Don’t Burn Bridges as Your Career Develops

It seems like a simple piece of advice. Don’t burn bridges. You never know whose support you will need one day or how life’s circle may bring you back to someone. IT really can be more important than you think. In fact a bridge burnt often multiplies into bad feelings that last for many years and even with people you have never met.

Nobody would advocate leaving a job with bad feelings. The oft dreamt departure where you tell your employer exactly how you feel is never a good idea. As you well know building a career and a reputation is all about personal relationships and connections with others. Don’t care to preserve this particular relationship? Fine. But chances are your employer has built up a strong network and you are part of an industry that is smaller than you think. The “it’s a small world” experience comes up often for a reason. So if you hate your employer as you move on, or if you hate a client you ended badly with, they will probably have similar feelings about you and spread the word in your industry. Harming one relationship can have devastating results as your career progresses.

“…you want to be remembered as a person of character, someone who in difficult circumstances takes the high road.”

Think about people who have left your company on good terms. They may well have been quietly let go, but did so with dignity. Chances are no matter what happened they are remembered as a decent person. The talk of their departure fades.

Those that leave with difficulty, on the other hand, are remembered poorly. Their character flaws are often magnified - after all people gossip far more about the bad things. New people join your company and learn of the difficult history. The person who left takes on a bad reputation with people who have never even met them. The talk lingers for a long time.

No matter why you leave a job, or stop dealing with a client or customer end with grace. Your paths may well cross again one day. You may want to use that person as a reference or their work in a portfolio. More importantly you want to be remembered as a person of character, someone who in difficult circumstances takes the high road.

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