Telling Your Manager You Quit

Even though I had attempted to prepare a dialogue for my resignation,  I knew that the best thing for me to do was be as honest as possible.

In short, it went well. My manager was supportive in my decision and understood that if I didn't make the move now, that it would be that much more difficult to do it down the road.  After the 15 minute meeting we stood up, shook hands and a couple of days later, the details of my resignation were shared with the rest of the office. 

It was much easier than I thought it would be.  Let's face it,  it's not like I was leaving on bad terms. I bet in the back of his mind he thought I was crazy for leaving my position.  Afterall, it was a six figure salary.

I had a pretty interesting conversation with a good friend about this topic over the weekend.  He just got promoted into a managerial position at a cell phone store.  I responded with enthusiasm and said that it would be great experience for his resume further down the road.

After he explained that although an increase in base pay was somewhat beneficial, he was not getting compensated on any sales commissions.  He said that he could be eligible for a capped bonus based on yearly targets, but even then there was no "real" incentive. He further explained that the process of selling cell phones was becoming less satisfying and limiting his ability to have pride in his work.

I told him that it was because he was putting all of his energy into someone elses idea, someone elses organization, and someone else's profit making.

This seems to be a common theme in today's big companies. The bottom of the pyramid who's sole responsibility is to sell the product has to do whatever it takes to make the sale even if you have to lie, suckup, sell-out, bribe, conjur up a story, etc.  Yes, these are negative things from a moral perspective, but from a capitalist perspective, the bottom line is money by any means.  This is what I was taught in University, and this is what is commonly practiced.

My good friend told me that he had sold a phone to an elderly woman who had committed to the most expensive plan available.  He told me that she was not likely to even use the plan for all of its features, and it was at that point that he began thinking about whether this was what he wanted to do for a living.

For some, selling out can work out just fine from a financial perspective.  But for many others out there, it is simply unnatural.

And since I consider myself in the latter category, I have finally made it public to the world that not only do I quit my current organization, I quit running around for someone else's benefit.