Create your marque during job changeovers

“Never tread lightly. Leave a deep impression wherever you go.”

-        K. Rafferty

Getting a job and keeping it is a selfless task and it requires a lot of effort. As time passes and our needs change, we must leave our job for another one that will help us improve, either economically or professionally. You will find yourself moving out from one company to another.

Leaving a work place is often a sad and awkward situation, because we were used to that work and people we worked with will no longer be with us.  And bidding adios to a company where you have made friends and spent your valuable time can prove to be sentimental, thrilling or nail-biting experiences. Whatever be the causative factor for leaving a company, you need to do so with the same polish and obligation that you demonstrated at the time of joining.

Your allegiance, devotion and steadfastness are all commitments that you make to your marque when you start having ideas about leaving a company. You could be leaving for better avenues elsewhere or on account of some unfortunate development, the time to leave is one when you must enhance your image and impression that you want to carry on after you have left.

You must exercise control over your behaviour, activities and comportment; and responses, rejoinders and retorts. To be able to do that, you have to formulate a plan that can facilitate an achievement of an upbeat and enduring impact. The following aspects should be your focal points in your efforts to manage your marque when you are in the process of leaving a company:  

·  Reinforce bonds & networks: You would have built strong associations. You need to bid them farewell; doing so will reinforce your relationships and make certain that they keep going even if you are not on the scene. You should consider your last couple of days in the company as a monumental opportunity for bonding where presence-while is crucial.  You must go around and bid adios to people individually. Your tête-à-têtes will obviously depend on the nature of relationship that you shared, however, you must deal with them with due regard and consideration. You should keep in mind that final impacts are as significant as initial ones; and if you leave on a positive and cordial note, the relationships will stand you and your career in good stead in the years to come.    

· Reduce your gratefulness to words: In the last few days of your stay, you must compile a list of colleagues with whom you worked closely or had recurring exchanges. A hand-written message to each of them saying how you enjoyed your association and how grateful you feel for it will go a long way in you being remembered. To some of your colleagues, a short email on similar lines is an ideal instrument to convey your thankfulness. You need to be beholden and unpretentious in such communications. It will be prudent to make available your address and telephone number to facilitate initiatives by your friends to remain in touch with you.  Remember that courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest; they generate immense goodwill and which you will put away like preserves for utilisation during need subsequently. They say that a thankful person is most fully human and it is this quality that is always reminisced.

· Wrap up professionally: When you leave the precincts of your company, it goes without saying that you would like to feel uplifted and all set for your next job. Therefore, it is necessary that you wrap up all your work in a professional manner. This will necessarily entail concluding all outstanding issues with your boss and the management; and ensuring that all external agencies and individuals with whom you dealt in your official capacity are introduced to your successor. You may also like to save some files that you may require subsequently, but subject to organisational ethics. It is important to leave your work-station clutter-free and that includes clearing your computer of all unwanted files; leaving drawers neat and tidy; and the surroundings clean. Even on the last day, you should display the same sense of responsibility that you displayed on your first day.  

The characteristic of a great man is his power to leave a lasting impression on people he has been associated with. We all take different career paths, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere and also leave a little behind. That ‘little’ that you leave behind is actually colossal terms of a lasting impression. Your priority should be precisely that.