
How do I quit nicely without burning the bridges? - prettyrandom100
I&#x27;ve been working at this &quot;big&quot; company for nearly a year now and I just can&#x27;t take the politics of it anymore. It seems I was naive to think that as a developer I should work to improve the product by finding bugs, fix them, build new features fast. But I was wrong. People don&#x27;t want you to build new features fast because they won&#x27;t be able to test it in time and they frown if you find bugs because they somehow think you&#x27;re making them look bad. And this behavior goes up the chain, to senior dev, to manager and may be up. Hiding mistakes, disowning bugs and what not.
I feel like I&#x27;m neither getting recognition, nor the reward but think I&#x27;m getting the satirical blunt of it (I don&#x27;t get it most of the time).
How would you guys proceed to quit this job ? Yearly performance review is coming up but I&#x27;m not sure if I can make it past the regular 5% increase. Should I say it&#x27;s not enough and just quit ?
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peejaybee
I'm iterating what's been said here already, but want to make sure you realize
it really is the best way:

Just find another position, give decent notice, and move on. If anyone asks,
it's always about how much better the new opportunity is, not about how crappy
the current job was.

~~~
davismwfl
This is the way to go and well worded.

One comment, politics will be at every company you work at, especially the
larger ones. Even those who swear they don't have any, so you have to accept
there will always be some but find the ones you can live with and learn to
navigate what remains. Good companies do their best to control and eliminate
bad politics but some will always exist. I am one who doesn't do well with
politics around product or deceit, so I'd be out the door with you if I saw
what you are saying.

You can learn how to screen companies, to some degree, during the interview
process. It takes a little time and practice to figure out how and it is also
a lot about you personally and what you can accept or not.

~~~
cam-
I agree. Politics is how people negotiate power without violence. So it is
everywhere. It always helps to understand politics even if you don't want to
engage in it as it can help make seemingly irrational behaviors appear
concretely rational once the motivation for it is understood.

------
chrisbennet
People leave developer jobs all the time; it's expected. You haven't been able
to change the process working "from the inside" so resist the urge to give
them any "helpful" advice on your way out - it won't be appreciated.

Find your next job. This is important: _When your new employer asks you when
you can start, tell them depending "on how fast your can wrap things up" 1 to
2 weeks._

If you current employer walks you out the door when you tell them you're
leaving , enjoy a week or two off. If they want you to stay for 2 weeks you do
that and start your new job afterwards.

~~~
joezydeco
I'll sound like a broken record for saying this, but unless you are under
contract you can leave at any time. _Two weeks is a courtesy YOU extend_ and
nothing more. If you were to be laid off or fired you wouldn't get two weeks
notice, would you? You'd be out within the hour.

If this place is as dysfunctional as it seems, staying two weeks after giving
notice will be a nightmare.

So clean your house now as you search for a new job. Take the time to get your
work documented and tidied up. Do it quietly. Don't give any signals you're
looking. Business as usual.

Once that's all set and you give notice, if your employer gives ANY friction
at all then just walk out the door. If they need you for two more weeks of
help they can hire you as a contractor at a nicely inflated rate.

And like chrisbennet says, schedule some downtime between jobs to decompress,
unpack, and mentally prepare for the next gig (unless you really need the
income).

~~~
brudgers
If the bugs don't change the bottom line, then the company is not
dysfunctional. There's simply a mismatch between the expectations of an
employee and the employer.

That is normal for someone working below a Senior Developer, a manager, and
some unknown portfolio of VP's, Executive VP's, and C-level staff. A person
that far down the food chain doesn't have a medium size picture, let alone the
large one...i.e. the perception that the company is dysfunctional is not based
on business metrics but "how I've always done stuff before."

~~~
sombremesa
Sometimes you can tell when a company is heading down the wrong road, but a
person that far down the food chain has no power to change things, so the
world gets a free case study.

~~~
brudgers
Only rarely are leaves of a tall org-tree positioned to expertly judge the
sausage industry in general, its current trends, and the market advantages of
its varied competitors.

~~~
sombremesa
As long as you don't turn that "rarely" into a "never", I agree.

------
NumberCruncher
Dale Carnegie wrote: ... even in such technical lines as engineering, about 15
percent of one's [...] success is due to one's technical knowledge and about
85 percent is due to skill in human engineering-to personality and the ability
to lead people.

Even if you find a great job where you can focus on the "15%" there will
always be other departments / managers / competitors, who doesn't play by your
rules. You better get used to it and continue doing a good job & read the book
"How to Win Friends & Influence People".

If I were you I would stay at least for one another year in my current
position and quit first when I know how to handle politics.

~~~
prettyrandom100
Or I could start my own company and see how that goes ? I really don't buy
into 85% people succeed due to sycophancy and even if they do I don't think I
want to be one.

~~~
NumberCruncher
Of course you can start your own company. You could try like this:

1\. sell your time: Work as an employee for a couple of years and get some
real life experience. Yes, even in company politics. One could actually skip
this stage, but hey, you are already doing it, so why not make the best of it?
Build your network, get some trainings paid by your company, learn from your
managers.

2\. sell yourself: do freelancing

3\. sell your product: start a company

4\. help others building companies and selling their products: compete with Y
Combinator

Good luck!

------
DanBC
"Dear $NAME,

I am writing to give my $LENGTH_OF_NOTICE notice as required in my contract.
My last day of employment with you will be $DATE

Please let me know if there is anything that you'd like me to focus on in my
last $LENGTH_OF_NOTICE months employment.

Your sincerely,

$YOUR_NAME."

This is all you need. You don't need, nor want, to go into the reasons. It's
probably best to not mention the reasons even if they specifically ask; just
tell them that you got a better offer somewhere else.

------
JSeymourATL
> I just can't take the politics of it anymore.

Political Savvy is a core executive leadership skill--if you decide to quit,
you'll no doubt run into any number of organizations full of strong egos,
constituencies, rivalries, and assorted issues. Beyond your role as a
developer-- can you navigate within the company to motivate others and get
things done? Can you deal with your managers persuasively?

Office politics doesn't go away, here's an HBR article you may find of
interest> [https://hbr.org/2015/01/office-politics-isnt-something-
you-c...](https://hbr.org/2015/01/office-politics-isnt-something-you-can-sit-
out)

~~~
EpicEng
This is exactly what I was going to say. You may not like politics, but it's
always going to exist to some degree, and you can't just ignore it while
expecting true career growth. If you ever want to become more than someone who
simply implements the requirements passed down to them from on high, you need
to be effective in working across the organization.

Personally, I wanted to stay technical, but I also wanted to play a meaningful
rule in creating and steering the company vision from the product side of
things. To do that you need more than technical chops.

That said, if you just want to be a head down coder, that's fine too. Also,
none of this means that you shouldn't find a new organization to work for of
this one is toxic. Just know that it may not be as bad as you currently think
it is, so perhaps this is a growth opportunity.

------
cgtyoder
Start looking for another job now. If you get an offer you like, give 2 weeks
notice, tell the new place you need 3 weeks, and take a week vacation recharge
before your next adventure.

------
brudgers
The big problems for most the world's organizations are not software bugs in
corner cases. The business of most the world's organizations is not producing
software, even if they have in house development staff.. Good software solves
a client's actual problems. That is entirely orthogonal to best engineering
practices.

There is lots of great advice on quitting here. For completeness I'm
suggesting what staying another year might teach:

1\. The listening skills necessary for figuring out what matters to other
people.

2\. Interpreting non-technical language and translating it a technical
solution.

3\. Asking good questions to find unarticulated constraints.

4\. The understanding that every business is a sausage factory (even software
businesses). Get close enough and there's no avoiding seeing what goes into
the sausage.

I'm not suggesting staying at a job you hate. I'm not suggesting working with
mediocrity. On the other hand, it's no accident that many software badasses
come out of consulting - and an inhouse development team is akin to an inhouse
consultant: paid to solve problems not make products or problems.

Good luck.

~~~
prettyrandom100
What if the bug was severe security bugs, several of them which definitely
helped make the software better ? I've been a firm believer that there are
"million dollar bugs" that could destroy the product completely, shouldn't
those be considered big problems for world's organizations ? I think I might
have already learned these things you pointed out in the 1 year I spent, does
adding one more year really help much ?

~~~
brudgers
Let's say there's a 1% chance of a $1,000,000 bug. Insuring against it costs
$12,000/year (expected payout * 1.2).

It takes 40 hours @ $100/hour * 2.0 overhead to fix it = $8000: And the
expected net value of 40 hours of developer work is $4000. This makes fixing
the bug versus insuring against it a wash.

Assessing risk and evaluating alternatives is the basis for rational business
decision making. Throw in a 1% chance that the bug fix produces a $100
regression bug, and the business case is for insurance.

Again there's nothing wrong with quitting a job you hate. But it is probably a
mistake to assume that the entire operation is staffed by incompetents. People
have different perspectives based on their job responsibility.

Good luck.

~~~
prettyrandom100
I never said anything about the competence of the staff, it's just the
politics. Also I'm not talking about insuring against the bug, but meriting a
bug (or any work) based on the difficulty/impact.

------
lgunsch
If you are in good standing with your current employer, the very first thing I
would do is _get a letter of reference_.

They are _very_ valuable, and hard to come by. I wouldn't leave without
getting a letter of reference first. It does signal that you are looking for
another job, but that is _okay_. It's not a big deal. Everyone knows it
happens, and if they are at all reasonable they will go ahead and do it for
you. People leave jobs nicely without burning bridges all the time.

------
loumf
Write a nice, professional letter and leave out all of that crap.

------
dmrg
Continue doing your best at your work at your current job as you will need
your employer for future references. At the same time, do your research as to
what you want to do as well as what is on the market out there. Once you have
identified your target companies/roles, start the recruiting process. The
period from between when you start exploring other options and until you land
an offer you like and want to accept is going to be stressful and the
challenge is to manage your emotions and behavior in your interests. Politics
exist largely because people who own the company and those who run the company
are not the same. Owners want profits and efficiency and managers want titles
and bonuses.

------
tehwebguy
You can't make the impact you want working there, you won't make that impact
by quitting. Do what's best for you, that's all.

------
rounce
"So long and thanks for all the fish"

------
pmdulaney
Fyi, the expression you want is "without burning bridges," not "without
burning THE bridges."

------
JoshDoody
I'm writing a career management guide, and one of my chapters ("How to leave a
job") is _exactly_ about how to leave a job on the best possible terms.

My advice: Don't "rage quit". Make a plan and quit on good terms. You don't
have to stick around much longer if you can't stand it, but at least be sure
to give two weeks' notice and try your best to leave on good terms. You never
know when you might run into some of these co-workers again and you want them
to think highly of you.

Here's the summary section from that chapter—maybe there are some things here
that could help you make sure you don't burn any bridges :)

 _Leave on the best possible terms, even if you feel slighted_ — It’s always
difficult to put on a happy face when things aren’t going well, but this is a
time when you can really boost your reputation.

 _Ask your manager and co-workers what you can help with before you go_ — Do
this and you will make a lasting impression on your co-workers.

 _Document the projects you’re working on so your successor is prepared_ —
Your successor will have a much easier time absorbing your work, and they’ll
thank you for it.

 _Bundle up relevant documentation, emails, etc., and make sure they’re saved
somewhere that others can get to them_ — Most companies are moving to cloud-
based storage, so it may all be out there anyway. Even so, put together a
master document that points to everything they’ll need.

 _Make sure to return all your equipment in good shape, and do it quickly_ —
Most of the time, you are just borrowing company property. You should return
it in good shape, just like you would want your own property returned if you
lent it out.

 _Reach out to your closest co-workers to make sure they’re part of your
network before you go_ — Your network is one your most valuable assets for
finding future career opportunities.

 _Reach out to your colleagues to say goodbye and share your contact
information_ — If you’ve done all these things, you’ve left a great
impression. Make sure your old co-workers know how to find you if they need
someone like you in the future. And be sure to reach out to your closest co-
workers to personally say goodbye whenever possible.

 _Be vague and use positive language in your exit interview_ — It feels
strange to advocate for being vague, but the exit interview is one of the
times when it’s necessary. You won’t benefit by baring your soul on your way
out, and the company isn’t going to change because of your feedback. Keep it
short, sweet, and surface-level.

That's a one-page summary of the chapter, but the chapter itself goes into
quite a bit more detail.

You can get the full chapter for free here:
[http://JoshDoody.com/leave?ref=hn5](http://JoshDoody.com/leave?ref=hn5)

