How to keep on Good Terms with your former Boss
Leaving a job is the beginning of a new chapter in your life. Sometimes, the chapter is not one that you would have written yourself, especially if you were fired or laid off from a job that you love. Leaving a job can be a bittersweet experience too, especially if you are leaving voluntarily because you want to work somewhere else but you still have fond feelings toward your old workplace and boss. Even if you were asked to leave your job against your will, it can be very important for your career that you try to stay on good terms with your old boss. Your old boss might someday choose to hire you again in the future, and if not, your boss’ positive recommendation of your work can help you to quickly secure another job.
If you want to be on good terms with your old boss long after you had left your job, it is best to still think like you are an employee of the company and refrain from showing disloyalty. Many employers ask their workers to sign confidentially agreements stating that the employees will not reveal company secrets and practices to outsiders. Resist the urge to share confidential information about your former company, even amongst your close family members and friends. If you were to share confidential information about the company with people close to you and your former employer were to find out, your employer could try to blacklist you from your industry, preventing you from being hired in your field.
Being discreet about negative feelings you have towards your former workplace will make you look trustworthy in the eyes of your former boss. Nobody likes dealing with someone who complains too much, especially when they complain about their job. Where you choose to work is completely within your control. You are not forced to do what you do, and if you don’t like your job it is within your control to change the situation by leaving your place of employment as quietly and respectfully as when you first started there. Your old boss will not want to keep in touch with you if it becomes known in your mutual social and work circles that you are badmouthing the company you used to work for. Resist any urges you have to express your negative feelings on yoursocial mediaaccounts. Your future employers will think twice about hiring you if they find evidence on the Internet that you are trashing your former workplace. Badmouthing your former workplace makes you look unprofessional.
Show your former boss that you still think about him or her even though you are no longer at the company, and send greeting cards at birthdays and holidays. Mail physical greeting cards to your former place of work in acknowledgement of your former boss’ birthday, Christmas, Easter, New Year’s or whichever holidays that you know he or she celebrates. Keep up with what’s happening at the business and send an email to your former boss in acknowledgement of your former company’s milestones. Wish the company well at any time that you can. Invite your former boss to your own special celebrations that he or she had attended before you left your job such as your birthday party or New Year’s Eve party.
LinkedInis a social networking website for professional people who want to connect with other professionals. Ask your former boss if you two can connect on LinkedIn. You can list your professional credentials on LinkedIn and also ask for written testimonials and recommendations from people who you used to work with, including your former boss. Don’t tell your co-workers about your plans to leave before you tell your boss. When you feel it is time to submit your resignation letter, your boss should be the first person to know that you plan to leave the company. Aim to give at least two weeks’ notice that you are leaving the company in search of other opportunities. Your boss will appreciate your consideration of the company as you move on towards different career opportunities.
