The MU graduate who quit her job through a video that went viralhas caused quite a stir in Columbia and around the world. But—believe it or not—there are some better ways to quit a job.
KBIA reached out to the MU Career Center, who did not want to make a comment. But the Columbia Public Schools Adult Programs Supervisor, Jim Sharrock, gave KBIA a list of to-dos and not to-dos.
Sharrock oversees programs designed to help students get back into the workforce.
Here’s what Sharrock said not to do:
- Don’t burn bridges
- Don’t talk about quitting the job with peers until after you have talked to your employer
- Don’t make any negative comments about the job to the employer
- Never leave a project unfinished
Here’s what he says to do:
- Keep communication lines open (there should be clear communication between you and supervisor)
- Always try to improve yourself
- Get things done
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew_tdY0V4Zo
MU graduate Marina Shifrin said she quit because the company focused on news viewership instead of news content. Shifrin was a strategic communication student at the Missouri School of Journalism.
“I am not saying that all journalism is bad,” Shifrin wrote on her WordPress blog. “I am saying that most popular journalism is bad.”
Shifrin also said journalists are the ones writing the stories about the poor job market, but they are the ones sitting in classes that have adopted the “journalism is dead” motto.
“That’s why when we find a job that remotely carries even just the slightest essence of journalism, we gently bend at the waist, place our elbows upon our desk, and let the clicks have their way with our posterior,” Shifrin said.
Associate Professor, Cynthia Frisby, of the Missouri School of Journalism’s Strategic Communication department said Shifrin was a student who stood out to her. She said Shifrin was in the top 1% of all strategic communication students.
“She was smart and amazing,” Frisby said. “She was also very analytical, attentive, and had a great sense of humor.”
Assistant Professor, Brad Best, of the Missouri School of Journalism’s Strategic Communication Department, said it is okay to quit your job if you are not happy, but do not be unprofessional about it.
“I always teach my students to never, ever burn bridges,” Best said. “You never know when your former boss could help or hurt you when looking for your next job.”
Best also said it was interesting to see the video that her former co-workers at Next Media Animation made in response.
But Frisby suspects Shifrin had already received the okay from the company before making the video.
“Just the way the video was laid out,” Frisby said. “There had to have been some company allowance.”
Frisby said she believes the video did not hurt Shifrin’s credibility because it helped market the company she worked for.