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I began working at this place in June 2013. Had a steady relationship with the employer for at least a year. So much so that the supervisor, indirect supervisors, and a senior colleague provided B-School recommendations which I'm very thankful for.

Around late fall of last year the supervisor found some performance issues, and gave me a performance feedback. Worked on the feedback and had the next review during February of this year; this time things went way worse, and I was marked "performance below expectations." During the meeting I let the supervisor know that I'm not the right fit for this position, and I would like to start looking for other jobs; he was fine with it.

I started the interviews around that time, however, I didn't land any position yet. I kept regularly taking time-off for interviews which caused excessive absence.

Consequently, this past Friday I was handed the dreadful Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). The document says "Attendance will be monitored over the next 90 days," and the firm wants to see "Improved accuracy and independence over the next 30 days." My supervisor gave me enough time searching for jobs, and I'm not in a position again to keep taking time-off for interviews. Salary is not that high where I work, so I have to look around.

I have some interviews lined up and am positive I will have something under my belt in these two months; contract work is fine too. Have some emergency savings too so no need to worry about bills for a few months.

At this time, I would like to resign when the PIP clock starts ticking this week. This is much better than getting fired and burn the bridges. I need my supervisor and a senior colleague for recommendation, and especially the supervisor for B-School recommendation.

What's your take - resign or wait to get fired?

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closed as off-topic by mcknz, scaaahu, DJClayworth, Jane S♦, Chris E Jul 26 '15 at 6:39

This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:

  • "Questions asking for advice on what to do are not practical answerable questions (e.g. "what job should I take?", or "what skills should I learn?"). Questions should get answers explaining why and how to make a decision, not advice on what to do. For more information, click here." – mcknz, scaaahu, DJClayworth, Jane S, Chris E
If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

  • 5
    So "improve" is not an option? – nvoigt Jul 25 '15 at 16:59
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    What happens to your unemployment benefits (if any in your country) if you resign vs getting fired? – nvoigt Jul 25 '15 at 16:59
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    Well, then you have your decision. There is little we can help you with. – nvoigt Jul 25 '15 at 17:04
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    What is different about you now, as opposed to February through now, that will get you hired, other than just having more time to look? Do you have any feedback at all why you're not getting job offers? How many interviews have you had in the last 5 months? Something about your question doesn't seem right - it appears you're probably the problem. Quitting or getting fired won't fix that. – Kent A. Jul 25 '15 at 17:23
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    Doesn't PIP stand for Personal Improvement Plan not Personal Injury Protection in this context? – CodesInChaos Jul 26 '15 at 11:59
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People, what's your take on this? Resign as I know my performance will not get better or wait to get fired?

For me, I'd do neither. I would neither resign nor wait.

I'd work really hard to get a new job (or land a contract gig) over the next 90 days before getting fired. That way, I wouldn't ever have to answer the question "Why were you fired?" nor would I have to answer the question "Why did you quit without having a new job?". I'd also work as hard as I could to meet the terms of my Performance Improvement Plan, although I don't see many of those ending up well.

I'm not sure why you haven't been able to land a new job since February despite having lots of time off to search. You might wish to reflect on that, try to see what you were doing wrong, and correct it - so as to put you on a better path to success.

I suspect your Supervisor would support you in this approach - few supervisors like to fire employees. He/she may not be in a position to give you more time off, but might still be willing to be a decent reference now or in the future - particularly if you try hard at work.

These things happen - individuals aren't always a good fit for the specific needs of a company. Try hard to land a new job soon, and keep anything negative from your background as much as possible.

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    Thank You! It's because I was looking at the wrong jobs. Now, I have made the recruiters clear where my strengths and weaknesses lie. – Brenton Jul 25 '15 at 17:39
  • The ol' "failure is not an option" attitude ;-) – Steve Jessop Jul 25 '15 at 21:20
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Note that a proper PIP should spell out exactly what you have to accomplish, in how much time, to pass it. You may want to wait until you see the details before you panic. A PIP can be survived, if the problem was one of misunderstood requirements rather than your not being able to handle the job; it's likely to be painful but I wouldn't give up prematurely -- and as others have noted there are advantages to staying employed while job hunting, not least that you're still being paid until they actually fire you.

(Been there, survived that, long story and I think it was more a matter of management being stupid than anything else.)

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