So I got my first job working at a small restaurant about three months ago. I basically do anything the others don’t want to do that doesn’t include making the food. I work 6 hours a week and make minimum wage ($9.30 in Ohio). I also recently got a job opportunity via a friend of my mother for a job working in his slightly larger small restaurant for $12.50 an hour, an INSANE pay raise.
I’ve been called off one of my two weekly working days for the third week in a row and honestly the job just isn’t working for me.
There’s a few issues with quitting though.
1) I get crazy confrontation anxiety, I’m terrified to tell my boss I’m quitting.
2) My boss is incredibly sweet. He’s the nicest old man ever and I’d hate to make him feel like it’s his fault (it’s not his fault, it’s the manager’s fault)
3) My boss is ALSO a friend of the family. I make him sad and I’ll get a stern talking to from my grandpa, who he’s bestie with.
I plan on giving him a friendly note explaining why I’m quitting (I’m using school as an excuse rather than telling the truth, I’m a 17 year old junior in HS) but I don’t know how to go about explaining what the note is or when to give it to him. I have no way to contact him outside of work so it HAS to be in person. How should I go about this while not hurting anybody involved?
4 comments
Just do it. Do you want to be happy at a higher paying job? Just tell him in person, “I got an offer for a higher paying job, it was nice working here though.”
If your grandpa wants to be mad at you then let him, tell him if he cares that much he can go work your old job for $9.30 an hour to make it up to him lol.
There is no magical way to confront people you just have to say it and get it over with. Otherwise you sit there suffering in silence because you don’t wanna inconvenience others and would rather suffer yourself.
A great mental trick to get yourself ready for this is to prepare yourself to fight. When anxious our brains treat things that aren’t actually harmful as things that can hurt us. So if you get in the fighting mindset you’ll realize that you actually aren’t in any danger at all and the worst thing they can do is say words. I do this any time I start stressing out about anything and it helps ground my mind a lot.
Or you can always just stop showing up, leave a note on the counter for someone to read and they’ll figure it out eventually. Might make your grandpa mad though. But if this old guy is really as nice as you say then he should be supportive of you going somewhere with higher pay. In this situation he is technically stuffing you out of an extra $2/hr every week.
So you’ve only been there 3 months or so, working 6 hours a week? Honestly just do it. Don’t make an excuse, just tell him you have an offer somewhere else. It’s not personal in the slightest, this is just how jobs are. You’re not expected to stay at one place forever, especially at your age. He definitely won’t be hurt.
Just tell him you need to talk in the office, or wait until he’s there. Say it was a pleasure working here, thank you for the opportunity, shake his hand etc.
Be professional and he’ll be professional. Also I doubt your grandpa would care. I mean, what’s he gonna say? You should’ve taken the pay cut? He should be happy for you, if anything.
Be honest. Sometimes they will match the wage to keep you, but a good manager will get why you are leaving. Give them 2 weeks notice in writing. If you can pick up a weekend shift after the two weeks to help the new trainee.
You don’t want to just leave. Your manager will be your reference on your resume some day.
I’d recommend personally just sending in a respectful resignation email or message.
Basically state that as much as you’ve appreciated the job opportunity and experience, it’s time to move on. If you want you can offer to potentially be a casual staff, if they’re ever desperate for a backup person.
And then next shift in person, can have a little chat about it if needed.
Personally, I’ve found emailing to be a good initial start to resigning – removes the initial anxiety of having to face the person themselves.