talk about bad timing

well I have to put in my two weeks tomorrow morning....

My boss called me over the weekend and stated that he has to go out of town because his father is about to pass away.

I work on a very small team (3 people, one of which is still very green and only been with us for 1 month) and I am very close to my boss. I am handling all the meetings and important stuff ( he will be out all week). I will have to go to his boss and put my notice in...

I just don't know if I should even tell my current boss till he gets back. I feel like a low life scum bag for doing this to him while he is dealing with very serious family issues...

But I can't pass this opportunity up.

If anyone has any advice on how to deal with this kind of a situation please let me know.

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Comments

Mishra

Be as honest to him as possible. You can't predict how he is going to take it but just expect the worst. I don't think there is any perfect scenario for this, you are just going to have to grin and bear it.

nel

Mishra wrote:

Be as honest to him as possible. You can't predict how he is going to take it but just expect the worst. I don't think there is any perfect scenario for this, you are just going to have to grin and bear it.

+1.

I know it is a hard time for him and you dont want to make it any harder but i would inform him that you are going to put your notice in so it doesnt come out the blue for him. reassure him that you will do everything you can until you leave to help him as much as possible maybe show the new guy as much stuff as possible to try and bring him up to speed quicker?

It sounds like your already handling alot doing his meetings etc, so keep it up, he will appreciate it.

hetty

Ring your boss first if possible saying you're about to hand in your notice to his boss. Apologise for the timing but these things cant be helped, you've got something lined up and you need to need to make the move now. No need to beat yourself up about it, its just business, if you are friends you probably still will be after all this.

You know what they say about bad news, it comes in 3s.

liven

ya it just stinks to kick a guy when he is down.

My boss is leaning on me hard for the last few months because we have been very busy. I work my tail off for the guy, but he totally takes care of me.

This is the first time I have changed jobs and felt kinda sad about it. I really love this job, but the new job is just a rare opportunity.

The thing is I don't want to call my current boss while he is greving the loss of a family member and say "by the way I am quiting".

Thanks for the support guys. I will do what i have to do, it is just a bummer....

ROMGabe

I would call the HR department first, so at least you have your two weeks notice started.

Then call the boss to offer moral support for what he's going thru and also give him an update on work situation.

Then call again in a couple of days to tell him you have something important to tell him BUT let him decide if he wants to hear this now or when he comes back.

Just my 2 cents.

Good luck in your future career plans.

hetty

ROMGabe thats a really bad way to go about business IMO.

Tyrant1919

Yeah, that's like being nice and buddy buddy with him for a few days right before you tell him you're quiting. I'd prefer knowing the truth straight up as a boss.

dynamik

Is there any chance you could continue to help him out on nights or weekends?

I'd put in a little extra effort and help him out for a bit if the situation allowed.

liven

The down side is my current job is on an air force base hours from where I live. So if i need to do anything (doctor, dentist etc....) I have to take the entire day off. So coming out to help him is something I would do, but very impractical.

We are very good friends, since I have worked here we have traveled together four times, and done MANY projects together.

I am sure he will ultimately understand, he realizes I have to drive for hours to work here and it is starting to become very impractical. Especially when there are many good jobs closer to my home.

The only real issue is timing. But I guess that is just the way life goes.

Once again thanks for the support guys!

dynamik

You could always put things in perspective for him. A guy was let go from here the same week he totaled his car and his father passed away. Things could always be worse.

liven

Crazy morning....

Well, I just put in my notice.

I had to go to my bosses boss, who is one h3ll of a guy. I will truly miss working with this team.

He asked me if there would be anything to keep me to stay.

I was honest and told him that it has nothing to do with job or place, just the offer that I was given was WAY to good to pass up.

I gave him some of the specifics and he stated he was going to contact some other departments here to see if they can promote me to get me to stay.

Anyway at least the hard part is over.

hetty

Good luck with the new job!

liven

Just an update for those who care.

My bosses boss, has been working hard to get me to stay. They are making a REALLY nice offer but just doesn't compare to the new job offer. Only down side is the new job is just administration of linux/unix. The job they want me to stay for is network admin and unix admin. But you gotta do what you gotta do.

And hopefully this is inspiration for others. A little over 8 years ago I started in this industry, and was not making much over min wage. Now I will be able to provide for my family and then some. It has been a steady uphill climb, but it is really starting to pay off. Sure it didn't take 8 years to get into a good enough place where I could afford food and stuff like that. But it sure wasn't like everyone told me it was going to be before the bubble burst.

So for everyone out there that is trying to break in or just been in for a few years HANG IN THERE.

My first 3 years I was laid off 2 times, and struggle financially. THen it slowly got better, but it never stopped getting better. Its kind of like the stock market you have to be in it for the long haul.

blargoe

What is so great about the new offer, if it's not really the kind of work you want to do? Is the fact that it's closer to home?

liven

blargoe wrote:

What is so great about the new offer, if it's not really the kind of work you want to do? Is the fact that it's closer to home?

Offer I am taking: bigger pay increase than the offer to stay at my current company.

Current company, longer drive, more technical (networking, and administration).

Job I am taking. Very short drive, a lot more money, just system admin (but for a massive company).

So its a trade off, but not a hard decision to make.

blargoe

Sounds like the right move