Everything You Need To Know About Surviving Your Notice Period
Once you have decided that it’s time to leave your current job and move onto pastures new, you will need to serve your notice. More often than not, this just involves you sending or emailing a letter to your company’s HR department. Once they have accepted and acknowledged it, you will then need to serve your notice period before you can leave. This notice period will have been decided by you and your boss before you signed your contract. It is usually between two and four weeks.
So, now what? What exactly does it mean to work through your notice period? Well, you won’t be able to relax too much as you will still be expected to work and take care of your usual responsibilities and duties. For some people, your notice period is a chance to say goodbye to all your beloved coworkers. For others, it could feel like a complete waste of time, and you might end up counting down the days until you can leave. No matter how you feel about it, here are some tips that can help you survive your notice period.
Use Up Your Remaining Holidays
If you have any vacation days that you haven’t taken, you should be able to use them during your notice period. Most people like to use them at the end of their notice so that they don’t have to work the full period. However, not every company lets their workers do this, so you will need to double check with HR to see if this is something you are allowed to do. You might be lucky and might find that you have the same number of vacation days as your notice period – and then you won’t have to work any of it at all!
Think About Your Transition To Your New Job
If you already have a new job lined up, it’s a good idea to start and think about the transition. If you are completely changing the course of your career, you may benefit from talking to a company that offers career transition services as these can help you with things like training and coaching. You might also be required to visit your new company at some point for meetings and to sign documents and contracts. If this is the case, ensure that you can take the time off from your current job during your notice period. As your current boss will probably expect you to be moving onto a different company, he or she will probably be quite relaxed about you taking time off for this.
Start The Job Hunt
There might be some situations in which you hand in your notice without having a new job lined up. If this is your current situation, it’s a good idea to start your job hunt during your notice period. That way, you can hit the ground running once you do finish work. The best way to do this is to chat with your coworkers and managers to see if they have any contacts who might be able to offer you a job. Alternatively, they might be able to tell you of some great networking events that are useful for job hunters. It’s also helpful to ask your manager and coworkers to leave you recommendations on your LinkedIn page so that you are as attractive to recruiters as possible.
Offer To Train Your Replacement
If your company have already hired a new employee to take your place, you should spend your notice period training them for the job. You might appreciate this if you aren’t so pleased about being made to work during your notice period. After all, all the training will take up most of your time, so you might not be able to carry out your usual responsibilities. As well as training your replacement for your particular position, you might also have to show them the ropes of working in the company as a whole. This could include some on-board training and introductions with senior management.
Ask For References
Once you enter your notice period, you should ask your managers, supervisors, and the HR department to write some references for you. This is a good move even if you have already got a job to move onto, as you can keep these references in your personal file. The HR Department will be able to give you a very general reference, while those who have worked closer with you will be able to write a more detailed and personal reference letter for you.
Get All Your Documents And Finances Sorted
You will need to get a few documents signed before you leave your job. One of these is a clearance certificate. This is important as it shows that you are up to date with all the taxes from the job. You should also work together with the HR department to calculate any leftover salary that still needs to be paid to you. If you also have some outstanding tax payments, you can organize payment through your HR department. You should also get a termination of your contract before your final day in the office.
Say Your Goodbyes
You will no doubt be sad to say goodbye to some of your colleagues (if not all of them)! So, it’s important that you take the time to say goodbye to everyone during your final few weeks at work. You might even want to organize a leaving party for yourself. Sometimes, companies organize these for their workers, so it’s a good idea to check whether or not one is being planned for you. If you don’t want too much fuss, you can always just arrange to meet a few of your colleagues and friends in a bar after work on your final day.
Whether you are sad or happy to be leaving your job, these tips should help you make your notice period as productive as possible. Once it begins, you can start to get excited about your future with your new company!
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