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Once you’ve accepted the offer with your new employer and set the start date, obviously the next step is to let your current employer know you’ll be leaving. Write a brief letter of resignation (the operative word there is “brief”).

If you feel a need out of loyalty or guilt to write anything more than a few short sentences, curb it. The only information your letter needs to contain are the following two (possibly three) items:

– that you are leaving your current company
– what your last date of employment will be, and
– if you feel comfortable adding a sentence or two about how you enjoyed working for your current company, and you appreciate the opportunity to have been a part of the organization, tack that on

It should NOT include:

– why you are leaving
– where you are going
– what you will be doing in your new position
– how much you will be making when you get there
– how bad you feel about leaving (or conversely, how glad you are to be going!)

Make an appointment with your boss and hand deliver the letter. Tell him verbally the same words that your letter says, because the face-to-face is courteous and professional, while the letter is a formality for record of your employment. And be prepared for one of three things to happen.

Either your boss will professionally acknowledge your resignation, say how sorry he is to have you go, and shake your hand, or he will become very silent - just before he asks you what it would take to keep you. Or quite possibly, he’ll do the former, and you’ll be asked to another meeting later so that he can find out what it will take to keep you.

If your company is truly professional, you’ll resign, shake hands, and that will be that. But it doesn’t always go down that way, which takes us into the second way to resign, which actually is in danger of not being a resignation at all. It only starts out that way.

The first thing you need to know is that a counter offer is NOT - IS NOT - a sincere and genuine statement of their desire to keep you around for as long as you might decide to stay should you change your mind and accept their counter offer.

What you’ve just done by resigning is put the company at a disadvantage. You are creating an opening within the company, and you’ve left your company at a loss. By resigning, you’ve basically said, “I’m not interested in this company any more.” You’ve caused your loyalty to be questioned. You are in control, and they are not.

If your boss invites you in for a concerned chat, you’re better off sounding like a broken record - repeating your “thank you” and “my last day is…” than you are involving yourself in what appears to be a caring conversation about your ensuing future.

It doesn’t matter what you want or what you ask for, because they’ll give it to you - in one form or another - or possibly offer you something tasty before you even speak up. After they’ve lulled and flattered you into submission, and as you walk out the door smiling, they’re calling the newspaper or a recruiter and ordering up a confidential replacement.

In 25 years of recruiting - my firm, and working with other firms - I have never, ever, ever seen an accepted counter offer work in favor of the individual.

Don’t, for a minute, think I am being overly dramatic. A counter offer is a complete and 100% appeal to your ego and an attempt to push your guilt button. It’s unprofessional of your company to attempt it, and it’s unprofessional (and ill conceived) of you to take it.

It might be a month, or six months, but eventually, your next departure from the company will be on their terms.

The Internet has now given the ability to take the job search beyond boundaries, in that you can now effortlessly look for a restaurant job in Toronto or chef jobs just with a few clicks of the mouse. Simply type your preferred career and location into your favourite search engine and watch the jobs opportunities come in.

It sounds easy doesn’t it? Well remember with the ease of using the Internet to search for jobs you must keep in mind that to conduct an effective job search using only the Internet is almost an unrealistic expectation. You still will need to apply, submit your resume and attend the interview. All of which will require research on your part.

Research on a potential employer is still a critical part of any successful job search. Jobseekers should make it their priority to learn as much as possible about potential employers and the industry they represent. The five tips below will help you with your job search:

1. Remain Focused
Stay focused on your research goal and if you stumble across an interesting unrelated website, bookmark it and come back to it later. If not, before you know it you’ve lost track of what you wanted to accomplish, and have spent the last hour watching funny videos.

2. Develop a Research Strategy
Develop a plan before you begin looking for information by deciding in advance how much time you are willing to invest researching a particular topic. Your topic will influence where to look on the Internet, whether it’s searching newsgroups, blogs or company websites. Knowing roughly where your information might be found will assist you in developing your plan.

3. Keep Records
As you research potential employers you will collect a lot of information. By organizing the information you want to keep and discarding that which has little or no immediate value, you will be better prepared when it comes time to responding to emails from employers that you are interested in.

4. Set Realistic Goals
Goals will ensure you stay on track and should be specific, such as ‘spending 2 hours a day researching employers who are looking for chefs or cooks’ as opposed to the goal being ‘searching for a job on the Internet today’.

5. Visit the Restaurant
Sometimes, if you are lucky, the hiring manager may interview you the moment you drop off your resume or fill out an application. So be prepared and make sure you are properly dressed. In order to get some face time with a manager you will want to make sure you don’t show up during a rush. Try to visit the restaurant around 10am during the week to beat the lunch rush and before 3:30pm on weekdays to beat the dinner rush. On weekends many restaurants will have a breakfast or brunch rush so you will have to do some research if you plan on visiting the restaurant on the weekend. 

Finding a job online is the easy part. Making sure you are the right fit for what the company is looking for will take more effort on your part. Remember when performing your research to remain focused on the task at hand, develop a research plan that will help you to obtain a goal, keep good records of potential employers so you may refer back to them later and set realistic goals of how much research you can perform. If you become overwhelmed with the amount of information available, there are also plenty of head hunters and executive recruiters that will assist you in matching your skills with a company that is looking to fill a vacancy.

Every career success story is unique. While there isn’t a magic answer for taking your career to the top, following these ten steps will get you headed up the corporate ladder.

1. Reassess your career. Is your career path well aligned with your priorities and interest? Do you posses, or can you acquire, the experience and education to be successful? If not, consider a lateral move and work your way up from there.

2. Clearly define your career goals. Only when you know exactly where it is you want to go, will you be able to map out your plan to get there.

3. Create a development plan. Determine the steps you need to take for your next promotion. Include resources and due dates. Schedule these activities in your planner and follow through.

4. Communicate your career goals with management. If you work in an organization that promotes employee development, communicate your goals with your manager and ask for his or her support. If you are concerned about resistance, find a mentor within the organization that you can trust.

5. Volunteer to spearhead a new project. This shows initiative, puts you in a visible position, and builds new skills. It also gives you the opportunity to showcase your leadership skills.

6. Stay current in your field. Read industry publications and reports. Be aware of changing trends and position yourself accordingly.

7. Take classes or obtain a certification. Use your industry knowledge to your advantage. Take a course in an up and coming area or a specialty that will benefit your organization and give you an edge over the competition.

8. Assume a leadership role. Offer to mentor a junior associate in your organization, apply for a position on a local board, or chair a committee for a nonprofit organization.

9. Network, Network, Network. Within your organization and within the community. Increasing your visibility and gaining contacts are vital to your success when climbing the corporate ladder. No one ever got to the top alone.

10. Excel in your current position. Exceptional performance speaks for itself. You won’t get ahead with mediocre performance, regardless of how many other steps you implement.

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Did you know that the average person changes their career six times in their working life? There are many different reasons why a person would decide to switch careers- they may be laid off at their current job, a dream job may come along, people in a committed relationship may find themselves having to consider new prospects due to a change in location of the job of the other partner, or someone may just become plain bored in their current career, to the point where it feels like there is no point to the day. Career changes are not a bad thing, but they need to be planned according to the circumstances of your life, in such a way that you will still have the funds coming in which you need to survive.

Most of us will spend our lives hoping for the ideal job, but this will rarely materialize. The fact is, almost all jobs have their pitfalls- we may scoff at actors of musicians who complain about their long workdays or schedules, pointing to their pay checks, but the fact is that many jobs that offer lucrative incomes also entail a lot of dedication and hard work in order to get to the top. When you are defining your dream job, remember that almost every job comes with its downside, even if that downside is only the repetitiveness of the day.

A career change does not necessarily have to entail extensive retraining. Many people who have lost their jobs through layoffs or downsizing will find that their skills are still in demand, and that their experience is very useful in finding a new career. If you do not feel like retraining, consider a job with a different company where your skills fit. If you want to get right out of the corporate area, the odds are good that you can find a niche for yourself as an independent consultant or another area in which your expertise will add to your marketability.

Some people decide that they in fact do desire a total 360 degree turn from their current career path. In such circumstances, it is again best to begin by shopping the skills obtained at your former job only applied to new markets. You may also want to consider some retraining through college or university courses. There are many training courses available online, so people often do not even have to leave their homes in order to obtain the skills necessary to their new careers.

Whatever your decision, remember that it is always easier to find a new job when you are not desperate for one. Take the time to think through your decisions and applications carefully before severing ties with your current job; you may be ready for a change, but you will still have to eat in the meantime! In the event that your company has been downsized or other circumstance that has led to being laid off, find out if there are any contingency plans in place for retraining through the company or through any of the levels of government. This can provide a good financial buffer for that in-between time.

Do you want to get a promotion and make a lot more money? Do you want to be recognized for your hard work? Do you want to keep your job and not be downsized? In fact, do you want to know the secret to be Upsized? The most important skill you will ever learn is how to study and understand Office Politics.

Office politics plays a very important role in whether you get a promotion, an award, or the office job in London that you want, or the compensation that you receive. Virtually every aspect of your professional career is influenced by social politics. The proper understanding of the social “food chain” in your work space is essential for your professional success and financial well-being.

To understand why the organization works and how to use that information to your advantage, you must first understand how the “Big Fish” act and think. Who are the “Big Fish”? They are the decision makers, the people who are up-and-coming in the company and the people who hold ultimate power in the company. These are the CEO’s, Presidents, VPs, managers, and supervisors who are what I consider to be “in favor”.

When it comes to these “Big Fish” they typically care only about two things. The first is how they can take credit for increasing the effectiveness of the company and the second is who around them can get the results they need to be successful. To summarize, for these people it is all about self-preservation and self-promotion.

Are the “Big Fish” unethical or self-absorbed? No, the successful people just want excellent employees working for them and they expect results. If you were in a dog-sled race would you want a team of Siberian Huskies or Chihuahuas? The answer is obvious; you would want to win the race so you would want the best team available.

Can this information be helpful to you? Let me ask you:

1. Do you think you stand a better chance of getting a promotion working for a “little fish” or a “Big Fish”?

2. Is your chance of getting a good raise better or worse if the VP knows your name and the projects you have worked on?

3. Are you more or less likely to move up in the company if you are working on a “Big Fish’s” pet project?

The bottom line is this…If you align yourself with a “Big Fish” you will be considered for more opportunities than you would ever have working for a “little fish”. Why? The reason is because people trust people who can get the job done. If the “Big Fish” trusts you then he/she will be comfortable giving you more and more responsibility. And with more responsibility comes promotions and A LOT more money.

Study your office politics and align yourself with a “Big Fish” and will progress your career farther and faster than you ever could have imagined.