What will someone hear when they reference check you with your previous employers?
Research suggests people most remember the peaks and endings of experiences. In other words: the best parts and how an experience ends.
By this logic, your ex colleagues will likely remember the best things you did at the company and what you did in your final ~90 days on the job.
So if you work in an interconnected industry where reference checks happen and personal brand reigns supreme, it’s key to nail the ending. (Your personal brand largely equals what other people say about you.)
There’s so much career advice about crushing your first 90 days on a job. Indeed, one of the bestselling career books of all time is titled The First 90 Days.
But there’s little written about how to nail your last 90 days.
Here are a few specific tips for an employee wrapping up a job where they have a high trust relationship with their manager:
- Honorably complete your tour of duty. As we write in The Alliance, the structure of tours of duty facilitates non-awkward ways to talk about transitions. It’s crucial to finish what you ethically committed to do.
- Talk to your manager when you want to start interviewing for new gigs. Interviewing for new jobs behind your current manager’s back destroys trust. Broach the topic in the context of wrapping up your current tour of duty. This requires a high trust relationship that not every employee has, to be sure.
- Sprint through the tape. Everyone will remember how you finish. If you’ve already lined up your next job, it can be tempting to lame duck your way to your final day. Do the opposite: work overtime to deliver accomplishments, and cement your personal brand — in the minds of the people who’ll be your references — as synonymous with selfless excellence.
- Document and invest in succession planning. Show a real interest in making your successor successful — even if you’ve already formally transitioned out of the gig. People will remember these sorts of displays of team-first professionalism.
TL/DR: When future employers call your previous managers and do a reference check, your ex colleagues will remember your best moments and how you ended. Be great at your last 90 days.