professionally. Doing this will give your boss time to plan for your departure. It will also show that you are committed to maintaining a positive relationship with them.

Best Practices on For Time of Notice Given

Providing notice before quitting a job is a common practice and a professional courtesy. In addition, it allows your employer time to plan for your departure and find a replacement. The amount of notice you should give depends on the company’s policy, but it’s best to provide at least two weeks’ notice. This will give your employer enough time to plan for your departure and show that you are committed to maintaining a positive relationship with them.

However, sometimes, giving two weeks’ notice may be challenging. For example, if you have a new job opportunity that starts immediately or if the circumstances at your current job have become untenable. In these situations, it’s important, to be honest with your employer and explain your reasoning for giving less notice.

When providing notice, it’s important to have a face-to-face conversation with your boss. This will allow them to ask questions and discuss any concerns. It’s also important to be clear and honest about your reasons for leaving and to express gratitude for your opportunities and experiences while working at the company.

In addition to providing notice in person, it is also best practice to provide a written notice, usually via email, to confirm your verbal notice. This email should also include your last day of work, and transition plans you talked about with your boss, and your contact information should they need to reach you in the future.

Additional Thoughts to Consider When Quitting Your Job

Another important tip is to assist with the transition process. For example, offer to help train your replacement or work on projects that will ensure a smooth handover. This shows that you are dedicated to the company’s success and will positively impact your boss’s perception of you.

Taking care of any outstanding tasks or projects before leaving is also essential. This will ensure that your work is completed to a high standard and that your colleagues can handle their workload.

Finally, don’t burn bridges. Your professional network is important, and you never know when to call on your former colleagues or boss for a reference or advice. So keep in touch with them after you leave and maintain a positive relationship.

Overall, quitting a job is never easy, but by following these tips and maintaining a positive attitude, you can ensure that your departure is on good terms. This will not only benefit you in the short term but will also make a positive impact on your future career opportunities.

Should you be considering a new job in the future, the Signature Source team is here for you! Begin your job search with us here: Search executive level jobs with Signature Source

Behavioral Interview Question Tips

how to answer behavioral interview questions

Behavioral interview questions are job interview questions that ask the candidate to describe how they have behaved in specific work-related situations. These questions are designed to assess the candidate’s skills, knowledge, experience, and fit with the company culture. Behavioral interview questions are typically framed as “Tell me about a time when you…” or “Describe a situation in which you…”.

The interviewer is looking for specific examples and details about how the candidate has handled challenges, made decisions, solved problems, and worked with others in the past. By examining the candidate’s past behavior, the interviewer hopes to predict how the candidate will behave in similar situations in the future.

Examples of Behavioral Interview Questions:

Tell me about a time when you had to work with a difficult colleague. How did you handle the situation?
Describe a situation where you had to make a tough decision. How did you go about making the decision, and what was the outcome?
Tell me about a time when you had to work under tight deadlines. How did you manage your time and meet the deadlines?
Describe a situation where you had to work with limited resources. How did you handle it, and what was the result?
Describe a situation where you had to work as part of a team to achieve a common goal. What was your role in the team, and what was the result?
By preparing answers to these questions, you’ll-prepared to handle behavioral interview questions during your job interview.

Tips for Answering Behavioral Interview Questions:

Use the STAR method: Situation, Task, Action, Result. When answering a behavioral question, provide a specific example of a situation you were in, the task you were trying to accomplish, the actions you took, and the result of those actions.

Be specific: Use concrete details and examples to illustrate your points. Avoid generalities or vague statements.
Keep it relevant: Choose relevant examples to the job you are applying for. Focus on experiences your skills, knowledge, and abilities relevant to the role.
Practice: Think about the behavioral questions you may be asked and practice answering them beforehand. This will help you feel more prepared and confident during the interview.
Be honest: It’s important to be honest, and authentic in your responses. Don’t try to present yourself as something you’re not. If you don’t have a specific example of sharing, it’s okay to admit it and talk about what you have learned from the experience.

By following these tips, you’ll be well-prepared to answer behavioral interview questions and make a strong impression during your job interview.

We’re always here to help you in career. Feel free to reach out to us for job search tips, resume writing and available open executive positions. Contact us here: Call or Email Signature Source

Do Employee Incentive Programs Work?

Employee incentive programs

The employment market is changing. Some call the current shift the Great Resignation, while others call it the Great Reshuffle. No matter what you call it, it is hard to deny that employers and employees have changing expectations. What role do benefits and incentives play in employee retention and satisfaction in this environment? Do they work? And how can they be designed to have the biggest impact on employee satisfaction?

What Do Experts Say?

If designed well, incentive programs and other benefits help employee recruitment and retention. Claire Barnes, Chief Human Capital Officer at Monster, spoke about this topic on the HR Works podcast. She explains that when companies don’t offer benefits that meaningfully help employees, employees “look for alternatives, which is a risk from a retention perspective for employers.” For example, more than a third of employees surveyed are careers in some way, but only 17% of employers offer paid leave above the statutory minimum. This paid leave can be crucial for employees to care for their families properly. This lack of compensation can prompt employees to look for work elsewhere.

What is Included in an Incentive Program?

So what does a well-designed incentive program look like? The first step in designing an effective incentive program is listening. Rather than guessing at what benefits will be most useful to your employees, ask them. No one will know better than them what services they need. Barnes uses a monthly randomized survey to collect employee feedback at Monster, and she bases her benefits decisions on the results. If benefits must be cut to save costs, this process will also help you justify your decisions and hurt the fewest people.

Second, prioritize health, professional development, and flexibility. In the wake of the pandemic, employees are indicating that they value health and well-being more than ever. This bucket covers the obvious, such as generous health insurance and dental care. However, there are also less common health benefits, such as support for childcare and emergency care, access to counseling, and self-care days. 45% of those surveyed by Monster also say they value an employer that provides them with training and development opportunities. So, consider how you can help your employees prepare for future roles by instituting a training program. And flexibility is the new normal after the changes brought by COVID. This includes generous or unlimited vacation time, the option to work remotely, and parental leave.

Encourage the Culture

Finally, create a culture of taking advantage of the benefits offered. Offering unlimited PTO is great, but it can be counterproductive if employees feel that taking extended leave would be frowned upon. This can only be fought by communicating expectations to managers and having them lead by example. As Barnes says, “Culture starts at the top, but it sticks to the walls.” Having managers prioritize their well-being over productivity, use the available benefits, and share that transparently with their team will help show employees that they can too.

With so many different options, comparing benefits packages can be tough. If you want help finding the right fit, don’t worry—Signature Source is here to help! With a combined experience of over 60 years in the industry, our expert team of relocation industry veterans ensures an unparalleled advantage in pairing the right talent with the right job at the right company. Search through the list of openings we are recruiting for on behalf of our clients to find your new home, or contact us directly if you want to know more. We look forward to hearing from you!

Benefits of Using an Executive Recruiter

If you are starting a job search, consider the benefits of using an executive recruiter. Deciding whether or not to use a recruiter can take time and effort. To start, you’ll want to understand the types of recruiters you may encounter and some benefits.

Different Types of Recruiters

You’ll generally encounter three types of recruiters in your job search. Knowing the different types of recruiters in your job search is essential because they each have their unique approach to sourcing, communicating with, and placing candidates. Understanding the different types of recruiters and how they operate can help you make the most of your job search and increase your chances of finding the right job. Here are the three types:

Internal corporate recruiters: These recruiters are company employees responsible for finding and hiring new employees for that company. These recruiters are typically focused on filling open positions within the company and have a deep understanding of the company’s culture, values, and needs. They also can fill positions quickly as they have direct access to the hiring manager and decision-maker.
Contingency recruiters: These are external recruiters typically hired on a project basis to fill a specific role or multiple roles at a company. They are paid only if they successfully place a candidate in the position and typically work with various companies simultaneously. As a result, they may have less in-depth knowledge of a specific company’s culture and needs, but they may have a wider pool of candidates to draw from.
Retained recruiters: These are external recruiters, but a company typically hires them exclusively to fill specific or multiple roles. They generally are paid a retainer fee upfront and work closely with the hiring manager to understand the company’s particular needs and culture. This type of recruiter is typically used for high-level, or executive positions and are considered more specialized than contingency recruiters.

Interview Your Recruiter

Yes, it may seem like the tables are turned for this advice, but asking the right questions will help you gain valuable insight. The recruiter is your partner in helping you find your ideal job. Asking the right questions will help you to determine the best for you.

Some good questions to ask a recruiter include:
How long have you been working as a recruiter?
What industries and types of positions do you specialize in?
What is your process for matching candidates with job openings?
How do you communicate with candidates and hiring managers during recruitment?
What is your approach to negotiation and compensation?
How do you ensure candidate and client confidentiality?
How do you plan to keep me informed and updated throughout the recruitment process?

Working with an Executive Recruiter

Working with an executive recruiter is the perfect place to start if you are looking for a specialized or senior-level leadership role as the next step in your career. An executive recruiter identifies, attracts, and places senior-level executives and technical professionals for a company. In addition, they have access to their network of contacts at various companies and can introduce you to private positions.

The Signature Source team has been working with companies to fill executive-level positions for over 17 years. We’d love to discuss your career goals and see if we’re a good fit to work with each other. Reach out and contact our team here: Contact Signature Source Executive Recruiters

The New Office Definition in 2023

New office 2023

In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic sent nearly 19 million American employees home to work remotely (a new office), permanently changing the national professional landscape. In an effectively post-pandemic world, American companies are discovering the new normal and deciding what should stay and what must go. Dr. Ina Purvanova—chair of the Department of Management and Organizational Leadership at Drake University—has been researching how businesses navigate these questions. On the All Things Work podcast from the Society for Human Resource Management, on the All Things Work podcast from the Society for Human Resource Management, she shared her findings.

Dr. Purvanova’s first takeaway is that employees’ heightened expectations of flexibility in the workplace are likely to stay, and she lays out four reasons. First, the data shows that remote work and telecommuting have not been detrimental to the productivity, performance, team cohesion, or employee job satisfaction experienced by businesses. This trend held true even in data collected on these practices before the pandemic.

Second, even before the pandemic, the American workforce reported much higher levels of burnout than many other countries. However, these same employees were forced to work from home during the pandemic; they often discovered that this new work modality helped relieve these feelings of burnout and was better for their well-being and mental health.

Third, working from home allows people to put their families first in a way that American society often purports to do but fails to live up to. During this period, people were for once able to see their spouses who were also stuck working from home, and they were able to care for and entertain their children while staying home from school and daycare. As a result, Dr. Purvanova explains, “A lot of people realized that to a degree, we perhaps collectively as a society have been living some sort of a lie, telling ourselves that family comes first, but working, working, working until we drop.”

Finally, employees want the flexibility to stay—even if they prefer to work a nine-to-five office job as they did before the pandemic. Employees are placing a premium on autonomy and the ability to make decisions based on their needs and desires. Therefore, even people who prefer a traditional work environment like having the option to choose for themselves. As Dr. Purvanova puts it, “This opportunity to self-determine how I work, when I work, where I work, how I integrate my personal life into my work life, my family life into my work life—that sense of freedom that this new work modality gives us is extremely, extremely powerful.”

The Negatives of the New Office

There are valid reasons to feel something is lost in the shift to remote or hybrid work. While team cohesion has not suffered, employees and executives report feeling more disconnected from the organization. The expert added that employees new to the company are negatively impacted as they struggle to integrate into the organization, and their direct supervisors fail to meet their needs and show them the ropes. So, while other popular reasons for reluctance around remote work—such as an unwillingness to change, mistrust of employees’ ability to be productive, or a belief that innovation is impossible virtually—are unsupported, some reasons are indeed caused for concern.

Employers must set clear expectations for employees and their teams to manage these contradictory forces. Per Dr. Purvanova’s conversations, most employees are unwilling to give up some of the freedoms they experienced during the pandemic for the company’s greater good. Additionally, many find that a free-for-all organizational structure is counterproductive; when every employee can make any decision they want with no expectations set for how to accommodate the group, coordinating and working together becomes an uphill battle.

Employers who set reasonable limits on employee decisions (such as by specifying certain in-office days so that teams can collaborate more efficiently or by guiding employees to respond to teammates’ requests to come into the office respectfully and accommodatingly) are likely to find more success in navigating this transition to the new status quo.

How to Build the New Status Quo

Part of building this new status quo is creating a culture that the employees buy into and that culture emerges through employee autonomy. While many leaders believe that giving employees too much freedom establishes a culture of individuality which leads employees not to feel connected to their organization, the truth is that building a culture around respect for the employees’ needs allows employees to feel ownership of the culture. In addition, making sure that people feel heard and like they have the agency to help build the culture instead of just signing onto it creates resilience and buy-in within the organization.

Considering all of these factors is tricky and means that the question of what the new office will look like in 2023 is still in flux, and every company is finding its answer. If you want help finding the right cultural fit, don’t worry—Signature Source is here to help! With a combined experience of over 60 years in the industry, our expert team of relocation industry veterans ensures an unparalleled advantage in pairing the right talent with the right job at the right company. Search through the list of openings we are recruiting for on behalf of our clients to find your new career path, or contact us directly if you want to know more.
We look forward to hearing from you!