What to Do Before You Quit

The Olympics are about never quitting, but sometimes you just have to. Here are a few things to do before quitting.

If you've ever been fired, that feeling of "Now what am I supposed to do?!" creeps into the pit of your stomach, but sometimes you've gotten all you can out of your job and feel that it's time to move on. If you're in a frustrating situation, you probably want to move on sooner rather than later, but don't just pack up and leave in a blind rage. Here's what you should do before you just up and leave.

Think about how you're going to explain it to your next boss. They may just assume that you're hard to work with or you'll end up just walking out on them, too. If you hated the place that you worked for, be gentle when asked for an explanation, but don't lie. They may call your former boss. If you're asked for an exit interview, use it to explain your position as to why you're leaving because upper management may use what you say to improve conditions within the company.

Leave the kerosene and matchbook at home. If you're asked for an exit interview, don't use foul language, slurs, naming names or slam the company as a whole. You're going to need a reference and the higher up they are, the better. Even if you're passionate about the horribleness of your situation, remain calm. It really is a small world after all.

Don't jump ship unless you have a ship to jump to.  Have a plan. How will you pay the mortgage and the credit cards? It's tough out there and you may plan to have a job within a week or two, but don't count on it, so before you go in to the office and tell your boss where to go, have enough in reserves to carry you through the next few months. When you quit, you aren't eligible for unemployment and your employer may also stop paying for your health insurance so keep that in mind.

If you can't quit, try to make the best of a bad situation. Write out the pros and cons of working there and on the "cons" list, don't write "everything". Take a couple of days worth of vacation and take a good look at your job description and duties that you're asked to do on a daily basis. Is it more than you can handle and if so is there any way you can speak to your supervisor about spreading some of your duties around? Do you have a good benefits package with health care, flexible hours and stock options? If you look at the cons, try and see if there is anything that can be fixed just by simply having a conversation with your supervisor.

Have you ever quit your job? Did you ever quit only to regret it later?