The best way to quit a job is…quietly – fuzzbones – fotolia.com – image used with permission Q: In a world where your every word might find itself on the 6 o’clock news, what’s the best way to leave a job? A: Quietly.

Do an Internet search on “kai nagata” and you get TMI–too much information.

Who is Kai Nagata? What job did he quit and why?

Kai Nagata is described in a Toronto newspaper as “the Quebec City bureau chief for CTV News,” a national television news program in Canada.

At the age of 24, Kai Nagata quit his job and documented his reasons on his personal website. Essentially, Nagata quit a job that many would envy because, he said, “the idea burrowed in my mind that, on the long list of things I could be doing, television news is not the best use of my short life.”

In summing up his reasons, Nagata let the world know that he “needs to undertake a long-delayed journey of personal discovery.” Nagata said he needs to go home for a while, needs to surround himself with family and friends, needs to consult, meditate, and plan his next steps.

Who cares?

A lot of people care, it seems. Nagatas blog post received 100,000 views within its first two days.

Reaction was split. There were those who envied Nagata his job–bureau chief of a national news program at age 24, with the prestige, the perks, the recognition–who wouldnt want such evident success so early in life? Still, these readers understood his need to satisfy his soul, accepted his resignation, and wished him well in future endeavours.

Then there were those who said “good riddance to bad rubbish,” accusing Nagata of ingratitude.

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Nagata ended his blog post with, “Im broke…Im unemployed and homeless, but Ive never been more free.”

Free of his job, perhaps. But not free, not for a long time, of the impact that his very public pronouncements might have upon his life and future career plans. Who cares? Potential employers might care. Everywhere there are cautions about the dangers of social messaging. Bosses surf the Net, too. The rant you post today could come back to haunt you tomorrow, or a month or a year from now.

It could go either of two ways for Kai Nagata. Either future employers will laud his courage in following his heart, and believe him when he says his heart is with their organization now (and wonder for how long?), or future employers will turn away from someone who so publicly bit the hand that once fed him.

Whats the takeaway message?

Few of us would sentence another person forever to an inhuman work environment, a bullying boss, inadequate pay for work done, or the equivalent inequities in a life situation. Even in the absence of these conditions, we still accept that people grow, learn, and move on, both at work and in life. Its sad, but its real.

Despite any silent cheering we might do for Kai Nagata and others like Kai–they have, after all, got off the slave ship while some of us are still chained and pulling on the oars–decorum must be observed. There is a way to quit a job, or quit any situation in life, even if the quitting is due to an emergency and considered a final break. (We might suspect that there was no emergency in the Nagata story. The gentleman had time to blog a 3,000-word letter of resignation as he took his leave.)

First, Do No Harm. As doctors promise in the oath they take upon becoming doctors, first, do no harm. Leave, if you must, but dont blame. Life is what life is. Maybe youve outgrown the frame but your growth doesnt justify bringing down the house around you as you go.

Regret the parting. In the worst situation, there has been enough good to hold you this long. You can stop at, “Im sorry to be leaving.” There is no need to finish with, “And it should have happened 12 years sooner.” Leaving might be the best thing so far in your young life, but if there are others who must stay behind, you can at least be gracious for their sake.

Be gone, and be quiet. Unless you have come into money, lots of money, enough money to keep you and yours in beans and wieners for the rest of your lives, consider that your next job may very well depend upon how you leave this one. Take satisfaction from the fact that you are gone, and keep your grumblings to yourself. Your reasons for leaving are on a need to know basis: No one needs to know.

Dont slam the door on your way out. If you wont be the last one out, dont turn off the lights. And dont slam any doors you might one day want to re-open. You never know. You might need a reference from the folks you just left.

In a year, or five, the world will likely not remember Kai Nagata, or remember that he walked away from a job thousands would envy. Kais blog, however, his 3,000-word letter of resignation, may follow him for the rest of his life–and/or the rest of his job search.

Advice from someone over 24: If you have to go, then go. Please, go quietly. Anything else is poor form, and may be dangerous to your future.

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