Whether you’ve been downsized, or are resigning or retiring, the way you leave your company is as important as any of the successes you enjoyed while employed there.

“When I was the head of human resources at TV Guide, I had the difficult task of letting go one of our senior executives as a result of reorganization,” said Lee E. Miller, currently a U.S.-based career coach and the author of UP: Influence Power and the U Perspective — The Art of Getting What You Want. “The decision was not based on performance issues, and I thought well of him as an executive. When I called him into my office to give him the news, I had a generous severance package to give him and was prepared to offer to help him with his search for another position. To my surprise, when I told him of the decision, he started screaming at me.”

The executive then went on to talk to his colleagues about how poorly he was treated.

“Suffice to say that, after that incident, my view of him changed and so did that of the other executives at the firm,” said Miller. “I have no doubt how he handled his departure from the company hindered his search for new employment.”

Whether you are being let go or leaving to go on to another opportunity, how you handle your exit will be remembered by those you worked with, and can therefore have a strong impact on your future career. Leave gracefully.

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