What's the best way to resign from a position after receiving a better offer from another company? [duplicate]

Question

This is a hypothetical scenario. One that I believe a lot of us have experienced.

Let's say I've been working at a company for X amount of time (not necessarily long-term). You receive a better offer from a company. Due to circumstances beyond your control (i.e. divorce, medical emergency, etc) your find yourself in a financial bind, you feel that it's in your best interest to quit your job and go for the higher paying one.

Do you mention this in your resignation letter? How do you discuss this with your boss or company? What's the best way to handle this? How will this act be perceived and how can I best mitigate any damage?

Answer 1

It's entirely appropriate and courteous, when giving notice, to say "I've really enjoyed working here, and I hate doing this to you, but they made me an offer I really couldn't turn down. Should I spend the notice period getting as much of my knowledge as possible transferred to other folks, or is there anything else that's crash priority for me to deal with before I go?"

Treating them with respect is the best way to get them to respect you in return... which makes the process less painful for everyone, and may be important in the future if/when you need references.

This also gives them a chance to make a counter-offer without feeling that you're threatening them. Even if you do hope they'll do so, "I have to leave because I need the money" will go over much better than "give me the money or I'll leave".

Note that similar wording is appropriate if you're leaving for other reasons -- career growth, relocation, etc.

Answer 2

I don't think that you necessarily need to show all of your cards in your resignation letter. Let your old managers know that you are leaving for personal reasons, and I would leave it at that.