How to Resign from a Software Engineering Job

Quitting your software engineering job requires you to remain professional from the moment you give your notice to the final day at work

Phil from 4 day week
5 min readJul 7, 2021

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Quitting your software engineering job requires you to remain professional from the moment you give your notice to the final day at work. Whether you’re dissatisfied with your current role or you have found something better to focus on, resigning needs to be handled properly. Leaving your software engineering job in the wrong way can have disastrous results for your career and can possibly damage your reputation. Maintaining a good relationship with your supervisor and co-workers after quitting is essential for protecting your reputation in the industry. Kindly read on to understand how to resign from a software engineering job.

Schedule a Meeting with Your Supervisor

It is good practice first to let your immediate supervisor know about your intentions to leave. The supervisor clearly knows the role you’ve been playing as a software engineer and how your departure will affect specific functions. Thus, it’s good to discuss your intentions to leave with them first before handing over your resignation letter.

Also, don’t barge into their office or call them out of the blue to start a 30 minute or 1-hour conversation. Send your supervisor an invite or call them and ask them when they are free to have a conversation with you. A physical conversation will give you a conducive environment and time to discuss the matter professionally.

Give Them your Notice

A software engineering role is usually a critical one for any given organization. This means that you need to give out notice at least two weeks before you leave your current role. Each job is different, however, so be sure to check out the terms of your job offer to see how long you need to work for. Your notice period will give your supervisor and the rest of the company’s management time to:

  • Start hiring for someone to replace you
  • Work out who may temporarily fulfil your duties in the short term when you leave
  • Open a consultation window with your colleagues and help them to understand more about how your code works and what needs to be done once you’re out

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Phil from 4 day week

Founder @ 4dayweek.io - jobs with a better work / life balance.