Probably should let them know as soon as you know you are leaving. As in now. If it was a firm I liked and would like to be on good terms with, I'd appear to do as little strategizing as possible.

I just think it's in bad taste to hear all the nice things they will have to say then whip out your two weeks notice, even if the timeline happens to fall into place like that. You should tell them the "I've had a extremely good year at this firm..." bit. You can still have a review and get feedback.

what the heck do you want? to cash that fat bonus check before you take a hike? to hear them shower you with praise before you quit? honestly, i don't see any relationship between your performance review and your quitting, and frankly it sounds to me like you are being quite egotistical about this.

i know a guy @ BCJ that did that...

kinda pissed off a lot of people along the way.

Word to the the advice above.
Be better than that.
Be respectful to those with whom you've had the good 5 years.
Be a pro.
I'm sure they'll have the same good things to say about you this way and will probably be game to give your review anyway if you respectfully ask, and they'll keep saying them after you're gone if you handle your decisions courteously.

But if you wanna kick sand in their faces, then you're on the right track.

i'm with misen, jafidler and fku2 on this one ... what you're thinking about doing is, at best, inflamatory and insulting.

put yourself in the firm's shoes ... how would you like to be on the receiving end of what you're proposing?

News flash:

It Takes Time and Effort to Write Up Employee Reviews

If you quit AT your review, it will look like you're trying to make a big political statement. A big fuck-you to your firm.

If you quit shortly after your review, it will look like somehow you didn't appreciate the comments given to you. Again, a big fuck-you.

Best to pre-empt the review by speaking with the principals earlier in the week. I'd even say, "I wanted to speak to you prior to my review."

Also, tell them that your decision to leave has little to do with the firm, and everything to do with new opportunities. Any architect can understand the desire to grow and evolve.

Most of all, act appreciative for the opportunities that they have given you. Keep your ego to a minimum.

you should use your new position as leverage to get a really great performance review. think of how much that's worth to your ego!

I'm in the same position. I've recently received an opportunity which consists of an offer that I'm having a hard time refusing.

My review is coming up and I'm going to hazard a guess that they might either lowball me on a raise or they might not be in the position to match what I've been offered at this other firm. I like the firm though and I like most of the people and have become pretty accustomed to the environment.

I've learned a ton of skills that I never expected to know and it's an absolute pleasure working with my PM. However, we can bat this around all we like but, we have our expenses to look after.

Chances are... I'm going to stick around so that I've got two solid years with my current company and then I'll evaluate things. And yes, I've been putting myself in their shoes too and I don't want to do anything that would cause any bridges to be burned.

You've been with this firm 5 years and you've had a very good year there. It most likely follows then that this firm depends on you a good amount and that they'd appreciate all the notice they can get. (A month's notice is not an unreasonable request in employee handbooks for people in management positions, the client-contact or "face" person on one or more projects, or otherwise critical to the smooth transition of projects.) If you must leave then I'm sure your firm would appreciate knowing about it now!

I think the other posters have covered well why you do not want to do this during or after a performance review. Sure, I can understand that you'd really like to hear all the great things that they have to say about you, but if you're leaving then you're probably just going to have to make the sacrifice and not get the performance review.

I don't like the idea of quitting ahead of time and asking for a review anyway, because it's going to look like you're trying to leverage the new offer to force a counteroffer at your current firm. But if it's critical to you to get this feedback then one thing that you could try is make it very clear that you have decided to go, but say that you value your coworkers' advice very highly and would appreciate going through the review anyway, if they feel they have time for that.
If that doesn't go over well, or if you think it won't, then another thing you could do is ask your employer or supervisor for a written reference to take with you when you leave.

If I were you I'd type up a brief letter stating that you're leaving, when your last day will be, where you're going, that you've enjoyed your time there and highly value the experience you gained and the professional relationships you formed. Write (and reiterate in person) that you will do everything to make the transition as smooth as possible for everyone.

Dominiond, what if your firm makes a counteroffer?

before or after you find our your raise?

That could happen - especially since you've been there a long time and are highly esteemed there.

But counteroffer situations don't often work out in the long run. Some years back there was a link here someplace to an article about a study that indicated that more than 70% of people who stayed in a job after getting a counteroffer didn't end up staying more than a year more.
It seemed to be the case that the whole counteroffer situation soured the relationship somewhat for the employer. No matter how much they valued the employee originally they felt pressured and manipulated by the situation, and they also began to question the likelihood that the employee would stay long now, so they gave less favorable assignments to that employee and less responsibility.
Meanwhile the employees often felt that they'd made the wrong decision by staying, that it really was time for a change, etc.

Of course, the other 30% or so may work out just fine...


I didn't get the sense from the initial post that you have any real doubts about moving on. If you do then that's a whole different situation, and in that case it might make more sense to go through with the performance review and spring the offer on them at the end, as leverage - though as I said, these things rarely work out well in the long run.

swallow the blue pill...

Dominiond noone is irreplacable. Get over yourself.

i am not sure why they wouldnt tell you what you think if you told them you were leaving
most places would have a sort of exit interview for you

saying you "would like" to give them 2 weeks notice makes it seem like you might give less. is that a possibility? because that would really be in bad taste and make you look terrible

i'd say if you have 5 years experience there, giving 2 weeks notice is in bad form. a month seems standard to wrap up any ongoing projects. what is your rush to get out? if another firm is expecting you to drop everything and start there or risk losing the job, chances are you will be working some extra hours you might not be expecting to


and if you sit on a job offer you know you will be taking, then give your current employer no time at all to transition your projects, you better not expect any gratitude or "reviews"
if you show them no respect, why on earth should you recieve any back?

2 weeks notice is a myth or maybe i only know anything about right to work states.

1 minute notice is all an employer or employee need give.

thats all they need to give, but if you are talking about courtesy and maintaining a relationship with anyone in the future, you should give them the respect of a little time for transition

you didnt hear about the new job and have to decide in 1 minute
very rarely do you need to start the next day when going to a new job

and an employer who expects you to up and leave your old job in a day better compensate you very well for all the bridges you are burning
and dont be shocked when that same employer takes advantage of you later on

Check out Managertools.com

They have a really good podcast on the subject.

http://www.manager-tools.com/2006/07/how-to-resign-part-1-of-3/

Thanks to all for the input-it's good to have an outside perspective. I didn't realize that it could seem insulting to give notice at a review. I definitely do not want to burn bridges.

I thought it might be more efficient because all of the senior level people I'd have to notify would be in one place. There would not have to be any of the "Who do I tell first" calculation.

Timing: I'm able to give a month's notice which means I should be able to wrap up projects and transition them to other staff members.

Counteroffer: I'm hoping that does not happen-I'm not leaving because of compensation. I just need new experiences and perhaps I'll boomerang back to this firm later in my career. It happens a lot in this city it seems like.

Thanks again to all~

One more thing: when giving notice, don't think in terms of efficient, think in terms of polite.

Giving notice to a big group group all at once will also seem deeply insulting. The principals will want this to be a direct and individual conversation.

Ok, so who do you tell first? The head of your studio or your project team leaders? Do firm principals take priority if your firm is small? Do you write each of them a resignation letter?

I know I probably sound clueless, but prior to being in architecture, I was in consulting, so I had one team leader to report to. It was pretty clear who I need to notify.

By all means, speak to them in person. Resignation letter later.

I'd tell the ultimate head of the firm first, if there is one. From there, I'd go in order of who I'm closest to. If it's your project leader, then him or her. If, however, it's the second-in-charge, then go there. There's no right answer. But keep in mind that leaving a job is a somewhat personal thing: feelings can be hurt. So treat it as a friendly procedure.

Thanks so much for the advice on the order-it's extremely helpful.

I'm not looking forward to this at all because I really respect the people I've worked with at the firm.

I agree with farwest about who to tell. Maybe its just where I've worked but unless the place is really tiny people don't get so hurt at employees leaving.

I don't see anything wrong with resigning but still wanting some sort of exit review. What's wrong with asking for some constructive criticism?

At the same time maybe the employer would want to know what could be done differently to keep people there longer.

Dominiond,

As uncomfortable as you feel, remember how fortunate you are. The dream scenario is to leave one good job, where you still enjoy the work and the people, for another good job.

Here's how I've usually done this:
1. Type up simple letter (when I'm leaving, where I'm going, brief gratitude for all the great experience and professional relationships, will do everything in ability to make transition as smooth as possible...)
2. Ask to speak with principal or most senior person in charge of office. Have letter in hand. Be friendly and polite and right to the point in telling him/her what's going on. Do not be apologetic or waffling or give any indication of being sorry or uncomfortable. Just direct and factual. Basically tell them exactly what you wrote in the letter.
3. Hand letter to that person.
4. Establish whether your intended date of departure is acceptable. Since you've been there years and have a good standing there, and since you're giving a good amount of notice, it's probably going to be fine. But occasionally a firm will ask a departing employee to clear out sooner - even immediately - if there's a potentially contentious situation or if there's not enough work to go around. (But that raises a potential for an unemployment claim, if the firm doesn't offer to pay you to the your notice date, so most firms will avoid terminating you sooner!)
5. Ask if it would be alright for you to notify your other coworkers right away. I've never had anybody say no. But it's possible that a firm might want to delay this news for a short bit, for one reason or another, or would like to break it in some official-bulletin sort of way... If the firm does have any issue with this then defer to them and let them handle it however they wish to!
6. If it's established that it's ok for you to tell others then do that fairly quickly (same day if possible) going in order of seniority.
7. Tell in person anybody with whom you work directly or with whom you have a work-friends relationship.
8. Send a general-broadcast email to all others, basically stating what you stated in your letter (it was a difficult decision but you're moving on, will miss everybody, keep in touch, make transition as smooth as possible...)
9. If it's a large enough firm to have a human resources dept., accountant, etc. make sure to converse with them. Your employer should do this right away, but sometimes might be forgetful. You need to straighten out any continuation of insurance, get forms to roll over your IRA or 401k if applicable, settle up with any vacation you've taken that you may not have earned yet, etc...

You may be tempted to talk with your immediate supervisor or with close coworker peers about this before you tell the head honcho. DON'T do that. It will get back to the head person (somebody will say "oh, yeah he told me about that yesterday" or something like that) and it looks unprofessional. Go strictly in order of rank and seniority.

One other thought: if your employer usually does all employees' reviews at same time or close together then it should help the employer substantially to know ahead of time that you're leaving. Knowing about vacant positions lets them think about filling that role and shifting existing staff into different responsibilities, so it may help in their discussions with some of your coworkers since they'll be able to talk to them in terms of taking over tasks that you were great at, taking over your projects, etc.

Yes....be helpful in handing over your project knowledge to whomever the senior ppl parse it off to...use your 2 weeks to make that go as smoothly as possible

Citizen-

Thanks for helping me put things in perspective- I am in a fortunate position and do not take it for granted.

Bloopox and DesignBandit-

Thanks for the informative recommendations on how to resign professionally. It's interesting on how that there is not a lot of formal training on this aspect of your career.

I've started a 2-month post departure recommendation plan for my successors and started an outline of the status of my projects. Review: I'll be giving my notice 2 weeks before the review now so I'm hoping that my supervisors won't have expended any time on it by this point.

I'll let you know how it turns out-