How to leave a company with style and grace

You are working a job you like at a company you love. You have fought off many job offers and opportunities as your reputation and your resume has grown. Finally you reach the point where you think perhaps it is time to take that leap, leave the safety net of a comfortable job, and step into the unknown.

Your reasons are valid: you wish to grow your skills, you want to try something new, and you want to earn more money for your family and towards your future goals.

But you love the company you work for, especially the people in it. They believed in you when no one else did yet. They took the chance on a raw graduate, taught you how things were really done, exposed you to what you needed to know and they have been your friends for years. How can you leave without hurting them?

You trust what your conscience tells you and decide that the only thing to do is to be honest. You tell your current employer that you are thinking of leaving and why, and you tell them that when you leave you are going to complete your current milestones, not just run out with 2 weeks notice. They are sad, but thankful for your honesty and supportive of your decision.

Aminu taught us all a lesson in style and grace

You accept a promising offer and are pressured to jump ship right away and get to work in this exciting new role. You realize however, that honouring your commitment to finish your work is the right thing to do. So you tell your friends you will stay until most of your work is done and you tell your new employer they will just have to wait. You are judged an honourable person by both parties because of it.

As a final thank you to the friends you are leaving you write something none of them will ever forget. Something that will relieve them of what you know is their biggest worry: the worry that they have done something wrong.

When I got here 32 months ago, I had no clue what I was getting myself into. I thought it was gonna be a regular job you go from 8:00am to 4:30pm, and forget all about it until the next day. Oh was I wrong. It turned out to be a story between myself and a pretty woman called IBEX.

It all started through social media (surprise! surprise!). I saw her profile on LinkedIn, looking all pretty and intimidating. She was looking for someone with programming skills. I knew she was out of my league, but I had nothing to lose, so I sent her a request. She checked out my profile and after a couple of chat sessions she decided to give me a chance to prove myself. We have been together since then.

She taught me so much. I learn new things from her every single day, which makes me roughly 960 times better than who I was when we first met. She is full of fun activities like IBQs, curling, paintball, parties. Just yesterday we smashed watermelons for fun!

What makes Ibex stand out is her family. She has the best family anyone could wish for. A family that’s hardworking, fun, and actually cares for each other. They welcome you with open arms and make you feel at home thousand miles away from home.

I am leaving IBEX today, and I cannot describe how sad I am. I am going to miss IBEX, but will miss her family more.

Our journey might have come to an end, but I assure you IBEX, you have nothing to worry about. Don’t change, you are perfect the way you are. It’s not you, it’s me.

Lots of love,

Aminu

Jobs are not always forever. I have seen many people leave IBEX over the years. Sometimes when senior leaders leave, there are open communications, cool heads and even some style and grace but I have never seen anyone so young handle something so well. The result is that Aminu is leaving IBEX not only with the relationship intact, but stronger than before he left. Thank you Aminu for all you have done for IBEX and for the lesson you have taught us all in style and grace.

IBEX Payroll extends our profound respect and immeasurable gratitude to all the ancestors and keepers of the land on whose traditional territories our work takes place. We acknowledge that we are on Treaty 1 territory, the traditional gathering place of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene people and the traditional homeland of the Métis people. This land is sacred, historical, and significant.

Every time we acknowledge this truth, we have an invitation and an opportunity to reflect on the wrongs of the past, what we do in the present, and what we can do to continually honour the people whose lands and water we benefit from today.

This statement only acts as a first step in honouring the land we reside on and its peoples, and must be paired with education, understanding and informed action.