Background: I have worked for this company for over 6 years. Have been a top performer who has recruited quality employees, created multiple patents and publications, ran research teams, and transitioned internal projects to large external sponsors. The person who replied is my old boss at the same company that I… used to think fondly of.
How would you respond to this? What would you do?
My Email
Title: Thank You to My [company] Mentors
Hello there,
The five of you have had a tremendous impact over the course of my career at [company].
I wanted to express my gratitude for all that you have done for my career and growth.
All of you helped support my [continuing education degree], innovate new ideas, and helped gain leadership skills.
I view you all as mentors and have learned a lot from you.
It is bittersweet leaving [company], and I will miss you all.
I hope we can stay in touch, and I wish you all the best.
In case you do not have my contact info.
[contact info]
Sincerely, [my name]
Their Response
[my name],
Best of luck in the new job but I have to say I’m pretty disappointed. I understand the motivation of increased salary but one of the reasons these companies are able to offer these salaries is the lack of their ability to offer other benefits. You were the recipient of many of the benefits [company] had to offer – tuition, flexibility in your work assignments to align with pursuing your degree, leeway from your management and supervisors, promotion of your [research] proposals, and opportunities for collaboration/mentoring. It’s frustrating to me to invest in so much in good staff only to lose them to these other companies. It’s particularly an issue to me in cases like this when staff leave for jobs elsewhere so soon after obtaining a degree. I’m not naïve, and understand better than most, that there are salary issues at [company] and challenges associated with trying provide meaningful salary actions with the limited resources given to [departments]. When I heard you were looking elsewhere, I was a bit surprised given your history but I suppose I need to recalibrate my expectations in this new climate.
It was good working with you. I hope you find what you are looking for at the new job.
[old boss]