[PsychoSlug]

I'm lucky enough to have been offered an outstanding opportunity in an area of the country that I have been dreaming of moving to my entire adult life. Up until this offer, I figured it would be a retirement destination for me and my wife. I've already accepted the offer, which includes relocation. The caveat is that the gig doesn't start until Spring (June'ish) of 2015. I won't go into the reasons, but there are several good ones. We'll be listing the house after the first of the year, have already been looking at homes in the new area, and my wife has given her resignation notice and her replacement is starting in a couple of weeks. She is in a unique situation, so we weren't worried about her being dumped after two weeks, plus she'll be training her replacement until about April 1st.

As of now, my plan is to give notice to my employer in early January, with a target last day of mid-April. I hold a corporate director position, so the standard two week notice would be irresponsible, even though I have no contract obligation. If they dump me in March, we can swing the extra month without pay, but would rather not. I'm apprehensive of providing notice too early, but the thought of keeping quiet an extra couple of months is brutal. Does anyone have experience giving a long notice that they could share?

[ddk632]

2 weeks.

Anything beyond that and you will not make it to June 2015. Which is summer, not spring.

[PsychoSlug]

Thanks for the input, but I'm looking for experiences, not opinions. Others at my level have given 4 - 8 weeks with no issue. My current plan would be more like 14 weeks. It is common for SVP's (one level up in the org chart) to give up to 6 months.

Summer doesn't begin until June 21, 2015. That is an indisputable fact.

[SCHMOUPE]

Originally Posted by dpratt34

I'm lucky enough to have been offered an outstanding opportunity in an area of the country that I have been dreaming of moving to my entire adult life. Up until this offer, I figured it would be a retirement destination for me and my wife. I've already accepted the offer, which includes relocation. The caveat is that the gig doesn't start until Spring (June'ish) of 2015. I won't go into the reasons, but there are several good ones. We'll be listing the house after the first of the year, have already been looking at homes in the new area, and my wife has given her resignation notice and her replacement is starting in a couple of weeks. She is in a unique situation, so we weren't worried about her being dumped after two weeks, plus she'll be training her replacement until about April 1st.

As of now, my plan is to give notice to my employer in early January, with a target last day of mid-April. I hold a corporate director position, so the standard two week notice would be irresponsible, even though I have no contract obligation. If they dump me in March, we can swing the extra month without pay, but would rather not. I'm apprehensive of providing notice too early, but the thought of keeping quiet an extra couple of months is brutal. Does anyone have experience giving a long notice that they could share?

Anything beyond 2 weeks, you're putting yourself out there to get taken advantage of! This is corporate America where employment is at will. What if your boss takes it personally and cans you when he finds out 2-3 months before your new gig!? You will be lucky enough to get the unemployment started but at a fraction of your current pay.
I have been lucky enough to have worked at some of the big corporations out there and 2 weeks is pretty standard regardless of title.

[bimmette]

Yes, at a high level, 3 months would be respectable. You also don't want to risk your employer finding out from somewhere else. Assuming you have a good relationship with your company, they should take advantage of that long notice period and possibly have you involved in the succession planning. Yeah, you risk being let go early, but then a good company would pay you out.

[2011CrazE89]

My current CFO gave 3 months notice. Right now we have two CFO's until December when he is completely phased out.

[ddk632]

Thanks for clearing up when summer begins, I appreciate it. I thought I referred to summer being in June, but you corrected me, stating it was in June. Sorry for the error.

[Bobble]

Is the move to a company in the same industry?

Since you are not an officer or contractually bound 2 months+ would be appropriate. I report to an SVP and previous one even though on contract gave 2 months and they were fine but they did phase the position out and collapse the organization. If the move is the same industry for obvious reasons you could add to that notice. Just me but I would present the notice in writing and ask that it be included in your personnel file should they cut you loose early. At least then you have some ammo to get the pay for the lapse of time. Good luck.

[PsychoSlug]

Originally Posted by Bobble

Is the move to a company in the same industry?

No, it is a completely unrelated industry. Since I have a great relationship with my boss, and she already knows I love the area I'm relocating to since I vacation there all the time, I know she'll understand. I think a longer notice would be appreciated.

[PsychoSlug]

Originally Posted by 2011CrazE89

My current CFO gave 3 months notice. Right now we have two CFO's until December when he is completely phased out.

Thanks for sharing. That supports my decision.

Plus, my current employer historically takes several months to fill this type of position. The last one took almost 5 months.

[davis449]

IDC what others at your company have done and whether or not they've been successful in doing so. I echo, firmly, what many in here have said. Your wife (special circumstances or not) has already made a mistake by submitting notice this early. I hope she makes it till Apr. 1st at her job. Two weeks notice, man. That's it. No more, no less. You NEVER quit or state your intention to quit a job before you're damn sure you have another. IDC what promises this new company made you nor do I care if you have a signed offer letter (only exception being a secure way employment contract law works in the state you intend to move to that would allow you recourse if it falls through), you wait until the very end of the third to last week and check with your prospective new employer to ensure everything is ready to rock and then give your two weeks notice. I realize you need time to move and stuff. Fine. At your level you should have shit tons of vacation. So you schedule that shit for the month before you start that new job and use it as relocation time. ALWAYS cover your ass because your company will ALWAYS cover theirs...bet your life on that.

My recent experience, I left a job I HATED in July this year. I had a full month to plan my exit. However, my employment with my current company (in the signed offer letter) was contingent upon drug test and background checks. Did I have anything to worry about there? Nope. That said, no matter how much time I had between the time of acceptance and my start date, I waited until all that paperwork was confirmed clear before giving any type of notice. Couldn't help the fact that their HR is full of bureaucracy and slow. Well, guess what? Due to the July 4th holiday and all of the vacation time people are given at this company, I ended up unable to contact and confirm anything until three days before I needed to quit. You guessed it, my former company got a "Too fucking bad" and three days notice. I worked hard till the day I quit and burned no valuable bridges before leaving. When I explained to the CTO the circumstances he totally understood why I did what I had to do. I would do it again even with a company I was fond of. I wanted very badly to do the professional thing in that situation and give two weeks, but I just couldn't. My assurance of employment and financial security trumps any company's desire for notice of departure and "professionalism". All other previous times I've left a job was with two weeks notice, all paperwork confirmed, and ALWAYS with a signed resignation letter.

[Whostheboss]

For your situation (based on your job title and how long you said it takes your current employer to hire someone) I will say give a 3months notice!

[m3ray]

I am in the process of resigning now. I am director level as well. Two weeks is all you need. Communicate that to them at the latest possible date. This is business, they will understand.

[m3ray]

Originally Posted by davis449

ALWAYS with a signed resignation letter.

An email is all you need.

[upstatedoc]

Originally Posted by PsychoSlug

the standard two week notice would be irresponsible, even though I have no contract obligation.

2 weeks would be unprofessional but 3 mos would put you out on a limb. 1 month or even 6 weeks protects you and doesn't make you seem like a douche to your current employer.

[Joekerr]

I'm curious what types of jobs these individuals stating that 2 weeks notice is fine have...

For your level (and FYI, I was similar to your position, but in a Big 5 accounting firm), I would provide *at least* one month notice. At least. And probably, it would be more like 1.5 months. Admittedly, 3 months may be exposing you unduly, so I would cap it at 2 months if you really wanted to extend.

How much severance would you be owed if they let you go? If greater than 2 months, then feel free to give notice up to that amount, because they couldn't let you go without paying you out anyways, so there is no exposure in that case.

Be decent about it - its a small world. And I like to provide as much notice in a corporate setting as I can, while still looking out for myself in a reasonable manner.

[davis449]

Yes, at a high level, 3 months would be respectable. You also don't want to risk your employer finding out from somewhere else. Assuming you have a good relationship with your company, they should take advantage of that long notice period and possibly have you involved in the succession planning. Yeah, you risk being let go early, but then a good company would pay you out.

Exactly, and that's why you keep your fucking mouth shut.

Originally Posted by m3ray

An email is all you need.

I sent the last one as a scanned PDF.

My boss was based in another city.

I'm curious what types of jobs these individuals stating that 2 weeks notice is fine have...

For your level (and FYI, I was similar to your position, but in a Big 5 accounting firm), I would provide *at least* one month notice. At least. And probably, it would be more like 1.5 months. Admittedly, 3 months may be exposing you unduly, so I would cap it at 2 months if you really wanted to extend.

I am curious exactly where you and the rest that hold your same\similar opinion get off declaring it's "unprofessional" for a "Director" or "someone of 'that' level" to give less than three weeks to a month's notice. This is business and two weeks is the standard across the board. For the record, I have seen VP's, SVP's, etc. give two weeks notice and continue on with their references and fine careers. Officer of the company is the only position where I might see it as a bad move, but even then...

Employers these days don't pay that courtesy to their employees for fuck's sake. I've seen this level people laid off\let go\etc with a week's notice or less before. This notion of 1 month's notice is just ridiculous. Two weeks is more than enough courtesy to let a company know they need to get their ass in gear and find a replacement. "Professionalism" is a two way street. What year do you live in? 1965?

If you really think that's unprofessional and are taken so far aback by a two weeks notice from any position, I'd be willing to bet you're the type or senior level person that people up and leave you and not necessarily the company to pursue better opportunities. Ever heard the expression "Employees leave bosses, not the company"?

How much severance would you be owed if they let you go? If greater than 2 months, then feel free to give notice up to that amount, because they couldn't let you go without paying you out anyways, so there is no exposure in that case.

How do you know they couldn't let him go without paying him out? Do you know he has a contract that specifies a severance package? Do you know what the specific terms of said contract are if it even exists? You make quite a lot of assumptions here.

Be decent about it - its a small world. And I like to provide as much notice in a corporate setting as I can, while still looking out for myself in a reasonable manner.

Sounds to me like you like to set yourself up to get fucked more than anything. Who says you can't "be decent about it" by handing in (in person) a letter of resignation two weeks to your quit date?

[m3ray]

Originally Posted by Joekerr

I'm curious what types of jobs these individuals stating that 2 weeks notice is fine have...

For your level (and FYI, I was similar to your position, but in a Big 5 accounting firm), I would provide *at least* one month notice. At least. And probably, it would be more like 1.5 months. Admittedly, 3 months may be exposing you unduly, so I would cap it at 2 months if you really wanted to extend.

How much severance would you be owed if they let you go? If greater than 2 months, then feel free to give notice up to that amount, because they couldn't let you go without paying you out anyways, so there is no exposure in that case.

Be decent about it - its a small world. And I like to provide as much notice in a corporate setting as I can, while still looking out for myself in a reasonable manner.

I worked for Big 4 accounting as a Senior Mgr. (FYI, it has not been Big 5 since Anderson imploded) ...gave 2 weeks notice

Now working as a Director for a financial consulting firm..also will give 2 weeks notice.

If you can give more notice than great, but it is not unprofessional in the least to give a standard 2 weeks. There are very few positions where a company is not able to transition the role/duties to another within a fairly short time. And if they can't, so be it. This is business and you have to look out for number 1.

[Maestro]

Absolutely do not give notice until the very last minute.

You may think it is a sure thing and I will tell you I have been involved hiring someone and we had to clear a number of hurdle before we could actually start the person. It was going to be 6 or so weeks. About half way through I was told by management I could not bring the person on board. I then had to let the person know the position was gone and they would not be hired (They had a sign letter of acceptance as well, the company gave the person $ to go away nicely). I would have felt terrible if I did not tell the person not to quit his job until the very last minute until we are sure about everything. He listen to me and had not put his notice in.

I have seen this happen before and thus the reason for telling the person to wait.

Also I would not sell your house until you're working at the place, if your wife does not need to move right away and can stay with the house this is better, and see if you can get temporary housing for a while. Trust me I have seen people's lives get screwed up because of making big moves like this and things not quite working out. You current boss will understand if you on good terms, I never burned any bridges when I left.

I have give notice a couple of time and each time I gave 2 weeks and took the last week as vacation, I not interested in doing lots of busy work and training my replacement. Companies only look out for you when it is in their best interest so you need to look out for yourself since it is only in your best interest.

[Maestro]

Originally Posted by 2011CrazE89

My current CFO gave 3 months notice. Right now we have two CFO's until December when he is completely phased out.

Not a good example exec position are usually under contract and require long transitions like this. Most people are employees at will as such they can terminate today with no notice. Most give two weeks notice to protect them from you coming back at them. They exchange two weeks for you to just go away quietly.

[NEFARIOUS]

For your situation, I'd say 1 month max... If you're hanging around too long, even the people you think that you can trust will ditch you, plus lots of employers do have the mentality of "if I get rid of this person, there's 3 lining up to take his position" or even "why the hell is this guy still leeching around if he got something else lined up?"... But of course, if they let go of you before the transition, then you'd either have to find another job to survive in the meantime, or survive off of your savings or what little amounts the state will give you until you transition there, and even then sometimes it's not a done deal... The other company could also easily hire someone else as well and you'd be in an interesting pickle, which I have experienced before but luckily I found a lower-paying, but immediate hire job in the area, otherwise I would have moved to that area for naught.

So in reality, sentiments aside, it's water off a duck's back unless you're, for the sake of example, as valuable as Kim Peek (below). But average job is about 2 weeks, or the day of with a bridge-burning nasty letter if you really hated that job

[NY10]

I work on Wall Street in a big financial company not the same exact as you but still high up. I would go with 6-8 weeks. When I left my last job last March I gave 3 months notice and they ended up letting me go out of the blue on a Monday afternoon with some BS story when I was supposed to continue working until the end of June.