Navigate your job change like a pro: tips for a smooth work transition
Leaving your job soon? Puzzled how to streamline your transition and ensure you keep access to all information and accounts you might need in the future? You are not alone. Recently, a Yorba member dropped us a question:
Dear Yorba,
I am currently in the process of leaving a job, and while working on my transition document, I spent a lot of time going through accounts, determining which ones my team might still need but also which ones I should delete my profile/email address from. I don't want to leave my team in a weird situation, but I’ve been spending way too much time on this process. Can I do something to speed up my work transition?
Dear Yorba Member,
There must be a lot on your plate now. It’s always helpful to have a list of to-dos, so we have some tips to help you transition smoothly.
Go through all the accounts connected to your work email
You might need to transfer some of your accounts to your private email or give company account admin rights to your colleagues. To reduce the risk of your data appearing in a breach, close the accounts you don’t need or/and request the vendors to delete your private information.
Not sure what accounts were created using your work email? Simply connect your inbox to Yorba, and we will find them all.
Go through all the accounts connected to your work email
You might need to transfer some of your accounts to your private email or give company account admin rights to your colleagues. To reduce the risk of your data appearing in a breach, close the accounts you don’t need or/and request the vendors to delete your private information.
Not sure what accounts were created using your work email? Simply connect your inbox to Yorba, and we will find them all.
Set up a new recovery email for memberships and subscriptions
Take a moment to review whether any of your memberships, subscriptions, or professional certifications are linked to your work email. If so, consider switching them to your personal email.
Review work-related paid subscriptions
Make sure you or your team won’t accidentally keep paying for the tools you won’t use anymore. Most companies will frequently scan the seats on their tech stack, but in between the day-to-day, this task often gets forgotten. If you use the company’s card to cover paid plans, you might want to transfer them to the person taking up your role.
Resubscribe to mailing lists
See newsletters you don’t want to lose? Unsubscribe with your professional email and resubscribe with your personal one! With Yorba, you can see all mailing lists you are subscribed to using a specific email address.
Save those pay stubs
Don’t forget to download your pay stubs, HSA or FSA details. You never know when you’ll need these for taxes or even a mortgage one day!
Get the goods
While the email stuff is important, it’s equally important to save any files that you’re legally able to keep. Things like marketing collateral, items for your portfolio, and important stats are all helpful, but make sure you check your contract and confirm with your employer that the items you’re saving are safe to share externally.
And, of course, give your IT department the heads-up that you’re doing that so they don’t get suspicious if they see you’re downloading files onto a thumb drive.
Wipe personal information from the work-provided devices
Now’s the time to wipe things clean. Clear your browser history and cache, make sure your passwords and logins aren’t accessible by logging out of any browser-based password managers, and trash any personal digital documents. Just don’t forget to empty the trash bin. If you want to go a step further, you can always factory reset your computer, just make sure it’s cool with your team!
Ask for recommendations
Your professional journey must go on! Recommendations might make your future job searches easier, so don’t hesitate to ask your manager for a letter of recommendation or a LinkedIn recommendation (which your colleagues can be happy to leave too). By the way, remember to update your LinkedIn, if you use it.
Remember your colleagues
Jobs come and go, but the connections you make stay. Send a farewell email to your colleagues, and make sure you’ve set some time to say a proper goodbye and celebrate your team. This is also a good moment to collect all the contacts you might need. If relevant, you can also export your Outlook contacts to Excel.
Have a final one-on-one with your boss and say thank-you
No formal exit interview? No worries. Even if HR hasn’t scheduled a wrap-up session, it’s always a good idea to touch base and thank your boss one more time before you head out on your last workday. Showing appreciation can go a long way. And if you do have an exit interview lined up, be mindful of what you say. It is recommended to stay on your positive message, since this information might be shared with executives who you may want to maintain a long-term relationship with.
Leave a primer
Make it easier for the person who’s replacing you to get the details of your work. Your handover note can include:
Any nuances of the role, including shortcuts that can improve the efficiency of their work.
A breakdown of tasks to be completed weekly, monthly, and yearly. The yearly task list can be particularly important because those issues often get forgotten, and then everyone has to scramble to complete them.
Key contact information for important people you interact with in your role.
You got this – we know this seems like a lot, but take it one step at a time! Have questions about digital footprint management you want answered? Drop them at yo@yorba.co and we’ll be glad to help you keep your private data safer and more organized.
