-
Suggestions On How To Exit A Job …
November 30, 2021
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
There's a lot of coming and going in radio. Although I'm not sure how I feel about being the guy who knows how to leave the building, my radio career has given me insight on how to exit, voluntarily or non-voluntarily.
Voluntarily...
- Before giving notice, make a copy of any non-proprietary information you might have stored on the company computer.
- Quietly remove all items you wish to keep (loading a box will get stares and start rumors).
- Air Talent: make a list of any monies you're owed from personal appearances or endorsements (Ad agencies are slow on station payment and talent fees are included with whatever the company is owed.)
- Sit down with your immediate supervisor and give your 2-week notice.
- Coordinate a goodbye inner-office memo with management to the staff. (Email is too impersonal.)
- Remain gracious right through and after your departure day.
- Check on any leftover vacation time which can be converted to cash.
- If there is an employee stock plan, 401K, a stock portfolio of any sort, bonuses owed, and health/dental insurance --make sure to get with HR or the Business Manager for a smooth transition to your new place of employment.
- Be prepared to be dismissed immediately once you give notice (and don't take it personally, it is a business decision).
Non-Voluntary (Fired, Laid off, Position Eliminated) …
- Immediately attempt to make copies of non-proprietary files you need. (Make it a regular habit during employment.)
- Air Talent: before signing off on anything, make a list of any monies owed to you from personal appearances, endorsements, and vacation days transferable to cash. (Ad agencies are slow on station payment and talent fees are included with whatever the company is owed.)
- If there is an employee stock plan, 401K, a stock portfolio of any sort, bonuses owed, and health/dental insurance --make sure to get with HR or the Business Manager to understand your plan of action
- Go to the unemployment office and file the very next business day that you can.
- Prepare a statement and send it to ALL ACCESS along with a picture to the editor of the format you are in or NET NEWS. In your statement thank the people you just worked with and provide the ways you can be contacted. It will be a news item and you will get calls, emails, or maybe even a new job.
- Don’t bad mouth your now previous employer. Depending on the circumstances the same company might hire you in the future elsewhere -I’ve seen it happen.
Banking ...
If your move is to another city, state, or country, unless your funds are in a national financial institution (i.e., Bank of America, Wells Fargo) --do not tell a local bank you're leaving the area. If you say something, the money in your account will be frozen until an entire banking cycle has passed, and all checks have cleared.Take It Down …
I suggest removing any social media pictures or statements you’ve posted that are not the image you want to project. And yes, in a perfect world your personal social media would be viewed as separate from business. But it's not a perfect world. It’s reality regardless of how unfair it might seem. Don’t leave anything on social media or in a cloud that could be used an excuse not to hire you. These days you can never be too careful.Exit Strategy Folder ...
Moving on or being fired is a part of radio as it is in any other businesses. Be proactive the day you get hired and start keeping a file folder on a non-company computer. Update it during your tenure so it’s always up to date. Don’t leave important emails and phone numbers only in work related emails, excel sheets, or file folders. This is not paranoia, just a “best practices” suggestion. Make an appointment with yourself to update your exit folder. We all say that while on vacation or over the holidays, we’ll get this or that done. That idea sounds good but never works for most of us. If you plan far enough in advance for the possibility that your employment status might eventually change, you won’t have to scramble looking for things --especially if your exit is not voluntary. -
-