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Ask HN: How to leave a company on friendly terms

3 points by throwaway1235 16y ago

I'm getting ready to leave a small company I've been with for three years, and I want to go without leaving any bitterness, as I'm friendly with the CEO and MD (it's a small ~15 person company - my other colleagues won't take my leaving personally). The problem is that they won't be happy to just let me go, they'll want to hear my logic, which I'd rather avoid giving - while giving negative feedback might help them improve, in this case it's unlikely to, and will just come across as criticism. What's the best way to either avoiding giving any negative feedback or to make it come across OK, and any other advice on leaving a very friendly company? side note: no new job lined up, so can't use that as the reason

baremetal 16y ago
You could say your planning to start your own company. Of course it would help if you were, in fact, planning to start one. If your not going to be seeing them on a regular basis after leaving the company then it might work, even if you aren't starting one :)
- throwaway1235 16y ago
  I'm not really in a startup area, so starting my own company would be seen as far more negative than giving criticism :D
imkevingao 16y ago
Just say personal reasons, and that you don't want to stuck in the same routine for rest of your life, thus you want to tryout something new. If you really like the team, tell them about it, but you can't be sacrificing your life for something you don't really want or enjoy doing. If you want to provide feedbacks, tell them you have a few suggestions you can give, and they might be a little offensive, and ask for their permission to say it before you do it. If they don't want to hear it, then don't bother. If they do, just provide the sincere feedbacks that you would like to give.
- bartonfink 16y ago
  Another thing that might augment your "no harm intended" message is taking steps to maintain the connection after you leave. Say you're leaving for personal reasons, and a month or so after you do, you might call up a colleague or two and see if they want to grab lunch or drinks. It can show that you still value them as people while still letting you get out of a situation you no longer want to be a part of.
radley 16y ago
"I want to take a break before I figure out what I want to do next." Don't worry about it so much. This is pretty much how everyone leaves on good terms.

3 points by throwaway1235 16y ago

baremetal 16y ago

You could say your planning to start your own company. Of course it would help if you were, in fact, planning to start one. If your not going to be seeing them on a regular basis after leaving the company then it might work, even if you aren't starting one :)

throwaway1235 16y ago
I'm not really in a startup area, so starting my own company would be seen as far more negative than giving criticism :D

imkevingao 16y ago

Just say personal reasons, and that you don't want to stuck in the same routine for rest of your life, thus you want to tryout something new. If you really like the team, tell them about it, but you can't be sacrificing your life for something you don't really want or enjoy doing. If you want to provide feedbacks, tell them you have a few suggestions you can give, and they might be a little offensive, and ask for their permission to say it before you do it. If they don't want to hear it, then don't bother. If they do, just provide the sincere feedbacks that you would like to give.

bartonfink 16y ago
Another thing that might augment your "no harm intended" message is taking steps to maintain the connection after you leave. Say you're leaving for personal reasons, and a month or so after you do, you might call up a colleague or two and see if they want to grab lunch or drinks. It can show that you still value them as people while still letting you get out of a situation you no longer want to be a part of.

radley 16y ago

"I want to take a break before I figure out what I want to do next." Don't worry about it so much. This is pretty much how everyone leaves on good terms.