Mentioned the company I'll change to - What's the risk and how to manage?

Question

I'll be starting a new job this fall and resigned from my current position yesterday. I didn't plan to name the exact company I'll be working for, but let it slip.

Some facts:

• I'm not changing to a competitor & I'll be changing industry fields (within the broad envelope of environmental engineering)
• as far as I can tell allready, the split from my current company is friendly
• I don't think that anyone from my current company has buddies within the new, but I could be wrong
• I gave a longer notice period then strictly neccessary (8 weeks instead of 4)
• I only resigned after having my new contract

So, at first glance I don't think much bad will happen because of that slip. On the other hand, others (with a decade or two professional experience more than me) made a very similar move before and were careful to not mention the specific company they'll work for. I assume they know something I don't.

What risks did I expose myself to by mentioning my new employer? What should I look out for in the coming weeks? How can I mitigate these risks, if at all?

Answer 1

What risks did I expose myself to by mentioning my new employer?

Unless your new employer specifically told you not to mention their name, I see no risk at all.

What should I look out for in the coming weeks? How can I mitigate these risks, if at all?

Look for ways to make the transition as easy as you can for your boss and co-workers.

Look for all of them start to adjust to life without you around. That means you may be invited to fewer and fewer meetings, won't get assigned any new projects, etc.

It might mean that your socialization with your current co-workers gets a bit strained.

It might also lead to some scrutiny of your work hours, to make sure you aren't taking advantage of your impending departure and putting in less work than required.

None of these have anything to do with exposing the name of your new employer. These are all normal, winding-down, actions - perhaps extended a bit due to a long notice period.

At least in my part of the world, it is typical that the name of your new employer would be known. It would be considered very odd not to mention it. I doubt if there are any real risks that you need to mitigate. I think you are over-thinking this one.

Answer 2

Seeing as its not a competitor, and you've ticked all the boxes for being a good leaver, then I doubt there will be any negative consequences.

In fact, you've probably erased a worry from your manager's mind: "are they going to cause us damage by joining a competitor?". Answer: no.

The only concern I can think of is that by telling your colleagues that you're leaving, this may make others think about leaving too, & by mentioning a specific company, then they may think about following you. The way to mitigate this is to simply not talk about your leaving all the time (which I'm sure that you're not doing anyway)

Good luck in your new job!