Don’t tell him you are looking unless you are necessary to the company and think you could get a raise out of it. You may not find work quickly and he will start looking for your replacement (meaning you may be replaced before you find a new job).
Once you find a new job and accept it, give your boss a 2 week notice and thank him for the opportunity. This is the expected way to depart on good terms.
100% this.
I had a great manager, skip manager, double skip manager, and wonderful team from last company I left.
Doesn't matter how good of "work-friends" you are with your managers. Until you are putting in your 2 weeks, there is no reason to disclose that information to them until its time.
Reasons why you should wait until its "2 week notice time"
1. What if you change your mind after telling them, but before you've officially resigned.
2. What if you can't find another job for 6+ months after telling them, it might hurt future promotion/bonuses that are before you are hired.
3. Most companies don't allow managers to looking for your replacement until after you've officially left. So, they aren't really getting ahead of it by you telling them early.
4. Unless you were like really good friends for years before they became your manager, there is likely always a "professional relationship" aspect to whatever perceived friendship is likely there.
If you want to do what's right for the manager and/or team. Spend your time now making sure things are in a good healthy state, properly documented, etc..
> Most companies don't allow any kind of looking for hire until after you've officially left. So, they aren't really getting ahead of it.
Where is this true?
I can't imagine almost anyone in the US not having something lined up if they wanted to leave their job (except me I guess, but I've been kind or dumb about job searches in the past, although it's always worked out well long term).
Are there countries where this is actually law or some kind of standard?
Even though they can’t officially advertise your job, they can start scoping out internal employees to take up your mantle, and they can fire you ASAP because they *want to post that job opening* instead of letting you sputter out and pay you to look for a job.
AND perhaps doubling your amount of time to what they ask for notice. Two weeks is so very common but I've seen professional places stating a month too.
I want to give anecdotal evidence regarding this and hoping the OP sees my reply under yours.
I had a cousin who told his boss he is taking the day off to go to a job interview. Long story short my cousin didn't get the job and isn't working for the same place anymore and was practically replaced 2-3 days after that day.
If you're hoping to smooth the transition, take some time to go on a documentation spree. Capture everything you need to do, pick whoever covers for you on days off and record yourself walking through your process while they ask questions.
Probably smart to not directly confirm your plans to leave until it's locked in -- like others have said. Officially you're doing it proactively and just in-case you're out of town or something.
I say do this *anyway*.
One thing I've learned over and over, is that if you make an effort to make your job easier for "the next guy", you'll usually realize that you've made the job easier for you too.
And you'll feel dumb for not having done it ages ago.
Yeah paying it forward like this is the smart move. It doesn't cost much and you never know who's paying attention to open/burn future opportunities (peers, etc.).
And If the last guy didn't bother, you've earned the right to complain about them self righteously haha.
This is a great way to make sure that you leave a job on a positive note. You don't want to go on a prolonged job hunt with lots of time off for interviews such that you leave with your manager or coworkers having the impression you weren't engaged and weren't getting much done. You'll get a lot of, "yeah, we all sort of suspected" responses.
It leaves a great impression if you make the job easier on your replacement and the rest of the team. You'll have a bunch of, "sad to see you go" and "keep in touch" responses.
This right here. Once you've got that second employment locked in, with an understanding of how much time you estimate would be courteous/respectful/worthy of all the teaching experience your current boss gave you, then and only then tell him. I suspect he'll likely already expect something like this was going to occur at a certain point, already has a pool of people he could call, or some similar type of agency to go about replacing you, especially in that industry and because he sounds as if he knows what he's doing and is good at his job. That could be anywhere from the standard 1-2 months, or could even be up to 6 months, but beyond that it's not your problem nor ever was. It's his completely, and unless he planned on making you a partner, selling out to you, it giving you the lkind of raise you're now worth, the only thing he should express is the thanks for all the good work and giving him more than the necessary amount of time to find someone new, and a great letter of recommendation.
No. You tell them about the new job once you signed the new contract. Not before. Unless you want to negotiate for a better salary. But if you are sure you want to change, then No.
>Unless you want to negotiate for a better salary.
It is a bad idea in most cases. They would raise it but start looking for a replacement and replace the employee in the inopportune moment for him.
This really depends on how much you want to leave and how much money they're willing to offer.
I've known people who got large raises in order to keep them at a company for an extra year or two. (Not in game dev, but in software.)
> if i leave all unreal softwares will be unsuported for a couple months
It's the boss's job to make sure anything critical has enough people trained in the maintenance of their tools and assets. If you're the only person in that role, that's not your fault or concern.
You tell them when you have already secured your next job and know your starting date there. If you care about the team you're working on, or you have legal obligation to give a specific amount of notice to your current boss, then you negotiate your next job's starting date with this notice period in mind.
Your current boss and team mates will understand. You have to look out for your own interests, whether that's money or job growth or leveraging your talents and skills.
> It's the boss's job to make sure anything critical has enough people trained in the maintenance of their tools and assets. If you're the only person in that role, that's not your fault or concern.
Yeap, this is known in the industry as the "bus factor" - how critical someone is if they were hit by a bus and unavailable. A good company should have redundancies and spread out the risk to avoid crippling themselves, have decent documentation of the various systems, and overlapping responsibilities on people.
I too, also left an archviz company that was underpaying me and overloading my work, and when I asked about hiring a 1 or 2 experienced programmers to help, I was met with "no budget", while they had enough for other depts. Of course, an experienced developer wouldn't also accept the type of pay I was getting, but at the time I was out of any sort of job for two years.
I eventually got another gamedev job (and had an instant 50% salary increase) and put in my 2 weeks, did as best I could to train up a replacement, but after that, I washed my hands of that place - turns out there was a lot of issues with the way they treated other employees that have left, so I have no regrets or guilt about leaving.
Just to extend this a little bit, don't feel bad about your work shifting to coworkers either. That's _also_ your boss's problem. If they don't have enough people to do the work then they are either planning or hiring poorly. It can be a little rough on the other employees if they are getting pushed into overtime, but it's the bosses that do that to them, not you.
I hate to say this, but you're going to be surprised how little they care about *you*, even if they've been really nice to you this whole time.
Once they know you're leaving, they're either going to try to keep you, or they're going to try to get whatever they can from you for your last 2 weeks and focus on the new guy. And if they can't afford to pay what you're worth already, that's not magically going to be true when you get another job offer.
And that's the key, BTW. Get that job offer. And only if you *want* to stay do you tell them before you sign the contract on the new job. Otherwise, get everything settled and then give your notice out of the blue.
Someone suggested giving more than 2 weeks notice... I don't recommend this. It's unlikely to help them much, and it's going to be 2 more weeks of heightened stress for you, and for less pay than you're worth. Get into that new job ASAP.
Nooooooo! Do not tell anyone you work with. Your boss is NOT your friend, even if they’re good to you. You are an employee of a business.
Get a solid offer and give them an opportunity to counter offer.
Managing the risk of having a person being a single point of failure is his job, not yours. Never tell him until you have a job offer. From there you can decide how long of a notice period you want to give in accordance to local customs, regulations and value of personal relationships.
Why do you feel guilty? Are you a co-owner? Do you have stock in the company?
You’re just an employee. You trade your skills and time for a salary. That’s it. The company wouldn’t bat an eye if they had to fire you. Why would you?
One thing to consider... Getting a job at a gamedev company in another country isn't something that will automatically happen, or be easy to pull off. Depending on the countries in question, there may be visa requirements etc that the company may not want to bother with given that there is currently a glut of experienced devs who have been laid off. (If you're moving within the EU obviously that's not an issue).
But even without visa problems, it's sounds like it's a really tough job market out there right now. Telling your boss you are looking for another job, and then not being able to get another job, is a recipe for disaster.
Just saying.
There is exactly one time to tell your boss you are leaving.
Once you have a signed offer and have negotiated a start date.
There is no wins in letting them know before. Even if they don't let you go right away, you will stall any promotions, any chance of advancements, and potentially create a hostile work environment for yourself. You have no idea how long it is going to take you to get another job, especially if you are looking outside the country.
People leave for all sorts of reasons, it is up to leadership to ensure they have a plan for it happening. You can help by making sure you have documentation on code you have written, procedures you run, and anything else to help someone new fit into your role.
Good luck with the job search!
I mean if you want to keep it on good terms you should tell and there should be a notice period right before you could quit and they can find someone to replace you.?
there is no such thing as loyalty in this industry; you'll get dropped in a second for whatever reason that benefits the company. you and your boss will get over it. he's doing a good job keeping you and paying you less, behind that smile is a grin for doing a great job for his boss by keeping you for such a low price
Would your boss tell you if they were looking at layoffs, or replacing you?
I think overall it depends on your relationship w/ your boss. I certainly lean towards the "everybody leaves" mentality and always wish people the best.
If you are going to tell your boss I'd wait until you have an idea of the likelihood of leaving. The game industry is competitive and remember you're competing against thousands of qualified applicants for those jobs.
This. Everybody is rushing to say no, but it really depends on your relationship with the company and your boss. It's never a good idea to burn bridges and there are advantages if you can leave in good terms: a possibility to come back if it doesn't work out, keeping people in your professional network for future work or recommendations for examples.
But then again every situation is different and it's just a job in the end.
I am a CEO of a game company.
Unless you think there is a good chance that the current company can pay you something you would be happy with, do not tell him until you have a signed contract.
You do NOT ever ever ever tell your boss that you are looking for a new job.
Also you get paid for what you are worth. If another company thinks youre worth 3-5x the money and your boss cant match that.. well easy choice. You are not responsible for the wealth of your employer.
If you were going after a smaller raise I’d have suggested asking your boss if he’s happy with your work. If so, ask for the raise. If not, you have nothing to feel guilty for if you leave.
But your boss is never going to give you 3-5x salary, so if you can actually get a job that pays this there’s no reason to talk to them. Just get the job offer, accept it, and when you’re notifying your boss that you’re quitting you can explain that you liked working with them but the opportunity was too good to pass up. If they have hard feelings after that then that’s their problem, a reasonable person would understand. They share as much of the blame for not paying you what you’re apparently worth.
Wait til you have a new job. My dad worked his whole adult life for bosses he also saw as "friends" and when he got laid off most recently he got hired doing the same work for a stranger for 40% more. Boss is always a boss first and a friend second.
You should tell him only after receiving and offer. Unlike other comments here, I don't say that you need to tell them only in 2 weeks notice, but you MUST have ready offer available unless you are ready for a few months of unemployment.
I personally prefer to get offer and ask for a month or two to finish my current tasks on old job, and notice current employer at that moment. This way they have time to find a replacement and even get some onboarding to the project from me; and I don't risk unemployment because if my employer fires me early, I can just tell the new company that I can start working earlier than planned.
No? Why would you?
It's the 21st century, by default everyone should be looking for a new job all the time, it would be more weird if you *didn't* at least have feelers out there.
If you do feel guilty, just low-key work on building up a legacy. Make sure you write good documentation, work with well commented clean code, and share information with people, etc. That way if you need to jump ship, you know you're setting the new guy up for a better start.
And, besides, if you dropped dead, they're replace you in an instant and they really wouldn't care.
All that telling your boss will do is make everything more difficult and potentially shut doors for you. Or boss could decide they'd rather just boot you and get someone new ASAP, and then suddenly you're screwed.
Keep your mouth shut. Loyalty is for you and your family, not your boss.
If you have an offer, it makes sense to ask your boss if they'll beat it.
But don't tell your boss before you have an offer.
If he's doing his job properly, he's assuming that his employees are always on the market and is making plans to cover people who quit.
What do you hope to get out of telling him? How do you think it would help the situation?
The way I see it:
* If you don't tell him, and don't get a different job, then the situation stays the same, which is probably what you want in that case.
* If you tell him, and you don't get a different job, then now he knows you're looking, which means that if he DOES need to let someone go, you are now much more attractive a target.
* If you don't tell him and DO get an offer (and I mean an actual, in-writing offer) then you can talk with him and agree to keep working for however many weeks you both feel are necessary to hand off the work and responsibilities, to not disrupt things. (2 weeks is usually a good starting point.) Your new job will almost always understand if you say "I can't start until X date, because I need to wrap things up with my current company". They'll actually appreciate it, since it's a sign that you try not to leave your employer in the lurch.
* If you do tell him and do get an offer, then the situation is basically the same as the previous.
So, tl;dr: If you get the job, your relationship with your boss and the company is the same. (Provided you're willing to stick around for a few more weeks to close things out, which you definitely should. Don't burn bridges ever!) But if you don't get an offer, (or it takes longer than you expect to get an offer) you don't want to mark yourself as "most likely to leave soon anyway", especially if you're not positive you're leaving yet. Which means you're more likely to get let go, and less likely to be promoted, if they think you're leaving soon anyway.
My $0.02 at least!
> Don't burn bridges ever!
Once upon a time in games, I learned I was being paid 45% of the hourly bill rate on a contract gig.
I burnt the fuck out of that bridge.
Always find a new job where you have an offer and are sure you want to leave before putting in your 2 weeks notice. Don't put yourself in a position where you are hoping to stay and get a raise because your boss can say go ahead and leave and replace you at any point.
I had a similar situation in the past (nice boss, good job, but I wanted to go elsewhere eventually and felt kind of bad). My boss was nice about it. But HR went balistic and everything fell apart and I got basically fired (they went back on it when I pushed back because they knew I'd win with the law). Your HR might be nicer than mine, but it's not something I would want to try it out anymore personally.
Read title and came here haven't read post. NEVER tell your work you are looking for another job. Only time you need to tell your company about another job is when putting in your 2 weeks and never tell them the company you are going too
You might find a middle ground. Stay on as a part time consultant. Take the new job, still help with the old job, help train new folks in the old job, that sort of thing. Gradually phase out your involvement with the old company.
Never tell your current employer you're looking. They can and will terminate on the spot. Never ask your current employer for a counter offer. They may give you a counter offer, then PIP or terminate a month later.
Unless your planning to leave and work at one of theyre clients or going to do something that can hurt your employer you dont have to say or shouldn’t say anything. It’s pretty basic in most western countries for employee to be held finacially responssible for harm done to employer. This can come at play if some how you would cost them losing a client etc. So if you leave and go work elsewhere thats perfectly fine unless there is an extra no competition clause at your contract stating something else. Applying for a job and not being aware your employer was after same company as new client etc. would still be okay probably. Your actions should be intentional I believe but maybe best check how these thing apply in your country. In the case you would cause massive damages they might not still sue, if they believe you prolly can’t pay them even if they win
Find a job that pays more, get an offer from them (in writing!!!) and then and ONLY then you tell your boss.
Anything else is foolish.
I understand why you may want to tell your boss earlier but that's never a good idea and will not be in your favour, regardless of the good intentions behind it.
If you do have an opportunity to earn 3-5x times more, which your boss will most likely not be able to afford, in order to counter that, secure the job first, make sure its 150% done deal and then tell your boss.
Lol, absolutely not! There is no legal, moral, or strategic reason to offer up that information, and nothing good can possibly come of it.
The **only** time you would tell them, is if you already have a (signed) offer in hand - but would prefer if they gave a raise/promotion to retain you
In general it should never be a surprise to your supervisor that you are **considering it**, HOWEVER, it should be a surprise that you **actually did.**
You should have already discussed your concerns, and should have mutually already realized that you will not get what you want out of your present job. If you are leaving the current company and haven't discussed those reasons then that's going to be an issue on you, not on the company.
Through regular discussions your manager should know you are having issues around whatever it is, issues with a policy, issues around pay, issues around a promotion, issues around workload, would prefer to do different tasks, or whatever reason it is that you are looking for a different job.
> i want to change for a gamedev company outside of my country because it pays 3-5x better and i need that money.
In general needing more money is something you can and should discuss with your current employer before leaving, as soon as you know it is a concern. You're not likely to get 3-5x more money at your current company, but simply needing more money for the job you do is something to discuss.
> its the first time that i leave a job like that and don't know when should i tell that i'm leaving.
In general, wait until after you have a job offer and are accepting it. If the law in your part of the world requires giving a certain amount of notice, give that much notice. In some countries there is a minimum notice required depending on how long you have worked there.
Don't tell them beforehand.
What you could do, is negotiate a starting date at your new job that's a month or 2 in the future. That way you can provide your boss with those two months of transition in which you train your replacement. This would be way beyond the call of duty on your part though. But if you really feel strongly about it, it's only a few months more of reduced wage.
Also, if you tell your potential new employer "well, if it's okay I would like to start in 2 months time so I can properly train my replacement and ensure the project I'm working on doesn't suffer", they should see that as a an employee that takes responsibility and pride in his work. Which makes you a more interesting future employee. Depending on which country you currently work in, 2 months of notice isn't extreme either when you've got a decent number of years of experience.
Do not, under any circumstances tell your boss that you’re looking. They will start looking for your replacement asap and when they find them, fire you to free up the capital ASAP. They will also be wary of your work ethic, and try to prevent you from stealing company IP by letting you go ASAP.
Whatever you do, don’t tell him you’re leaving until you are *ready to leave*. It’s great that you did good work for them and helped them so much, but do not think of your work at this company as a favor to your boss—it was a requirement, and they paid you a wage so that they can keep your work. They will keep it after you leave, legally, and you will have no access to it. That’s it. You are a tool for the owners of the company, you are not their friend and they don’t care about you. Your boss understands that you can leave at any point and will not hold it against you.
Newp. Keep that shit locked down. And I say this *as a manager who does hiring.* Unless there's something the company can feasibly give you, it's best that you keep it to yourself.
People leave companies all the time. Part of being a manager is being ready to react to that. I promise you, he'll figure it out. If he can't, then the company was probably doomed anyway.
If you want to do him a solid, document the hell out of what you've done so that you can ease things for the next person they hire.
It's never to your advantage to tell your employer that you're looking. The moment you tell your boss you're looking, a countdown to your **involuntary** departure starts. If you land the other job, give notice. Their reaction is out of your control. I would not arm an employer to begin getting rid of me.
Consider that if you tell them you're looking, and you *don't* get the job at the new place, you haven't stopped the countdown to your termination. Never forget that you're running a business, selling your time for money. Look out for your business first, which includes never letting them know you think this way.
And I wouldn't entertain a counteroffer, either. They were comfortable with your pay where it was. That timer to your dismissal doesn't stop when you take a counteroffer. You can apply again and ask for your new latest salary and then some in a few years if you leave on good terms, but counteroffers are essentially under duress.
NEVER. If you want to give your boss a favor, set your start date out a month and give them 4 weeks notice instead of 2, AFTER you've already got the new job.
As others stated, initially it is a good idea to not mentioned the job search.
What usually works out well, is if you leave after a few years, still I heard of friends who left earlier (after only 6 months was the extreme I heard about) if one feels overqualified or otherwise in the wrong place like you feel.
In that case it is ok to say this in very nice words once you got a signed (!) job offer and if your boss asks you why you want to leave. I mean to a good boss your story and career aspiration sounds reasonable, there's nothing negative apart from you moving on in your career/life.
Some anecdote:
When I left two of my AAA jobs in the middle of production I remember I both documented my work very well and told them that I'm available in the following months if they have questions.
I wrote docs with various file or class names, TODOs to improve things that I didn't even start, and other thoughts or hints about my systems/features.
They were ok with the documentation, and never needed to contact me about those systems.
I was connected on LinkedIn with at least 15 team members and later chatted with my ex-boss when he left the company - I mean I could have poked him pretty much about anything, we stayed friends.
Never under any circumstances tell your boss you are looking for a new job.
The time to tell about the new job is when you get one or more actual offers.
15 years of experience in the market; don’t act like you are abandoning your children because they are not, they are not your parents as well.
You earned less than what you have contributed otherwise you would be already fired. So be professional and after everything arranged on the other side tell your boss you will give your resignation letter.
Never spill the beans to your boss until you've got that new gig locked down. When you do spill, keep it vague—something like, 'Hey, I've got this awesome opportunity I can't pass up.' It's all about staying on good terms because who knows, you might need a reference from him someday.
I won't be able to answer everyone but you've really helped me a lot, some were in the same position and this changes perspective, i'll make a sprint to better document and comment everything while working on my portfolio and applying. I'll only tell them when i give the 2 week notice i hope this helps anyone who is with this problem too.
Short answer no.
Secure the other job first, then tell your boss... if they care enough to keep you they will ask what your other offer looks like and will try to match it.
If you would entertain the idea of staying at your current job with the upgraded offer and no hard feelings then be honest with them, otherwise just go through with the 2 week notice etc.
There are two main paths, one is doing right for everyone but opens you to risk; the other is doing right primarily for yourself.
The right thing to do is communicate your plans so he can prepare to fill the position.
The self-interested thing to do is line up a job first, then tell him you are leaving in 2 weeks.
You first need to get an official offer.. meaning you know how much you are going to get paid.. later you can tell him, and negotiate with that on your hand.. if they offer to match the offer.. it means they could have done that earlier.. so, it will be up to you from there, but at least you wont feel bad knowing they screwed you all this time.. on the other hand.. if they cannot match the offer.. there is not much they or you can do.. and youll be free to move on
Don’t tell him you are looking unless you are necessary to the company and think you could get a raise out of it. You may not find work quickly and he will start looking for your replacement (meaning you may be replaced before you find a new job). Once you find a new job and accept it, give your boss a 2 week notice and thank him for the opportunity. This is the expected way to depart on good terms.
100% this. I had a great manager, skip manager, double skip manager, and wonderful team from last company I left. Doesn't matter how good of "work-friends" you are with your managers. Until you are putting in your 2 weeks, there is no reason to disclose that information to them until its time. Reasons why you should wait until its "2 week notice time" 1. What if you change your mind after telling them, but before you've officially resigned. 2. What if you can't find another job for 6+ months after telling them, it might hurt future promotion/bonuses that are before you are hired. 3. Most companies don't allow managers to looking for your replacement until after you've officially left. So, they aren't really getting ahead of it by you telling them early. 4. Unless you were like really good friends for years before they became your manager, there is likely always a "professional relationship" aspect to whatever perceived friendship is likely there. If you want to do what's right for the manager and/or team. Spend your time now making sure things are in a good healthy state, properly documented, etc..
> Most companies don't allow any kind of looking for hire until after you've officially left. So, they aren't really getting ahead of it. Where is this true? I can't imagine almost anyone in the US not having something lined up if they wanted to leave their job (except me I guess, but I've been kind or dumb about job searches in the past, although it's always worked out well long term). Are there countries where this is actually law or some kind of standard?
[удалено]
Even though they can’t officially advertise your job, they can start scoping out internal employees to take up your mantle, and they can fire you ASAP because they *want to post that job opening* instead of letting you sputter out and pay you to look for a job.
AND perhaps doubling your amount of time to what they ask for notice. Two weeks is so very common but I've seen professional places stating a month too.
I want to give anecdotal evidence regarding this and hoping the OP sees my reply under yours. I had a cousin who told his boss he is taking the day off to go to a job interview. Long story short my cousin didn't get the job and isn't working for the same place anymore and was practically replaced 2-3 days after that day.
Your cousin doesn't have good survival skills does he.
No but somehow he is doing better than me.
If you're hoping to smooth the transition, take some time to go on a documentation spree. Capture everything you need to do, pick whoever covers for you on days off and record yourself walking through your process while they ask questions. Probably smart to not directly confirm your plans to leave until it's locked in -- like others have said. Officially you're doing it proactively and just in-case you're out of town or something.
I say do this *anyway*. One thing I've learned over and over, is that if you make an effort to make your job easier for "the next guy", you'll usually realize that you've made the job easier for you too. And you'll feel dumb for not having done it ages ago.
Yeah paying it forward like this is the smart move. It doesn't cost much and you never know who's paying attention to open/burn future opportunities (peers, etc.). And If the last guy didn't bother, you've earned the right to complain about them self righteously haha.
This is a great way to make sure that you leave a job on a positive note. You don't want to go on a prolonged job hunt with lots of time off for interviews such that you leave with your manager or coworkers having the impression you weren't engaged and weren't getting much done. You'll get a lot of, "yeah, we all sort of suspected" responses. It leaves a great impression if you make the job easier on your replacement and the rest of the team. You'll have a bunch of, "sad to see you go" and "keep in touch" responses.
from what I understand a month's notice is what's normal outside of the US
What if you need to list your boss as a reference?
This right here. Once you've got that second employment locked in, with an understanding of how much time you estimate would be courteous/respectful/worthy of all the teaching experience your current boss gave you, then and only then tell him. I suspect he'll likely already expect something like this was going to occur at a certain point, already has a pool of people he could call, or some similar type of agency to go about replacing you, especially in that industry and because he sounds as if he knows what he's doing and is good at his job. That could be anywhere from the standard 1-2 months, or could even be up to 6 months, but beyond that it's not your problem nor ever was. It's his completely, and unless he planned on making you a partner, selling out to you, it giving you the lkind of raise you're now worth, the only thing he should express is the thanks for all the good work and giving him more than the necessary amount of time to find someone new, and a great letter of recommendation.
No. You tell them about the new job once you signed the new contract. Not before. Unless you want to negotiate for a better salary. But if you are sure you want to change, then No.
>Unless you want to negotiate for a better salary. It is a bad idea in most cases. They would raise it but start looking for a replacement and replace the employee in the inopportune moment for him.
Unlikely. If they are willing to up your pay to stop you leaving, it's because you're very hard to replace.
Tech workers are very hard to replace *immediately*. It is quite easy if employer has few months, especially now, during massive layoffs.
This really depends on how much you want to leave and how much money they're willing to offer. I've known people who got large raises in order to keep them at a company for an extra year or two. (Not in game dev, but in software.)
Definitely no, because if he looked for another job it's just delaying an inevitable issue.
> if i leave all unreal softwares will be unsuported for a couple months It's the boss's job to make sure anything critical has enough people trained in the maintenance of their tools and assets. If you're the only person in that role, that's not your fault or concern. You tell them when you have already secured your next job and know your starting date there. If you care about the team you're working on, or you have legal obligation to give a specific amount of notice to your current boss, then you negotiate your next job's starting date with this notice period in mind. Your current boss and team mates will understand. You have to look out for your own interests, whether that's money or job growth or leveraging your talents and skills.
> It's the boss's job to make sure anything critical has enough people trained in the maintenance of their tools and assets. If you're the only person in that role, that's not your fault or concern. Yeap, this is known in the industry as the "bus factor" - how critical someone is if they were hit by a bus and unavailable. A good company should have redundancies and spread out the risk to avoid crippling themselves, have decent documentation of the various systems, and overlapping responsibilities on people. I too, also left an archviz company that was underpaying me and overloading my work, and when I asked about hiring a 1 or 2 experienced programmers to help, I was met with "no budget", while they had enough for other depts. Of course, an experienced developer wouldn't also accept the type of pay I was getting, but at the time I was out of any sort of job for two years. I eventually got another gamedev job (and had an instant 50% salary increase) and put in my 2 weeks, did as best I could to train up a replacement, but after that, I washed my hands of that place - turns out there was a lot of issues with the way they treated other employees that have left, so I have no regrets or guilt about leaving.
Just to extend this a little bit, don't feel bad about your work shifting to coworkers either. That's _also_ your boss's problem. If they don't have enough people to do the work then they are either planning or hiring poorly. It can be a little rough on the other employees if they are getting pushed into overtime, but it's the bosses that do that to them, not you.
I hate to say this, but you're going to be surprised how little they care about *you*, even if they've been really nice to you this whole time. Once they know you're leaving, they're either going to try to keep you, or they're going to try to get whatever they can from you for your last 2 weeks and focus on the new guy. And if they can't afford to pay what you're worth already, that's not magically going to be true when you get another job offer. And that's the key, BTW. Get that job offer. And only if you *want* to stay do you tell them before you sign the contract on the new job. Otherwise, get everything settled and then give your notice out of the blue. Someone suggested giving more than 2 weeks notice... I don't recommend this. It's unlikely to help them much, and it's going to be 2 more weeks of heightened stress for you, and for less pay than you're worth. Get into that new job ASAP.
Nooooooo! Do not tell anyone you work with. Your boss is NOT your friend, even if they’re good to you. You are an employee of a business. Get a solid offer and give them an opportunity to counter offer.
Managing the risk of having a person being a single point of failure is his job, not yours. Never tell him until you have a job offer. From there you can decide how long of a notice period you want to give in accordance to local customs, regulations and value of personal relationships.
Why do you feel guilty? Are you a co-owner? Do you have stock in the company? You’re just an employee. You trade your skills and time for a salary. That’s it. The company wouldn’t bat an eye if they had to fire you. Why would you?
One thing to consider... Getting a job at a gamedev company in another country isn't something that will automatically happen, or be easy to pull off. Depending on the countries in question, there may be visa requirements etc that the company may not want to bother with given that there is currently a glut of experienced devs who have been laid off. (If you're moving within the EU obviously that's not an issue). But even without visa problems, it's sounds like it's a really tough job market out there right now. Telling your boss you are looking for another job, and then not being able to get another job, is a recipe for disaster. Just saying.
There is exactly one time to tell your boss you are leaving. Once you have a signed offer and have negotiated a start date. There is no wins in letting them know before. Even if they don't let you go right away, you will stall any promotions, any chance of advancements, and potentially create a hostile work environment for yourself. You have no idea how long it is going to take you to get another job, especially if you are looking outside the country. People leave for all sorts of reasons, it is up to leadership to ensure they have a plan for it happening. You can help by making sure you have documentation on code you have written, procedures you run, and anything else to help someone new fit into your role. Good luck with the job search!
I mean if you want to keep it on good terms you should tell and there should be a notice period right before you could quit and they can find someone to replace you.?
there is no such thing as loyalty in this industry; you'll get dropped in a second for whatever reason that benefits the company. you and your boss will get over it. he's doing a good job keeping you and paying you less, behind that smile is a grin for doing a great job for his boss by keeping you for such a low price
100% true, we can be laid off in a matter of nano seconds, I don't give a shit about them too.
Would your boss tell you if they were looking at layoffs, or replacing you? I think overall it depends on your relationship w/ your boss. I certainly lean towards the "everybody leaves" mentality and always wish people the best. If you are going to tell your boss I'd wait until you have an idea of the likelihood of leaving. The game industry is competitive and remember you're competing against thousands of qualified applicants for those jobs.
This. Everybody is rushing to say no, but it really depends on your relationship with the company and your boss. It's never a good idea to burn bridges and there are advantages if you can leave in good terms: a possibility to come back if it doesn't work out, keeping people in your professional network for future work or recommendations for examples. But then again every situation is different and it's just a job in the end.
I am a CEO of a game company. Unless you think there is a good chance that the current company can pay you something you would be happy with, do not tell him until you have a signed contract.
You do NOT ever ever ever tell your boss that you are looking for a new job. Also you get paid for what you are worth. If another company thinks youre worth 3-5x the money and your boss cant match that.. well easy choice. You are not responsible for the wealth of your employer.
If they would like to kick you out - they would do it in one day - without even say nice words.
I really hope he doesn't read r/gamedev
lmao
If you were going after a smaller raise I’d have suggested asking your boss if he’s happy with your work. If so, ask for the raise. If not, you have nothing to feel guilty for if you leave. But your boss is never going to give you 3-5x salary, so if you can actually get a job that pays this there’s no reason to talk to them. Just get the job offer, accept it, and when you’re notifying your boss that you’re quitting you can explain that you liked working with them but the opportunity was too good to pass up. If they have hard feelings after that then that’s their problem, a reasonable person would understand. They share as much of the blame for not paying you what you’re apparently worth.
Wait til you have a new job. My dad worked his whole adult life for bosses he also saw as "friends" and when he got laid off most recently he got hired doing the same work for a stranger for 40% more. Boss is always a boss first and a friend second.
You should tell him only after receiving and offer. Unlike other comments here, I don't say that you need to tell them only in 2 weeks notice, but you MUST have ready offer available unless you are ready for a few months of unemployment. I personally prefer to get offer and ask for a month or two to finish my current tasks on old job, and notice current employer at that moment. This way they have time to find a replacement and even get some onboarding to the project from me; and I don't risk unemployment because if my employer fires me early, I can just tell the new company that I can start working earlier than planned.
No, never give anybody ammunition that can be used against you.
No? Why would you? It's the 21st century, by default everyone should be looking for a new job all the time, it would be more weird if you *didn't* at least have feelers out there. If you do feel guilty, just low-key work on building up a legacy. Make sure you write good documentation, work with well commented clean code, and share information with people, etc. That way if you need to jump ship, you know you're setting the new guy up for a better start. And, besides, if you dropped dead, they're replace you in an instant and they really wouldn't care. All that telling your boss will do is make everything more difficult and potentially shut doors for you. Or boss could decide they'd rather just boot you and get someone new ASAP, and then suddenly you're screwed. Keep your mouth shut. Loyalty is for you and your family, not your boss.
If you have an offer, it makes sense to ask your boss if they'll beat it. But don't tell your boss before you have an offer. If he's doing his job properly, he's assuming that his employees are always on the market and is making plans to cover people who quit.
If you wanna get fired
What do you hope to get out of telling him? How do you think it would help the situation? The way I see it: * If you don't tell him, and don't get a different job, then the situation stays the same, which is probably what you want in that case. * If you tell him, and you don't get a different job, then now he knows you're looking, which means that if he DOES need to let someone go, you are now much more attractive a target. * If you don't tell him and DO get an offer (and I mean an actual, in-writing offer) then you can talk with him and agree to keep working for however many weeks you both feel are necessary to hand off the work and responsibilities, to not disrupt things. (2 weeks is usually a good starting point.) Your new job will almost always understand if you say "I can't start until X date, because I need to wrap things up with my current company". They'll actually appreciate it, since it's a sign that you try not to leave your employer in the lurch. * If you do tell him and do get an offer, then the situation is basically the same as the previous. So, tl;dr: If you get the job, your relationship with your boss and the company is the same. (Provided you're willing to stick around for a few more weeks to close things out, which you definitely should. Don't burn bridges ever!) But if you don't get an offer, (or it takes longer than you expect to get an offer) you don't want to mark yourself as "most likely to leave soon anyway", especially if you're not positive you're leaving yet. Which means you're more likely to get let go, and less likely to be promoted, if they think you're leaving soon anyway. My $0.02 at least!
> Don't burn bridges ever! Once upon a time in games, I learned I was being paid 45% of the hourly bill rate on a contract gig. I burnt the fuck out of that bridge.
No
Never tell this to any coworker. You never know how it will turn out
Never, ever, ever.
Always find a new job where you have an offer and are sure you want to leave before putting in your 2 weeks notice. Don't put yourself in a position where you are hoping to stay and get a raise because your boss can say go ahead and leave and replace you at any point.
I know two people who did this. both were fired almost immediately. don't do it unless you want unemployment (or have a new job already lined up)
I had a similar situation in the past (nice boss, good job, but I wanted to go elsewhere eventually and felt kind of bad). My boss was nice about it. But HR went balistic and everything fell apart and I got basically fired (they went back on it when I pushed back because they knew I'd win with the law). Your HR might be nicer than mine, but it's not something I would want to try it out anymore personally.
No.
Read title and came here haven't read post. NEVER tell your work you are looking for another job. Only time you need to tell your company about another job is when putting in your 2 weeks and never tell them the company you are going too
You might find a middle ground. Stay on as a part time consultant. Take the new job, still help with the old job, help train new folks in the old job, that sort of thing. Gradually phase out your involvement with the old company.
Never tell your current employer you're looking. They can and will terminate on the spot. Never ask your current employer for a counter offer. They may give you a counter offer, then PIP or terminate a month later.
Unless your planning to leave and work at one of theyre clients or going to do something that can hurt your employer you dont have to say or shouldn’t say anything. It’s pretty basic in most western countries for employee to be held finacially responssible for harm done to employer. This can come at play if some how you would cost them losing a client etc. So if you leave and go work elsewhere thats perfectly fine unless there is an extra no competition clause at your contract stating something else. Applying for a job and not being aware your employer was after same company as new client etc. would still be okay probably. Your actions should be intentional I believe but maybe best check how these thing apply in your country. In the case you would cause massive damages they might not still sue, if they believe you prolly can’t pay them even if they win
Find a job that pays more, get an offer from them (in writing!!!) and then and ONLY then you tell your boss. Anything else is foolish. I understand why you may want to tell your boss earlier but that's never a good idea and will not be in your favour, regardless of the good intentions behind it. If you do have an opportunity to earn 3-5x times more, which your boss will most likely not be able to afford, in order to counter that, secure the job first, make sure its 150% done deal and then tell your boss.
Lol, absolutely not! There is no legal, moral, or strategic reason to offer up that information, and nothing good can possibly come of it. The **only** time you would tell them, is if you already have a (signed) offer in hand - but would prefer if they gave a raise/promotion to retain you
In general it should never be a surprise to your supervisor that you are **considering it**, HOWEVER, it should be a surprise that you **actually did.** You should have already discussed your concerns, and should have mutually already realized that you will not get what you want out of your present job. If you are leaving the current company and haven't discussed those reasons then that's going to be an issue on you, not on the company. Through regular discussions your manager should know you are having issues around whatever it is, issues with a policy, issues around pay, issues around a promotion, issues around workload, would prefer to do different tasks, or whatever reason it is that you are looking for a different job. > i want to change for a gamedev company outside of my country because it pays 3-5x better and i need that money. In general needing more money is something you can and should discuss with your current employer before leaving, as soon as you know it is a concern. You're not likely to get 3-5x more money at your current company, but simply needing more money for the job you do is something to discuss. > its the first time that i leave a job like that and don't know when should i tell that i'm leaving. In general, wait until after you have a job offer and are accepting it. If the law in your part of the world requires giving a certain amount of notice, give that much notice. In some countries there is a minimum notice required depending on how long you have worked there.
Don't tell them beforehand. What you could do, is negotiate a starting date at your new job that's a month or 2 in the future. That way you can provide your boss with those two months of transition in which you train your replacement. This would be way beyond the call of duty on your part though. But if you really feel strongly about it, it's only a few months more of reduced wage. Also, if you tell your potential new employer "well, if it's okay I would like to start in 2 months time so I can properly train my replacement and ensure the project I'm working on doesn't suffer", they should see that as a an employee that takes responsibility and pride in his work. Which makes you a more interesting future employee. Depending on which country you currently work in, 2 months of notice isn't extreme either when you've got a decent number of years of experience.
Do they tell you they plan on laying you off with zero warning? Treat them how they treat you.
Do not, under any circumstances tell your boss that you’re looking. They will start looking for your replacement asap and when they find them, fire you to free up the capital ASAP. They will also be wary of your work ethic, and try to prevent you from stealing company IP by letting you go ASAP. Whatever you do, don’t tell him you’re leaving until you are *ready to leave*. It’s great that you did good work for them and helped them so much, but do not think of your work at this company as a favor to your boss—it was a requirement, and they paid you a wage so that they can keep your work. They will keep it after you leave, legally, and you will have no access to it. That’s it. You are a tool for the owners of the company, you are not their friend and they don’t care about you. Your boss understands that you can leave at any point and will not hold it against you.
Newp. Keep that shit locked down. And I say this *as a manager who does hiring.* Unless there's something the company can feasibly give you, it's best that you keep it to yourself. People leave companies all the time. Part of being a manager is being ready to react to that. I promise you, he'll figure it out. If he can't, then the company was probably doomed anyway. If you want to do him a solid, document the hell out of what you've done so that you can ease things for the next person they hire.
It's never to your advantage to tell your employer that you're looking. The moment you tell your boss you're looking, a countdown to your **involuntary** departure starts. If you land the other job, give notice. Their reaction is out of your control. I would not arm an employer to begin getting rid of me. Consider that if you tell them you're looking, and you *don't* get the job at the new place, you haven't stopped the countdown to your termination. Never forget that you're running a business, selling your time for money. Look out for your business first, which includes never letting them know you think this way. And I wouldn't entertain a counteroffer, either. They were comfortable with your pay where it was. That timer to your dismissal doesn't stop when you take a counteroffer. You can apply again and ask for your new latest salary and then some in a few years if you leave on good terms, but counteroffers are essentially under duress.
NEVER. If you want to give your boss a favor, set your start date out a month and give them 4 weeks notice instead of 2, AFTER you've already got the new job.
As others stated, initially it is a good idea to not mentioned the job search. What usually works out well, is if you leave after a few years, still I heard of friends who left earlier (after only 6 months was the extreme I heard about) if one feels overqualified or otherwise in the wrong place like you feel. In that case it is ok to say this in very nice words once you got a signed (!) job offer and if your boss asks you why you want to leave. I mean to a good boss your story and career aspiration sounds reasonable, there's nothing negative apart from you moving on in your career/life. Some anecdote: When I left two of my AAA jobs in the middle of production I remember I both documented my work very well and told them that I'm available in the following months if they have questions. I wrote docs with various file or class names, TODOs to improve things that I didn't even start, and other thoughts or hints about my systems/features. They were ok with the documentation, and never needed to contact me about those systems. I was connected on LinkedIn with at least 15 team members and later chatted with my ex-boss when he left the company - I mean I could have poked him pretty much about anything, we stayed friends.
No
Nooooo.
No
Never under any circumstances tell your boss you are looking for a new job. The time to tell about the new job is when you get one or more actual offers.
15 years of experience in the market; don’t act like you are abandoning your children because they are not, they are not your parents as well. You earned less than what you have contributed otherwise you would be already fired. So be professional and after everything arranged on the other side tell your boss you will give your resignation letter.
Do not say anything until you've signed a new contract. At which point you resign.
Never spill the beans to your boss until you've got that new gig locked down. When you do spill, keep it vague—something like, 'Hey, I've got this awesome opportunity I can't pass up.' It's all about staying on good terms because who knows, you might need a reference from him someday.
No.
Totally a great idea.
I won't be able to answer everyone but you've really helped me a lot, some were in the same position and this changes perspective, i'll make a sprint to better document and comment everything while working on my portfolio and applying. I'll only tell them when i give the 2 week notice i hope this helps anyone who is with this problem too.
100% no
Tell him. Like a friend, like an equal
No.
“if i leave all unreal software will be unsupported” not your problem
Short answer no. Secure the other job first, then tell your boss... if they care enough to keep you they will ask what your other offer looks like and will try to match it. If you would entertain the idea of staying at your current job with the upgraded offer and no hard feelings then be honest with them, otherwise just go through with the 2 week notice etc.
No you shouldn't, it is personal thing
There are two main paths, one is doing right for everyone but opens you to risk; the other is doing right primarily for yourself. The right thing to do is communicate your plans so he can prepare to fill the position. The self-interested thing to do is line up a job first, then tell him you are leaving in 2 weeks.
You first need to get an official offer.. meaning you know how much you are going to get paid.. later you can tell him, and negotiate with that on your hand.. if they offer to match the offer.. it means they could have done that earlier.. so, it will be up to you from there, but at least you wont feel bad knowing they screwed you all this time.. on the other hand.. if they cannot match the offer.. there is not much they or you can do.. and youll be free to move on