I’ve been working part time at a local company for about a buck over minimum wage for the past three months. First job I was offered since moving here, my husband and I could get by on his salary, seemed like a good oppotunity to build up some US work experience (Canuck immigrant here), and no other fish were biting. I’ve continued looking for full time and better pay pretty much the entire time, but my boss doesn’t know that. I don’t know how much company loyalty he was expecting for low wages and few hours, but he can be unpredictable.
Cut to 5 minutes ago, when I got off the phone with the lady who’d like to hire me full time, at approaching double my current pay. I only interviewed with her yesterday afternoon, so this is all happening a little fast, but I couldn’t be happier.
Except I have to start on Friday, and my part time job didn’t even know I was looking. I like the people there, and I’d probably stay at a lower rate than my new job if full time work was in the cards, but it’s not, and I have to go. I just want to do it with as little drama and bridge burning as possible. My old boss travels alot, so I don’t even know if he’ll be in town before I have to quit. I wouldn’t normally be in for work until tomorrow afternoon.
I’m looking for advice on when and how to break the news with the best results possible. I don’t think I’m a vital part of the company, I was just supporting the office manager and keeping the paperwork up to date- but I am leaving with more or less no notice, and there’s alot of touchiness at the old office (none of it directed at me thus far, but I’ve seen it secondhand and it’s not very pretty. Another reason why leaving is rather nice). Maybe it’s not important that I part ways on good terms in the long run, but I’d still like to try.
I don’t think anyone expects “buck over minimum wage” employees to stick around very long. Tell 'em a full time job came up, that you’re starting on Friday, and that you’d be happy to come in for a few hours on a weekend or evening if necessary to tie up loose ends or train a new person.
I don’t think it’s required business etiquette to give a two week’s notice for a part-time position. Let them know the circumstances, and that the other job needs you to start ASAP.
Expect them to be thrilled for you. They probably will be. If they aren’t, that’s sort of their problem. You work part time, you make a $1 over minimum wage. You aren’t related to them. They have to be realistic.
Refrain from telling old job the particulars of new job. Especially the name of the company. And like Finagle said, try to be accomodating. These types of part time jobs can be really sticky. These folks don’t always play fair, so try to protect yourself.
And it never hurts to thank them for the opportunity, tell them how much you enjoyed working with them, and how this is a career opportunity for you that they helped to make possible.
I wrote that letter a few months ago, but my new job is in the same building as my old one so I see them every day and still colaborate with them. Nobody seems to hold leaving against me, they knew when I started that I wasn’t making any guarantees as to my longevity (I told them in the interview process when they asked what my plans for the future were).
I would be really surprised if the old job made any deal over this at all. Heck, I’m in a supervisory position, and I don’t even know the names of the part-time people at my place of work!
I was living in sin on the west coast of Florida back in the mid 90s. My girlfriend (now way ex), only had one referencable job under her belt when we got there (TJ Maxx). Since there was one nearby, and she’d left on good terms before, they hired her back, part-time, for short money. She wanted to earn more, interviewed at a dry cleaner who offered her double what she was making at TJX, but he needed her to start right away. So she blew off TJX, her one solid work reference. Can you guess what happened next? The dry cleaner had her on for less than two weeks, deemed her performance sub-par, and fired her. So she ended up with no job, no good references, and things just got worse after that.
As it happens, you had it exactly right. They congratulated me and wished me luck. I guess I was worried over nothing, but I appricated the replies confirming that I wasn’t doing anything horrid and should expect an okay response.
