Giving notice at job?

[psychbug]

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It's been awhile since I was on here, but this forum was great when I was in grad school, and I'm in need of some job advice and can't reach out to my listservs because my colleagues are on the same listervs. I've been licensed for 18 months (woohoo! still feels good to say that) and have been working with a wonderful group of people. However, my commute is over an hour each way, and my job is more general outpatient psych with very little opportunity to practice my preferred specialty (peds psych). Luckily for me, someone from my community approached me about creating a peds psych position for me in their healthcare center. We've been in contact for almost a year now, and last month, funding for position was approved! Now they just have to list the position and officially interview me before I can receive an official offer. It's EXACTLY what I want to do and it's within 20 minutes of my home. In other words, hell yes I'm taking it (even if there's a pay cut). Naturally, I've already started worrying about how I'll give my notice at my current job.

Firstly, how much time is typical? 2 months notice? 3 months? I can't seem to locate this information in my clinics' policies and procedures. Secondly, how much information should I give them about my new job? I'm certainly not going to share that I've been in talks about the new job for close to a year, but I work in a small state and everyone knows everyone. I can guarantee that I will continue to collaborate with my colleagues and see them at local events. Finally, any tips for going about this gracefully? Like I said, they'll continue to be part of my professional community. Plus, I like them, and I feel a bit guilty that I'm leaving them in the lurch because there's been some recent retirements and no one new to fill those positions.

TIA!

 

[ClinicalABA]

Assuming you’re an employee at will with no contractual obligations otherwise, 2-3 months is very fair. Anything less than a month is, imho, pretty lame. You owe them no formal description of the new position. However, giving ample notice, framing it in the context of there being an opportunity close to home in your area of expertise, and emphasizing how they were good to you and how much you appreciate the opportunity you had there should go a long ways towards protecting a good relationship with them. People leave jobs, and good supervisors know this and deal with it professionally. If I had an employee working outside their area (clinically and geographically)- particularly early career- I’d be both expecting of and understanding of a move. Unless you make personal, a good supervisor won’t make it so.

If you give 2-3 months notice and act professionally and kindly on the way out and they give you any problems, they are being jerks (remember, they can probably let you go tomorrow with little or no recourse if they wanted to).

 

[Sanman]

Agreed with most of the above. Above check your contract for notice requirements if you have one. I would say a minimum of 1 month's notice gives you enough time to handle patient care issues. 2-3 months would be quite generous, but not always an option with the new position. As ABA mentioned, you want to transition in good faith, but you also need to be prepared that they may let you go immediately, If you give them too much notice, you may be putting yourself in a bad position. Also, don't do anything until you have a written offer in place from the new job.

As far as how much information to give them about the new job? As little as possible, IMO. As ABA said let them know that a position closer to home in your specialty opened up. You can let those you are close to know the details later and the word will get around.

Most places will expect a change and be gracious, but some people will always take these things personally. Good luck!

 

[deleted343839]

2-3 months' notice is plenty. At the academic medical centers where I've been employed the policy is to give 3 months' notice for faculty with patient care responsibilities, though sometimes less than that is OK. In a private practice setting I think 2 months is fine. You are under no obligation to talk about your new job, and even if you are on good terms with the people there I would err on the side of discretion for now.

It's normal to feel some guilt about leaving a job especially when you like your colleagues, but most people understand that job changes are normal especially for early career psychologists. Everyone will move on.

Of course, do not give notice before you have signed a written offer for the new position!

 

[erg923]

You will save a few hundred, perhaps, on gas every month if you get this job? If so, a slight pay cut could be negligible, but I encourage folks not to enter into job arrangements/negotiations with that in mind.

People and pay should move up with experience, not down. Please negotiate. They already have the need and desire. You may have a good upper-hand here.

 

[psychbug]

Thank you all!! This is very helpful to me. I appreciate the feedback and the advice (especially around negotiating salary, erg923)!

 

[WisNeuro]

Also, consider compensation in total, not just salary (PTO days, how much you vs they pay into insurance, matching contributions 403/401, etc). Sometimes these are also negotiable, usually just PTO, but should also be taken into account when considering total compensation packages. I've had job offers offering 10k+ in salary, but when monetizing other variables, they were actually about 20k lower than other offers, despite the salary difference.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Negotiate salary, benefits (health insurance, retirement, etc), and also soft/fringe benefits like time off and a generous budget/stipend for CE, and discuss staffing needs and expectations.

Also, do yourself a favor and negotiate a check-in at 6mon and a formal review in a year, particularly w a new position bc new responsibilities will likely pop up and you’ll need to adjust and adapt on clinical and admin needs.

 

[AbnormalPsych]

Hate to hijack this thread, but seems in the same ballpark.

I am supervising someone who is hitting the job market for the first time, and wants to land one of their top choices so they can be close to home and also in their specialty, like OP. They have several interviews at less desirable places first, and will likely get offers from less desirable places prior to completing interviews at the more desirable places. All the sites are large medical centers, mix of VA, AMC, and private systems. Specialized area - clinical position, mostly therapy. I am an ECP and didn't have to go through such a process when moving into my first position. Any wisdom from the group on this process? How transparent should they be? General advice on cards to play? Negotiations? Thanks!