Resigning from one's job is always a dramatic and life-changing decision. Of course, it is, compared to being fired. Whatever your reasons are, resigning from your job can either turn you into a hero for your co-workers (oh, how i envy him, he's gotten to his senses and is leaving this wretched system) or a villain (remember that guy who smells of milk, well, he's left already.) How you exit your old job affects in part how you walk into your new one.

Believe it or not: You can leave that worthless job of yours gracefully. Here's how.

Make sure you have a new job. Unless you really want to take a break from the rat race of the workplace for a while. If you want your financial life to go on smoothly as possible, it makes sense to have a new job guaranteed even before you actually submit your resignation letter. Otherwise, you might find yourself counting days and weeks before you secure a new job. And hey, for your sake, make sure your next job is way better than the one you're leaving.

Hand in your resignation letter. You can choose to do it the brief and concise way, stating your wish to resign from the company and its date of effectivity. Ideally, you should keep your reason/s for leaving to yourself. Of course, your company would expect you to render at least two more weeks of work before you actually flee the scene, so be kind and grant them that. Or just be kind, period. After all, you might be needing (and most probably you will) to ask for reference from your supervisor.

Leave your forwarding addresses and contact infos. This includes e-mails and even blog sites. Resigning from your job doesn't mean forever severing your ties from the company and your co-workers. It's a small world, and time will come that you'll need to coordinate with them, or just exchange simple Hi's for old time's sake.

Make peace. This is assuming you're leaving a particularly nasty co-worker who never misses a beat in putting you down. Make peace with them. You can even play the saint part and say, I forgive you, and then walk away as the bigger person. Also, during your last few days at the office, be professional; don't brag about how you're finally getting rid of the company out of your system or about your new astounding salary in your next job, etc, etc, or you'll risk having your co-workers resent you. Remember you might be needing character reference from them too. And hey, it's just plain nice to be remembered by your co-workers in good faith.

Inquire about unused sick and vacation leaves. If you've got unused sick and/or vacation leaves, discuss them with your HR Dept, in case they can be redeemed in cash/check form. Otherwise, if you're a consistently-present worker during your time in the office and you got two or more sick leaves up your sleeve, don't be tempted to use them during your 15- or 30-day grace period. Your last two weeks or so isn't excuse for you to just laze about in your work; rather it's all the more reason for you to be professional about your work.

Or for sheer dramatic impact, on your last day of work, follow it up with a phone call. But for a change, don't call in sick at the office. Call in well instead. Because now you've gotten to your senses and now you're well, which is exactly what prompted you to leave your job in the first place. Hurray!

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