"There's a right way to leave a job and a wrong way."

As much as I bitched last week that I wished I had only given the standard two weeks notice, I knew that by being generous I would (1) show that I was not out to screw over my bosses and (2) reap the karma for being such a good person. Karma has manifested itself as an opportunity to do freelance work with my job, which is really the main reason I didn't come walking in from my Seattle vacation proclaiming, "I'm leaving, motherfuckers!!" even though I was tempted. And by giving a month's notice I knew that it was going to make up for the shitty fact that I'm leaving when our editorial director is out on three month's maternity leave.

Karma may be even more bountiful than your standard freelance work because it looks as though I will be paid by my current job on a freelance basis till they hire a new graphic designer. In addition, I will be paid to come in after my new higher paying job and train my replacement. And in addition to that, I will be paid to layout the issue supplements. Are these dollar signs in my eyes?

This brings me to the quote I used for this entry's title. There is indeed a right way to leave your job and a wrong way. The right way, as my boss referenced this morning sitting amongst us, is my decision to give a month's notice. I will be rewarded for my generosity. The wrong way, he went on to explain, conspicuously sitting in my new coworker's desk chair, is to tell your boss that you are leaving to take a new job after only six days of work. Apparently that is what my new coworker did -- told my boss that he had been still interviewing even though he took the job with us. My boss was understandably not happy and new coworker became old coworker. And now not only does my boss have to find my replacement, but he has to start the search all over again for the now vacant editor position.

Ladies and gentlemen, if there is a moral to this story it is that you do not burn your bridges. New York may be a big city, but it is freakishly a small town at times and you never know when you're going to run into someone again. As my boss said, It's a real "scumbag" thing to do and I have to agree.