What's your situation at work?

I gave my notice in January, and will be leaving in May. I did this mainly because I got tired of having pressure in a job I wasn't staying with anymore. Now, I am able to just come in, get stuff done, and that's it.

My gut feeling is to give your employer enough notice that they don't experience any significant difficulty adjusting to it (don't piss them off/burn bridges). Now, the employer could always gripe regardless of the amount of time this is ("you know we have this big project starting in 2012!"), but I think it's given most are reasonable. If your current responsibilities are ones that can be fairly easily transitioned, maybe look at a 2-4 weeks. If you know it'd be key for you to train a new hire or that they'll have difficulty handling future projects, probably a few months notice, if possible.

I think everyone just has to feel out their own unique situation. Most big firms have a culture of giving 2 week notice, especially for junior/mid-level employees. They have enough resources to cover up anyone that leaves, very easily and on short notice.

If you're at a smaller or more entrepreneurial company... chances are that you fill an important niche and they will need to spend time recruiting and training your replacement. You would be wise to give a few months so that senior people don't have to fill in the holes and go through a panic scenario once you give 2 weeks notice.

I'm not sure how much references count for formal MBA recruiting; but your reputation is very important. You never know where your current colleagues will be in 2 years when you get out of B-School.

In conclusion: The world definitely moves on without you, but your last few months can really cement your reputation and image in people's eyes.

I'm on a 2 year contract so the company has every expectation that I will be leaving them. Quite convenient

Good point eminent

But don't you stand the risk of straining your nerves to breaking point while trying to please your soon-to-be ex-employer? I am finding it so difficult performing at the same level as I did before I knew I was definitely going to b-school. I'll rather quit while I am still in good graces. I think I am going to hand-in my official written notice on Tuesday. I just can't take it anymore.

I really cannot concentrate at work, everything seems so mundane to me right now. I'm contemplating moving my quitting date up a month, but I really need to keep working for the money (and for the "aesthetics" on my resume). Every day is torment to me.

It's pretty important to leave with a good reputation intact. I remember when I quit my 2nd job, I thought I'd never go back to that company/industry. Long and behold, after my 3rd job's contract expired, the economy was in a slump. Luckily, I left on good terms; my former co-workers were recommending me to their clients. I was able to get a job pretty quickly, even in the downed economy. Even though it was not through my co-worker's contacts, I'm sure my current employer called up my former employer to check up on me, since I've heard storied about other candidates getting scratched off the list due to bad reviews.

Anyways, you'll just never know how life turns out, but not burning bridges will definitely help.

I gave my three month notice as my current project is winding down and I didn't want to be staffed on a long term engagement then to shock them midway through with news that I'm leaving. It was a risk, considering it'll be tough to staff me on a 1-2 month engagement but I think they appreciated the honesty. They gave me the option of a 2 year LOA with the rights to continue looking for employment elsewhere...just a nice little safety net in case something goes wrong. Pretty classy move by them if you ask me.

just told my VP i'm gone by 1st week of may. the countdown begins.

Second week here for me. Gave my notice last September.

This is a truly great situation to be in. I have been told that I'd be welcome back as well. Even though I'd never do it, I think it'd be a nice point to mention to future employers.

Congratulations to all who are doing such neat stuff before the MBA!

If you're just doing the typical, non-exciting quitting and de-compressing before moving across the country, when do you guys say is the best time to quit? Two months prior to start? One month?

My program starts August 23rd and I was thinking of high-tailing it the second week of July (after taking the Canada day week off to head to Toronto to find an apt).

I'm quitting my current job at the end of May. But alas, I may actually get an internship that will require me to work through the summer. There goes my dream of spending two months on my parents' couch, doing nothing but eat and watch TV.

I feel you Milias!

Just started my unpaid internship today.......and as the alarm woke me up I thought to myself "why the hell am I doing this". But the work seems interesting, its a useful experience and it will help with recruiting later on. So forget about the lovely couch!

What kind of internship work are you doing, if you don't mind me asking?

I work on the Space Shuttle Main Engines at Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne (Canoga Park, Ca). As you may or may not be aware, the shuttle program is ending... semi-conveniently later this year. After that its really up in the air if I have a job or not. If you watched Obama's speech last week you'd have a rough idea what I'm going though - the entire space-lift industry is undergoing some major changes and tough times, and its a pretty uncertain future. I'm actually really hoping a few of my essay readers saw that speech, because if they did it'll add quite a bit of credibility to my whole app.

I had originally planned on just applying to UCLA and USC's part time programs, but did better ont he GMAT than expected so I sent out some full time apps for the hell of it. My GPA will likely keep me from getting into those schools, but it was worth a try, particularly since I think my work experience is fairly good for a 25 y/o.

My managers know I'm applying and if I get into a full time program I'll make the necessary sacrifices to make it work (it'll certainly be interesting for Fall 2010 if I do). My company itself historically doesn't value MBAs too much, so although I'd get some financial assistance from them doing a part time program, its unlikely I'll return to the company if I went away full time (though that may be changing).

We shall see.

35 more days of work, I've started the calendar countdown, you know, the one you did in elementary school when you were counting down to the last day of school lol.

I'm so ready to just be a bum and regroup