I recently left a company I have worked for since I was an intern, I worked there for over a decade. There I grew professionally very quickly, I made lots of friends and enjoyed the challenges that came along with the field I am in. I was in a really good position in the firm, and well liked. Unfortunately, my passion drove me elsewhere, and after such a long time I decided it was time to move on.
I accepted a great opportunity, and when it came time to resign, I planned to wait until it was closer to my start date. I planned to provide 3 weeks notice due to my time there and my responsibilities. My plan changed when my supervisor and others started asking me to assist with pursuits for new projects. I knew these projects I would not be able to follow through on and it would waste a lot of people's time and the company's resources, so I resigned a week early still planning on the same date of resignation. My manager immediately understood the significance of my departure and even thanked me for doing so even though my start date for the new firm is so far away (4 weeks at this point).
I was given a counter, a very competitive offer, but it was not the reason for my leaving so I declined. the very next day, I was informed by upper management that my last day would be the coming Friday (just two days notice). My manager said there wasn't much he could do as they seemed pretty upset. I thought I was being professional and paying forward kindness to the company that I grew up in and that the kindness would in turn be reciprocated. Instead, I'm now unemployed for the next 3 weeks and no pay. COMPANY'S DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU no matter how long you have worked and built relationships there.