Having a Job...And Quitting

Hey everyone! This week we had a friend of ours write a post on having and quitting job. Her name is Kira, you might remember her from our hiking post from last year. She went to Freshman Advantage (the summer program here at WWU) with Megan, Aly, and I. She is a sophomore in the Honor's Program who is majoring in Biology/Pre-Vet.

     ~Lacey

Don’t get a job on a whim. Plan it out, think about it, be absolutely sure you can work it into your schedule. I didn’t really do this well. I realized a few days into my new job that I couldn’t make it work. School comes first, always, and I didn’t have time for both. I made the decision to quit but I wanted to leave on good terms with a full understanding of my predicament. Never make enemies where you don’t have to.

          Quitting a job can be hard and in my case it was particularly hard. My bosses weren’t there when I was and there was no manager to speak to. I got the chance to talk to one of our bosses one day and tried to get my point across that I couldn’t balance a job with school. Apparently I didn’t get the point across that I needed to quit because he said, “Well, if you start to feel like you can’t handle it, come tell me.” I had just told him I couldn’t balance it. I couldn’t think of how to get out diplomatically so I called my mom.

Moms are good at getting you out of tricky situations. Don’t be afraid to ask for help but don’t rely on them to do everything for you. You are an adult, act like it. My mom suggested that I write a letter of resignation so that if my bosses weren’t there I could leave it somewhere for them to see and I could be sure my point was clear. Now, this should not be a method of avoiding confrontation. You should definitely speak to your boss or manager if you can, but a letter of resignation is a helpful back-up. 

If you’re going to quit, be courteous about it. Give your boss at least two weeks’ notice so that they can find your replacement. In my case they didn’t use those two weeks but it’s always a good idea to offer. Be respectful of them. Be clear of your intentions and your reasons. Don’t leave them wondering what went wrong.

Most importantly, don’t be afraid to quit if you have to. Some people can balance the schedule, some can’t. As long as you won’t starve without a job, don’t worry too much. You will have plenty of time to work when you graduate. School is your job. Don’t neglect it for a little spending money.

~Kira