ALT-3 Deciding whether to Give two Weeks Notice or not
It's not smart to burn your bridges behind you even if you don't expect to ever work for the company again. Good reviews from your former employer could mean the difference between getting another job or not. If you already have a new job waiting for you, it still isn't smart to antagonize your former boss. You may still need that recommendation down the line.
I have always given two weeks notice, and sometimes longer, when leaving a job. It marks you as a thoughtful and responsible person. Your reputation may follow you whether you like it or not. I left an insurance company job in order to become the assistant manager at a halfway house for mentally ill adults. I had never worked with the population before. The house had 13 residents and included mostly schizophrenics, a brain damaged male, a manic-depressive, a slightly retarded alcoholic, and other interesting people.
I had hoped to have a little time off before starting my new job but they actually wanted me to start before my two weeks at my former company were over. I could have just blown off my old job, but instead I worked at both jobs for more than a week. I would go to work at the insurance company during the day and then come "home" to work at the house, where I also now lived. I was in charge of the house overnight. It was a bit stressful and tiring, but the halfway house folded in three months and I was out of work. Had I messed up with my former company, I would have made it impossible to go back. I didn't go back. I was unemployed for a short time and then got another job as a counselor at a different halfway house. Of course now I was an expert, having three months under my belt.
If at all possible, give two weeks notice (or more if it is required). It's the best thing for you to do for yourself in the long run.
