Here’s our best advice on things to do before leaving a job after resigning while abroad. ☆ Perhaps you’re just switching from one job to another in the same country, or even same city. Maybe you’re picking up and moving on to the next destination on your journey. Or, as is the case for many, you’re facing the end of your working abroad program, wrapping up an incredible experience, and about to return to that somewhat familiar, somewhat foreign land: home. Regardless of your situation, it is a universal truth that quitting a job is a nerve-racking experience.
From Mumbai to Mombasa, quitting a job is a delicate social exercise. Navigating the process of informing your employer when you are working in a foreign country and not necessarily keen on the finer points of resigning can make it feel like you’re blindfolded. Add to that the likelihood that quitting your job abroad will involve an international move, and what you’ve got may feel like a whirlwind of conflicting emotions set in a maelstrom of uncertainty.
Ending a job abroad is something every returned expat has done so you’re in good company. While we can’t guarantee that quitting your job abroad will be a smooth experience, follow a few of our tips in order to make it as tolerable as possible!
Our best advice for the end of your jobs abroad program
1. Soak up as much as you can
If you are hanging up your expat hat (it’s a real thing; if you haven’t gotten yours, inquire at your local government office), be warned that, upon returning home, life is going to feel very different. Some changes will certainly come as a relief, but remember: as luxurious as it may be to have reliably clean, hot water coming out of your kitchen tap, you’re liable to start missing things you currently take for granted.
Come up with a “retiring from expat life” bucket list and fill it up to the brim with all the friends you have to see, foods you want to eat, or experiences you need to have before you go. Don’t forget all the little things you might yearn for when they’re no longer accessible. But also dream big. If you want to ride the Trans-Manchurian Railroad en route home from China, include it on the list!
2. If you have a contract, review it
While no employer will try tackling you as you run to the jetway to keep you from leaving early, many work abroad programs have clauses in place to dissuade you from leaving before the program has concluded. On the lenient end of the spectrum, employers may withhold bonuses or not pay for return airfare while, on the more punitive side, there may be financial penalties.
Keep in mind that the contracts are important to your employer when it comes to staffing and training your replacement so don’t take lightly the decision to leave early. While a dull city lacking the things you’re accustomed to back home probably is not a great reason to up and leave, we’re not saying you should endure an abusive professional environment, either.
[How to Include International Experience on Your Resume]
There are numerous valid reasons to leave early and, even when contracts penalize you for leaving early, such provisions provide a viable mechanism for leaving. Accept them and move on. Ideally, you read the contract prior to being hired and assessed that, if something necessitates your departure, you would be able to absorb the penalty.
3. Begin planning the logistics for your next destination
This rings true whether you are moving on to a new job, new country, or new life back home: you don’t want to be left high and dry when you finish saying your goodbyes. Start planning early enough so that you have at least a faint idea of what your next steps will be.
How early depends on what the next step will be. If you are teaching in Eastern Europe and thinking of enrolling in graduate school, start planning a year out so that you can submit your applications on time. On the other hand, if you are a crusty Shanghai expat just looking for a new gig, you can probably get by with a passing notion and a new job lined up.
When you realize that your time at your current job is coming to an end, start dreaming up plans and working toward them. Planning for the next job could involve making a vision board or writing up a checklist of requirements either that the job would have for you or that you want from the job.
4. And don’t forget the basics
If you are retiring from expat life or moving on to a new destination, there are basics that must receive consideration. Ensure you have your essentials, such as transportation, lodging, or spending money, figured out.
[What I Learned from Working Abroad]
For those just quitting their jobs but staying in the same place, keep in mind your visa status. Often, the ability to legally remain in the country on a work visa is dependent on having employment. If you are switching jobs, be familiar with the conditions of your visa. Make sure, if need be, that your next employer can provide sponsorship or that you have other arrangements made. Contact local authorities or check out GoAbroad’s embassy directory for help finding out information.
5. Be as tactful as possible
Let’s assume you have done everything right at your job, professionally and personally, and have developed a thriving relationship with your employer, but you realize you are at the end of working abroad. You want to end your employment on the best terms possible and maybe even get a letter of recommendation.
Even in the best of situations, quitting a job is not cut-and-dry. Working abroad, you likely are faced with expectations or cultural nuances that dictate how you should inform your employer. Don’t be afraid to ask trustworthy local friends of colleagues who quit before you did for advice, but definitely avoid asking current co-workers.
Provide enough notice as to not shock your supervisor. A rule of thumb is that you should plan to work an additional couple weeks after giving notice, keeping in mind that more sensitive companies could want significantly more notice in order to ease the transition or may insist on your immediate departure. Before informing anyone else, tell your direct supervisor. This will help keep the office rumor mill at bay and your supervisor is probably best suited to help you navigate the system.
If you cannot figure out the appropriate way to tell your work that you’re quitting, go with procedures from home. If worse comes to worst, you will have plausible deniability as it pertains to etiquette and you will have, at very least, made an attempt at a tactful separation.
6. Take what you need, leave what you don’t
This tip pertains to both professional and personal life. Working overseas, you have likely made notable professional accomplishments and built a professional network. Make sure, before your accounts are closed off to you, that you save your work and your contact list. Of course, don’t take anything—even digital property—unless you are permitted.
As for what things to pack for your move, try to strike a balance between belongings that have sentimental value and those that have utility. Remember that, because of their size and different international standards, it probably isn’t a great idea to pack household appliances.
Be sure to look into the costs of getting things to your next destination. Even if you can take a half-dozen bags onto the train, you don’t want to be that guy fumbling to get them on and off. But, as far as we’re concerned, if you can manage your luggage with some semblance of dignity, you haven’t overpacked!
7. Tie things up neatly
In the same way that people accumulate things the longer they go without moving, the same happens with services. Spend enough time in one location and you’re liable to have opened a bank account, enrolled in a mobile phone plan, started a gym membership, or subscribed to any number of other services.
For pay-as-you-go services, stopping payment is a simple enough way to end a contract. But, just as you wouldn’t move out of an apartment back home without properly ending the lease, you shouldn’t do the same abroad. Improperly ending contracts, either intentionally or by simply forgetting, could be grounds for civil action. While you won’t have creditors knocking at your door, it could make traveling back to that country in the future more difficult.
Before you retire from expat life, pay off all outstanding bills, end contracts, stop services, and close unneeded financial accounts.
8. Do not overstay your visa
Most of the tips are things to consider doing but this is a definite do not. If you are expat in a country, you are essentially a guest of the host nation. Almost every foreign employee will have some kind of official permission to work, be it a work visa, work permit, or residence permit. Almost invariably, these official permissions will have expiration dates. The consequences of overstaying visas vary by country but may include fines paid on exit, being prohibited from leaving until a new visa is issued, or deportation, which could impact future travels to that country.
[What to Do After Working Abroad]
If you have a work permit that expires on August 28, by all means, do not book your departure flight for that day! Give yourself a few days of padding in case anything goes wrong. Or, if you plan to stay longer, head to the appropriate government office as early as possible to renew or extend your visa. If you cannot figure out where to begin, officials at your host’s embassy in your home country may be able to point you in the right direction.
9. Brace yourself for reverse culture shock
For those at the end of working abroad and about to return to where you came from, be prepared to feel a bit like a fish out of water. While it might doubly confound you that your so-called home now feels foreign, this is normal.
Reverse culture shock is real and is exactly what it sounds like. Think back to the Pollock-esque smattering of emotions, positive and negative, experienced when you first arrived at your then-new home abroad—wonderment, excitement, trepidation, confusion, frustration, and maybe even loneliness. Everyone who has lived abroad has dealt with the shock of learning new customs and being surrounded by a foreign language or culture. But that unique experience you forged your path through has also changed you. When you arrive home, you may find yourself wondering why people around you act the way they do or that the culture is much less exciting.
[5 Ways to Master International Networking While Abroad]
The landing back home will have its share of bumps but being a little proactive means you might be able to soften it. Reach out to your friends, family, and wider support system to let them all know you will be returning home (unless you’re into recording one of those viral surprise homecoming videos).
10. When you can’t say goodbye to everyone individually, throw yourself a party!
You’ve met interesting people and have made deep friendships during your time abroad. With all that’s on your plate and conflicting schedules, it’s going to be hard to give everyone the time you’d like to before you get out of Dodge.
Remember people like you and, what’s more, you have leverage. Pick your favorite spot and a time that works for you (and, of course, your most important friends) and make your friends, colleagues, and acquaintances come to you. This will provide an unforgettable experience and help bring your time abroad to a close in as clean a way as possible.
But don’t stop there. If you have time, reserve your last meals for the one or two closest friends or let them accompany you to the airport because, even though airport goodbyes are messy, they’re good friends and they won’t judge.
[Retiring from expat life? Check out Reverse Culture Shock: Expectation Vs. Reality!]
One chapter closes, but another begins!
Whether you are channeling your inner Johnny Paycheck and murmuring along to “Take This Job and Shove It” while counting down the days until you can quit your job, looking at your passport and lamenting the day your work visa expires and you have no choice but to move on, or have simply found a better job elsewhere, leaving your current job comes with its stressors.
Just as you prepared to go abroad, it’s wise to prepare for the end of working abroad too. Use common sense and tact and you can retire from expat life with as few hiccups as possible. With the trove of experience and knowledge you gained working abroad, you can advise the next generation of adventurous souls.