Public Finance Blog

It’s time to address an area that is usually never spoken about.  It’s the behind-the-door stuff.  The stuff that legal tells you what you cannot do before you leave. The things that, in your excitement to make the move, you may forget.  It’s simply a checklist that you should save and put away for that day when you, too, decide it’s time to move on.  You need this checklist handy before you resign.

First Round

Like any pilot who’s going to take a plane off the ground, they do their preflight checklist, which is exactly what I am doing here.  First of all, congratulations! You’re at the final point on this long road that you have been on.  It’s the road that has brought you to the decision of resignation for whatever reason.  You have prepared your notice and you’re ready to either e-mail it to your supervisor or you’re about to sit down with him or her.  But wait!  Are you prepared for all the consequences before you resign?  The first thing that will happen after they accept your resignation is that you will be cut off from all electronic connections.  This means your phone, computer, and potentially even access to your suite will be gone.

Ring, Ring…

So let’s look at your phone first.  Is it a company phone or your own?  If it’s your own, there’s no way they have access to it.  On the other hand, if it’s a company one, then you will be asked immediately to leave it behind.  All that information you have relied upon is now not accessible.  You must be prepared for this eventuality.  Weeks before you resign, go through your phone and start noticing what’s there you will not have access to and retrieve that information before tendering your resignation.

You’ve Got Mail

Next is your lifeblood: your computer and email.  Before you resign, what should you expect to happen with these items?  You will most likely have no further access to either.  Let’s start with your computer.  Make note of any files that cannot be rebuilt easily, such as spreadsheets or templates that you have created (not company-generated ones).  The company-generated ones you cannot take; however, anything that you have created that is not proprietary, you should be gathering.  Any of your personnel records that you have access to should be looked at.  Any financial records of your revenues will also no longer be accessible.  Your revenue earnings is going to be an important document that you should create.  As for emails, this is usually the first thing that is turned off.  Make sure you have ways to contact people that you have been communicating with over the years.  If people have only known your professional email, you may want to share with them your personal email (especially if you are going to be subject to a garden leave and you have been advised not to reach out to them).  However, nothing is stopping them from reaching out to you, which they cannot do unless they have an address or personal contact info.  In certain situations, there is a concept of protocol firms or non-protocol.  Here, firms have agreed what information can be legally removed and what must remain based on the above protocol determination.

Double Check Your List

All in all, before you do anything involving client lists and contacts, it’s best to get your new firm’s legal department suggestions so you are not violating any covenants you may be under.   Also, imagine that you will not have unsupervised access to your suite.  Is there anything there that you want that you can legally remove before you resign?  Then do that before tendering your resignation.  It is not my intention to have anyone do anything that is in violation of your employment agreements, but it is to be like that pilot.  Complete your preflight checklist because once your plane gets in motion, it cannot stop at the edge of the runway to make a course correction.

Conclusion

You don’t need a resume to chat with us! If you would like to discuss your options, please reach out for a confidential conversation at 760-477-1284 or email at harlan@hfriedmansearch.com. He can also be reached on LinkedIn. Harlan publishes a blog every Thursday here. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter here, which is a compilation of our weekly blogs, so you never miss one. We have also been mentioned in Forbes this year, click HERE to read more.  

About Harlan Friedman, JD & Founding Member, H. Friedman Search LLC. Harlan is a thirty-year veteran Public Finance Banker turned recruiter who specializes in the placement of all levels Public Finance Bankers, Healthcare Bankers, Municipal Advisors, Compliance Officers, Issuers, and Bond Counsels.