Pulling the trigger on Monday

[nearly50]

OK, I'm as ready as I'll ever be. I think I have all my ducks in a row and I will be tendering my resignation Monday.

I had my notice letter ready to go yesterday, but I got a case of cold feet at the last minute. When I got home, my wife, bless her heart, gave me some more encouragement, so I'm pumped and nothing is stopping me now.

Have any of you had last minute jitters pulling the trigger? Leaving the security of full-time employment for the new frontier of ER is very nerve wracking. Sort of like stage fright, or going off to war (not that I have ever done that, thankfully).

 

[Marshac]

you can ALWAYS go back to work. Blasphemy around here I know, but if it makes you feel better, just keep that in mind.

 

[Cut-Throat]

Have any of you had last minute jitters pulling the trigger? Leaving the security of full-time employment for the new frontier of ER is very nerve wracking. Sort of like stage fright, or going off to war (not that I have ever done that, thankfully).

Yup, I did, but I got over it after about a year. You eventually get a 'New Normal' - Humans don't deal with change all that well.

The thought of going back to work now terrifies me. Sometimes I wake up in a cold sweat that somehow I'm back in the office. In the morning, I usually make a pot of coffee and watch the birds and don't do squat for the next couple of hours.

 

[JOhn Galt]

I never had a retirement party, although I think of my whole life as kind of a party I guess that when I shut my company down ( I was 49) none of the
employees felt like throwing me a bash. However, I agree with Cut-Throat that many people think such an
early departure is a bit odd. To reprise some previous quotes:

One friend

"I knew you were talking retirement. I didn't know you meant now!"

Another friend

"I wish I was you."

My brother

"But, what does he do all day?"

For millions the concept is completely foreign. That is part of what makes doing it so delicious.

JG

 

[Brat]

I was 48 at my retirement party. I retired to preserve my sanity and to structure "corporate capital punishment" to the person causing grief to a lot of folks. Accomplished both goals!

My departing message was to remind my co-workers that they had an obligation to develop those that follow in our footsteps. I passed the baton and hid a sword in my cloak.

Twang!!

 

[Bob_Smith]

I was 48 at my retirement party.  I retired to preserve my sanity and to structure "corporate capital punishment" to the person causing grief to a lot of folks.  Accomplished both goals!

Brat, that sounds like an interesting story. I had a similar opportunity. Long term retiring employees where I worked were asked to provide an honest appraisal of the workplace. I had one turkey who I had fantasized about nailing. He is a consummate weasel despised by many. I wrote up a masterpiece. I spent hours making it just right - it was a bombshell. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to send it. I never did.

 

[wabmester]

Oh, yeah! I wrote one of those lists. At the top of my list was "get rid of the CEO!" To my delight and surprise, he was gone about six months later. I know I had nothing to do with that, but had I known it was going to happen, I might have stuck around for a little longer. After a while, that move did wonders for the stock price, and the options I left on the table could have provided a fat SWR cushion....

 

[John Galt]

Hey "Get rid of the CEO" was on my list too! And I did it.
However, since I was the CEO and owned the company,
everyone else stopped working also, ready or not.
That part was not much fun as I had some really good and
talented people.

JG

 

[Brat]

My approach was not to attack (which is rarely effective) - no parting shot. I wrote a letter asking a couple simple questions. It may have helped that I had worked for the organization for 26 years, had a very good reputation internally and with the community, and had never given management grief.

When the recipient passed it along and asked for a management audit, the manager was exposed. He was removed and his superior was moved to another responsibility. It was all done in a very discrete and professional way.

No co-workers lost their jobs, few knew what actually happened. It turned out that the manager in question had a history with his former employer that included sexual harassment issues. His was a self-serving power game.

I retired for one year then given an opportunity to make a difference elsewhere.

A general comment about orgs: If you continue to work for a less than ethical manager/company it will rarely help your resume. Control your own destiny, leave.

 

[Calgary_Girl]

Congratulations!

I think being nervous about going into the unknown is basic human nature. In the end however, everything always has a way of working out.

 

[John Galt]

Or, as they say on The Sopranos "You can't go into the
unknown not knowin' "

JG

 

[Nords]

Ready, aim...

Another thought on this. Very important!

Make sure you get some sort of official sendoff - retirmement lunch or something. It forces your superiors to have to say nice things about you. etc. I did this and it makes it more official and lets everyone know that you left on your own accord.

Remember your RETIRING not Quiting! - You can only do this once. It's kind of a rite of Passage!

If you don't get one of these, people will think that you were forced out and you won't enjoy having to defend yourself in the next few months. People just cannot believe that someone leaves on their own when under 55 years old.

In these days of no pension, no gold watch - No nothing at least get a free meal out of the deal. I picked the most expensive resturant in town and had Filet Mignon and Lobster. I really enjoyed myself!

Well, Cut-Throat, I can't agree that it's for everyone. I'd advise Nearly50 to go with the gut feeling.

I'd seen too many ego-enhancing retirement ceremonies, sometimes two-three a week with the full military monty-- band, troops sweating in formation, flag officers, speeches, cakes, and so on. Sometimes I was happy to be there to say farewell (or to make sure that the SOB wasn't coming back) but mostly it seemed to be a colossal waste of the command's time. Other times I felt like the command was forcing it on the retiree as "policy" or to avoid accusations that they hadn't done the right thing.

Another issue was testosterone poisoning. I'm uncomfortable watching a steely-eyed killer of the deep blubber all over his whites during the retirement speech. I must have promised myself about 20 times that I wasn't gonna put myself in that position, and the only way to avoid the ambush is to not set it up in the first place.

As for the "retired or forced out" issue, I wouldn't want to associate with someone who thinks I've been forced out. And if I wouldn't want to associate with them, I wouldn't care about their opinion or what they said about the situation. Friends know & understand.

Whichever decision you make, Nearly50, welcome to the board and enjoy!

 

[Cut-Throat]

Nords,

Being in the Military and the Corporate life, I can assure you that they are 2 different Worlds.

The Military overdoes it with ceremonies, the corporate world does not have time to. Ceremonies are important for transitions of life. Otherwise we would not have Weddings, Funerals etc.

When you spend 18 years of your life with one employer in one location, I can say I am glad I had a small 'ceremony'.

 

[JWV]

OK, I'm as ready as I'll ever be.  I think I have all my ducks in a row and I will be tendering my resignation Monday.  

So, how did it go?

Judy

 

[retire@40]

As for -- to have a retirement ceremony or NOT -- I would suggest, when in doubt 'whip it out'. IF you are NOT absolutely sure you DON'T want a ceremony, you should probably have one to avoid regrets later on.

Personally, I didn't need one OR WANT one.

I would always suggest NOT having a retirement party or ceremony. The less your friends and relatives know that you retired early, the more friends and relatives you will keep. You may have more regrets later if you do have a party, especially if you are forced to go back to work again.

It serves no purpose to bask in your own success in the face of others who may have the same desire but either don't have the same smarts or motivation or luck as you.
This would be akin to you going into a cancer clinic and telling everyone how healthy and strong you are.

If asked why you are not working, I would just say you have cut down your hours, or you are do some consulting from home, or you are taking some time off for yourself and your family.

 

[nearly50]

It went well. I told my boss about retiring, he congratulated me and that was about it. No questions about why I'm retiring early.

I was at a party on Saturday and one of my friends (she's 42) told me that she resigned her high school math teaching job on Friday and encouraged me to pursue my dreams. Hers is to open a cafe for the kids to hang out in. Mine is to cut down trees and carve musical instruments from the harvested wood.

So, I made it before 50! Now on with the next half of my life. Thanks to all of you for the encouragement, advice and support.

 

[Nords]

Congratulations, nearly50!

Nords,
Being in the Military and the Corporate life, I can assure you that they are 2 different Worlds.

Well thank goodness for that! Although neither one holds a candle to ER...

Otherwise we would not have Weddings, Funerals etc.

Um, we barely had the first-- 35 close friends at a restaurant-- and I've asked not to have the second. I'm not a big fan of closure.

These life-marking ceremonies seem to polarize opinion-- some insist that they're essential and others are just as insistent that they're a waste of time. Too many times I've seen guys like me cowering before guys like you and saying "Well, OK, if that's how you feel then maybe we should do it. Especially if it'll stop the browbeating!" That's why I advised going with the gut feeling and resisting the "WE MUST HAVE CLOSURE" zealousness.

One thing that particularly disturbs me about these ceremonies is that there's usually someone behind the scenes who's driven themselves to exhaustion to get it accomplished, and they're very unhappy amidst the celebrants. Even when it's contracted there's some poor liaison staffer who spends an inordinate amount of time on the project. That person's efforts aren't always appreciated, and even if they are appreciated I've seen too many utter a strong "Never again!" sentiment.

Don't even get me started on wedding hysteria (especially the bachelor party-- although the groom's father recovered, the charges were dropped, and the bride decided to go ahead). There's also the expense of the ceremony that could probably be better put to savings or bequests.

I don't object to other people having their ceremonies and I don't usually object to going to them. That's their choice. But when it's all about me I'd rather be surfing, and the prospective guests are welcome to join me on a party wave.

So again congratulations & welcome to the board, nearly50! You'll have to keep us posted on your transition experience. For example, what makes you so sure that the first half of your life is over!?!

 

[nearly50]

Well, it seems that some friends of mine told some other people about my pending retirement, and I got 4 unsolicited offers to consult for companies all around the country, working from home in my underwear in front of my PC. Like Michael Corleone, just when I thought that I was out they pull me back in.

The work sounds interesting and up my alley, and $120/hr ain't chickenfeed, so I think I'll put off my 72T for the next year or so and sock some more money away. At least I'm free of the 8-5 grind at my old workplace, and I can work at a job of my choosing at my own pace.

I think I'll still have enough free time to become an amateur luthier and spend time with my family, in fact I'll make sure that I have enough time for that.

 

[retire@40]

...I got 4 unsolicited offers to consult for companies all around the country, working from home in my underwear in front of my PC.

At least I'm free of the 8-5 grind at my old workplace, and I can work at a job of my choosing at my own pace.

I think I'll still have enough free time to become an amateur luthier and spend time with my family, in fact I'll make sure that I have enough time for that.

Now if you had only "retired" earlier than you did!

 

[Beachbumz]

That has got to be the shortest retirement in history

 

[brewer12345]

Well, it seems that some friends of mine told some other people about my pending retirement, and I got 4 unsolicited offers to consult for companies all around the country, working from home in my underwear in front of my PC. Like Michael Corleone, just when I thought that I was out they pull me back in.

The work sounds interesting and up my alley, and $120/hr ain't chickenfeed, so I think I'll put off my 72T for the next year or so and sock some more money away.  At least I'm free of the 8-5 grind at my old workplace, and I can work at a job of my choosing at my own pace.

I think I'll still have enough free time to become an amateur luthier and spend time with my family, in fact I'll make sure that I have enough time for that.

nearly50, just keep in mind that money isn't everything and make sure you don't let the lure of extra filthy lucre keep you away from what is most important. You don't get back the extra time you spend at work.