Since I recently told my boss I was ready to move on, I was thinking of the importance of doing it the right way to increase your chances of making it a good experience. While there may be some debate whether you should tell your boss at all, I think you should if at all possible. The reason is that you may not really want to leave the company that you’re currently working at, just the department you’re in. While it may be hard to find a manager that will assist you in leaving their department, you might be surprised. It’s really mutually beneficial in a lot of ways since helping you leave will allow you to be happy someplace else, and hopefully allow your manager to bring someone in who wants to be there. The key is being up front with your boss and doing it in a way that is professional. Here are some tips for making it go as smooth as possible.
Don’t be overly negative
The first thing you need to remember is to not be overly negative when discussing your frustrations. It’s easy to start venting about all the things you hate about your job once you’ve reached the point you want to leave. But if all you do is complain, it will make you look like a problem employee. Don’t come off as a person that hates everything, try to come off as a person that is ready for a new challenge to progress in their career.
Be grateful
Another important part of your discussion with your boss is making sure you talk about how grateful you are for the time you’ve spent at your current position. The key is to not come off has an ungrateful employee, because nobody wants to help one of those. Talk about how you’ve learned a lot, and how you think the position helped you grow in your career, but that you’re ready to take the next step.
Focus on your ultimate career goals
Our career paths are filled with change. No one would expect you to work at a job forever, even your boss. If you’ve been at your current position for at least two years, it’s totally feasible that you could be ready for a change. After a couple years your ability to bring refreshing ideas to a position declines at a sharp rate. The comfort level and familiarity with the position can become a hindrance in being able to come up with creative solutions to the problems of your position. Focus on how you’re looking to moving towards the next challenge in your career, and how your experience in your current position has helped you get to this point.
Talk about things you could have done better
Nobody is without flaws, so when you talk to your boss about your feelings about your current position make sure to mention that there are lessons that you’ve learned in the process as well. There are things that we could all do better or could have done better to improve our situation. Those are the type of traits that show professionalism in an employee. If you are able to analyze yourself critically and see your own flaws, you separate yourself from most of the other employees out there.
Show how it’s beneficial for both of you
Lastly, you want to emphasize that it’s not just about you. Sure, you’re the one that wants to move on and do something different, and getting your boss to help you would be a big boost. But being able to move on is also beneficial to your boss since having a disgruntled employee can potentially bring the rest of the team down. Managers want employees that are engaged and excited about what they’re doing. While they might miss your experience, it’s a part of the natural work cycle that most managers should be used to and prepared for.
The key to making your talk with your boss a good one is your attitude about the situation. Be as professional about it as you possibly can and just let them know that you’re ready to do something else. Work with them as much as possible to ensure that you have a successor properly trained, or at the very least provide some way of mitigating their risk once you leave. Keep a positive attitude about it and you’ll increase your chances of finding an ally in your current manager, which might be the key to getting you where you want to go.
