When to give notice after bonus is paid? Forum

Donkeykongmadness · Post by **Donkeykongmadness** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 7:27 am

How soon should I give notice after bonuses are paid? Some have raised the concern of optics of giving notice the day after bonuses are paid. Have a new gig lined up that is better pay than big law and would like to take some time off before starting new gig.

Chrstgtr · Post by **Chrstgtr** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 9:15 am

Can't answer your actual question, but I would like to hear about this better paying job. What type of work? Are the hours similar or worse? Is it in law? How did you score it? Etc.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 11:45 am

Chrstgtr wrote:Can't answer your actual question, but I would like to hear about this better paying job. What type of work? Are the hours similar or worse? Is it in law? How did you score it? Etc.

+100000000000000000

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 12:05 pm

Who cares about optics? You are quitting, take the money and GTFO and enjoy.

dixiecupdrinking · Post by **dixiecupdrinking** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 12:18 pm

I think it's reasonable not to want to burn bridges, but I wouldn't worry about it. Leaving in Jan after bonuses is pretty typical.

Donkeykongmadness · Post by **Donkeykongmadness** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 12:44 pm

January? I was hoping to get out in December. I'm not on any pressing matters and could either try to milk a couple more weeks of pay or head off to Thailand or Belize to do absolutely nothing for a couple weeks.

Would be happy to explain more about the exit opportunity after I've given notice and exited.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 1:00 pm

With no exaggeration, I have personally witnessed people wait for the wire on the computer and walk over to HR the moment after the check clears. At my friends large firm in New York there are usually around 20 resignations on bonus payment day.

You owe your firm absolutely nothing and agreed that you can be fired at any time or leave at any time. You are quite narcissistic to believe that the firm will actually care about you leaving. The moment you leave the firm they will forget about you. The partners you work for will still love you, but they have seen hundreds of associates they also love leave the firm.

It sounds like you have never left a job before. When you do, you will realize that nobody cares. Good luck with your next gig, it sounds awesome based on the little details you provided. To reiterate, bonus season is resignation time at big firms and they know it, nobody will care. Just check that there are no conditions to staying til a certain date for receiving the bonus.

jkpolk · Post by **jkpolk** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 1:05 pm

Anonymous User wrote:You owe your firm absolutely nothing and agreed that you can be fired at any time or leave at any time.

dixiecupdrinking · Post by **dixiecupdrinking** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 4:03 pm

Donkeykongmadness wrote:January? I was hoping to get out in December. I'm not on any pressing matters and could either try to milk a couple more weeks of pay or head off to Thailand or Belize to do absolutely nothing for a couple weeks.

Would be happy to explain more about the exit opportunity after I've given notice and exited.

Fine, then December. Whatever works. You're missing the point, which is that it's normal to leave right after bonuses. Do you think it matters to them that you waited an extra two weeks or something out of some sense of politeness?

Donkeykongmadness · Post by **Donkeykongmadness** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 4:21 pm

Eh, I might not have been clear about what my preference is. If I had my choice, I would literally walk into a partners office the second the check cleaners and say "Bye Felicia." A couple friends and coworkers have suggested I give it some time after bonuses are paid before giving notice so it's not so transparent. Doesn't make sense to me because I'm basically dead weight once I give notice.

So, yeah, I agree with you that I owe them nothing and no one will care other than perhaps a few people.

Anonymous User wrote:With no exaggeration, I have personally witnessed people wait for the wire on the computer and walk over to HR the moment after the check clears. At my friends large firm in New York there are usually around 20 resignations on bonus payment day.

You owe your firm absolutely nothing and agreed that you can be fired at any time or leave at any time. You are quite narcissistic to believe that the firm will actually care about you leaving. The moment you leave the firm they will forget about you. The partners you work for will still love you, but they have seen hundreds of associates they also love leave the firm.

It sounds like you have never left a job before. When you do, you will realize that nobody cares. Good luck with your next gig, it sounds awesome based on the little details you provided. To reiterate, bonus season is resignation time at big firms and they know it, nobody will care. Just check that there are no conditions to staying til a certain date for receiving the bonus.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 4:32 pm

How do bonuses typically work. On like Dec X they say that bonuses will be paid to everyone employed on Dec X + Y? I'm guess you can't leave on X and be like "Mail my bonus on X+Y thanks"

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 4:55 pm

Your partners will know what's up either way.

If you're going to a potential client, give extra long notice the day after the bonus clears. If they don't want to keep you for extra long, they'll tell you to shorten it. If they want to keep you happy for future bus dev they'll grumble but keep you around without working you.

Saw a senior associate pull this off once. For his last month at the firm, nobody wanted to staff him on new matters and he basically showed up to the office for a couple hours every day and still got paid.

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