Leaving Your Project Early

What to do if you need to leave your project before it has ended.

Sometimes unexpected life events will come up and make it difficult for you to complete your project. Maybe you are interviewing for a job, or have a serious illness in your family. When this happens, it is important to communicate with your team early and often.

• As soon as you know there’s a possibility you may need to leave your project, let your team leads and project management leads know

• Complete any tasks you have committed to, if possible, and let your leads know if there is anything you can’t complete

• Share your end date (final day of being on the project) with your leads as soon you know

• If you will be replaced, consider helping your replacement onboard, if possible, to relieve the burden on your team

It can be tempting to wait until you are certain about your leave to communicate with your team, but keep in mind that this puts your team in a difficult position. If they know that you might leave, they can begin to prepare for the transition, and if it turns out that you will actually be staying on, that is totally fine!