On Tuesday of this week I landed a part time overnight retail job. The pay is just above minimum wage. I've been doing this my entire life so I know I'd be an all-star at the job. On Wednesday I have an interview for a job that paid more that I wasn't so sure about. After going to the interview I realized this job was more of a career. The pay was more, excellent benefits, it's a new company coming to town that has a 22 year contract to do what they do, and they have locations accross the country if you ever wanted to transfer/relocate. I was called back yesterday saying I got the job. I leave for Philly the last week of July for training. So my question is, is it best to go ahead and tell the retail job I quit (before I even start), or would it be best to give them 3 good weeks of work before quitting? Or better yet, explain it to them now hoping they would let me work for those 3 weeks and be cool with me leaving the job then. My first day at this retail job is Monday night. Thoughts? What would you do?
I understand this concept but I could honestly use the little money I would make from them over the 3 week period. Even if this hinders my chances of doing that, I should go ahead and be honest up front?
If you need the money then don't tell them yet because there is a chance they may decide not to keep you around for the 3 weeks. I've always typically done 2 weeks notice on everything.
Yep... I had two part time jobs for a few weeks (a 6am to 12 noon job at OfficeMax, and a 6pm to midnight job at Home Depot). I got a FT job with benefits and told both right away. I figured the folks at Home Depot would be OK with me not coming in since I was still considered "in training" but it was a busy season and they needed me to do freight team work in the home and garden section, so they had me work all the way through a "notice period" of two weeks. They figured (rightly so) that if I ever wanted to work there again in the future I should provide them the notice period... and to be honest, I needed the pay too (though it would have been nice to get more sleep and not be so beat from moving fertilizer and top soil for 6 hours so late). In your case, you may want or need to work at the retail place again in the future, so best not to burn any bridge by being honest with them.
If I were the retail company, I wouldn't let you work for 3 weeks. However if you're not under any contractual agreement with them, why not just go ahead with the 3 weeks and then tell them when you're about to leave? It's part time and employees come and go like people going in and out of an elevator.
They won't let you work for 3 weeks if you tell them upfront. If you need the money, just start working and tell them at the latest time possible, but then explain it to them in a way so that bridges won't be burned.
You're probably right. I'll just tell them I interviewed with this company a couple months ago and hadn't heard back so I figured I didn't get the job and they called me the day before and told me I got the job and training would begin in a few days/week . Be nice, polite and sincere.
^ ^ *yeah, stupid iphone, it doesn't check things before it sends the message magically* ( Why do people blame their mistakes on technology? )
If the job you're leaving is just a slightly-above-minimum-wage job, I would say just wait until a day or two before you quit to tell them (assuming you need the money). I don't think you need to worry about "burning your bridges" to a part-time retail job in a city you're about to move away from. Doesn't mean you have to be an *******, but you need to look out for #1. You don't want to tell them now and have them fire you and you lose 3 weeks worth of salary.
Sounds like you will do it right. I don't think they would get upset with you if you gave them a week or so of notice. I once worked at a job for 4 hours. During my lunch break on my first day I got in my car to chill for a bit. But then something weird happened: I started driving home. And when I got home, I just sat there, knowing that my lunch break wasn't long enough for me to do that. But I did it anyway. Once my lunch break was officially over and I still found myself sitting on my couch at home, I just decided to never return to that place. And I didn't. They never tried to call me and a few weeks later I received a pay check for those 4 hours. It was about $20.
If I was the retail store, I wouldn't want to bother with you for the 3 weeks. Why bother training you? So, if you need the money in the interim, say nothing, then quit. It's not a nice thing to do, but eating ramen for 3 weeks isn't nice either. EDIT: If you want to be slightly less of a jerk, work for a week or so, so that you're most useless period is behind you. Then tell them you've got this other job and ask to stay the other 2 weeks. At that point, they might think you could be just useful enough to keep you around as they look for your replacement. Though if it's a big place, they'll probably just give your hours to someone else.
Exactly. In the future you're not going to use your retail jobs as a reference when you get older anyway.
This. Two weeks is more custom for white collar jobs. I'd only give 3 weeks if I like the company and the hiring position can allow it. Best for me would be to take a week off and let everything settle before starting anew.
