I was just given the offer for “Quantitative Investment Analyst”.
I do NOT plan on rejecting this offer.
What is the most prudent way to leave my current job? I work in operations with a bunch of pre-teen’esque temper tantrum throwing, slack jawwed, rice pilaf for brains type bozos. I HATE my environment, and if I have to explain the difference between a muni bond being called and an early redemption again I’m going to have a Jack Black in “School of Rock” type meltdown…
Question is though - How can I quit? Can I just say “Hey Mrs. Boss lady, I quit *after my bonus*”? Or, do I owe my employer the chance to explain my situation, and try to leverage that into a role I - ought - to be doing? In other words, is it worth having a convo saying “Hey, I really think my skills could be beter utilized in a different department” before I give the deuces?
I’m also in to hear anyone elses stories relating to this.
I would just tell your boss straight up. Go into his office and tell him you’ve been looking - because you want to further your career in that path (not ops). Be sure to mention how you like the group, like your current job, but feel like its a dead end at current company, career-wise (lie, lie, truth).
If they want to keep you, they’ll get you some role you should be doing (if it exists?). If not, they may ask if it is a money thing. If not, they may just say ok, thanks for heads up, good luck.
If you don’t tell them you’re leaving and talk about your “skills in diff department, etc”, they’ll prob drag their feet and it will take weeks/months. You having an offer lights a fire.
Give them 2 weeks notice of course, and always do it after bonuses. Congrats.
Thank you sir. This is very helpful. The part I’m having trouble with is exactly around bonuses. I was told they’d like to get me in the next 15-30 days, but last year our bonuses were included in our end of February paychecks.
Does handing in your two week notice give them the ability to disqualify me for a bonus?
Yes you’ll get cut out most likely. Don’t tell anyone you’re leaving until after the cheque clears. Hand in your 2weeks a day or two after that. Set your start date to 3 weeks after your cheque clears.
In addition: be professional. say this move is more along the lines of your long term career goals and interests - thank them profusely for the time and support they have given you. Under no circumstances can you entertain a counter offer - you must be firm on this - this is your dream move and it’s not an issue with money or loyalty (you have always done your best for the firm etc). Be a pro and helpful passing off work and sitting with others in the last two weeks - leave a good impression.
Don’t tell your best work friends, don’t tell your boss, don’t tell anyone until the cheque clears. Your loyalty is to you. If the new firm pushes you to move before bonus is released that will be tricky… you will need to handle that with tact. Something like my financial obligations to (family/mortgage/student loans) do not allow me to join prior to my 2017 bonus, I am happy to learn/study whatever materials you provide so I can hit the ground running when I do arrive… etc.Trust me, the team can wait 2 weeks more, new employees generally aren’t useful until 4-6 months in any ways.
Dude I had the exact same situation. They wanted me to start right away and bonuses weren’t paid out until 5 weeks later at the place I was at.
Depends how much your bonus really is, and what your potential is at the next place. I knew my potential was huge at the place I was going to and decided to start on a positive note there. So I walked from the bonus, left prob $10-15k on the table, which looking back is peanuts now. I made the right call.
Up to you. If it is a good amount of cash, and you really need it, then see if they can wait and explain the situation to your future employer. They should be understanding - mine was. But I still left early. At bonus time at my new place they remembered that I left early and left money on the table and that played a role into the bonus I got at the new place, i.e. they liked that I was dedicated to their firm.
Although you should obviously see if you can wait until you get your bonus, if it is small (maybe
It gets to be a problem in finance when people are paid bonuses that are 1x, 2x, 3x or higher than their base salary. Plus, you might abandon a ton of deferred compensation and non vested stock.
So let’s game plan this, because let’s face it - an operational role is getting paid a bonus of maybe $5K…
How does this sound: “Hi [BOSS NAME], I would like to explore changing roles at [COMPANY NAME] to another area where I can have an impact because I was given another opportunity at an outside firm and it is very compelling. I am very grateful for the opportunity you have provided me here, but I want to take it without burning a bridge”.
are you as stupid as the people you work with in your opinion? just say thank you for the opportunity to work here i will be resigning effective XXXXX date. No need to make an impact BS no one give a crap what you do when you are leaving no need to even tell them unless they ask. i had a good relationship with my bosses so i always sat them down and told them first before submitting it in writing just so it wasnt an out of the blue email but you clearly are a quant and lack people skills so do whatever
also how did you manage a quant role from ops? thats the biggest shock
its not a dick measuring contest its an honest question - quant roles are very competitive usually and require the ability to code in a ton of languages and generally requre advanced degrees in hard sciences. while working BO roles myself i dont think i ever met a person with those credentials so you either did a terrible job networking out of college to land a BO gig, or you did a fantastic job of it since you got this job. think others on the board would benefit from hearing.
congrats on the new gig - just dont burn a bridge at the old place acting like you are better than everyone cause you never know what the future will bring
Buddy just have the new firm buy out that piddly bonus. If it’s small like you say it’ll be an afterthought. Tell them, look, I’m getting an $XX bonus in a few weeks, and I don’t want to leave that on the table. I’ve had my bonuses bought out twice in my career. Happens all the time.
Yeah but what if they get annoyed at that and say that they are rescinding the offer? I wouldn’t want to jeopardize that for $5k.
Leave now, thank your boss, and roll. If he asks you why you’re leaving you can get into it more, but if he just wishes you good luck say thanks and roll.
ALSO - Make sure to keep a good relationship with all of them - help train other guys in what you did and go out on a positive note. Odds are you may need them as references for future jobs.
Sure, that’s a judgment call. I’ve always been like, “look, I just thought I’d run this by you, but I’m leaving a bit of money on the table and I’d like to know if there’s any way you can help me bridge the gap here if you’d like this position filled sooner rather than later.” If you’re working with a recruiter or hiring manager that is under a deadline, chances are they would prefer to remove the roadblock to filling the position ASAP and just pay you. Of course, I had sums that were significantly more than $5k, but not so high that the new employer felt I had a gun to their head. As usual, style and tact always matter.
EDIT: I should also note that I have hired employees and authorized said buyouts myself.
I think everyone in this thread is contributing fair points. This is a rather small shop, and I’ve known the owner now for a while. I explained my situation and everyone is cool.
