Surviving a Three Month Notice Period

You’ve landed your dream role, the company mission resonates with you, it’s flexible enough to fit around your life, and the remuneration package is great. Then you spot the snag – you’ve got a three-month notice period.   

It’s common to find this in mid to senior roles in the ServiceNow ecosystem. Whether you’re a Senior Manager or a Technical Consultant, in many countries you could find a long notice period for permanent positions. If anything, this should be flattering – it’s time-consuming and difficult to replace you. Organisations understandably need to give themselves time to find someone of a similar calibre. But what happens when you want to change roles or move organisations? We’re bringing you your very own survival guide for long notice periods in the ServiceNow ecosystem.  

Don’t hold back  

In the first instance, don’t let a three-month notice period hold you back from looking for another role. If you are seeking a new ServiceNow opportunity, career progression or a better work-life balance, the dreaded long notice might stop you from searching for this. It can be tempting to take the ‘easy option’ and stay put, but is it the easy option in the long run? Or will it negatively affect you if you stay, instead of pursuing a role that suits you, and your life, better? Every organisation will say they’re looking for someone to start ASAP; it’s a highly competitive job market with very few skilled employees available. The right organisation will wait for you, not just despite this, but because of this.   

Let’s try and think about this from a positive angle. With a three month notice period, you’ve got time to round-off the projects you’re working on in your current role, and achieve the things you had planned, and you’ll know your new organisation are committed to you. By the time you start, they’ve already invested 3 months+ of time into your career.  

Try to negotiate  

There’s no harm in trying, right? It may be in your contract, and there will be plenty of organisations out there that will ensure you honour this, which they’re perfectly within their rights to do. However, there are situations where you could negotiate with your current employer and try to reduce a three-month notice period. If you don’t ask, you don’t get!  

Stop the search  

Time passes a lot faster in retrospect. It can feel like the days are passing slowly when you count them down. Once you’ve secured a new role and handed in your notice, it can be tempting to think you’ve got lots of time, so what’s the harm in keeping up the job search? Unfortunately, this won’t stand you in good stead with the ServiceNow ecosystem. It’s just too small, and word travels.   

Committing to an offer, handing in your notice, and then entering recruitment processes with other organisations could mean you present yourself as unreliable. You run the risk of developing a bad reputation, particularly when, at this point, you’ll potentially muddy your name with 3+ different organisations. Don’t get itchy feet, you’ve accepted this offer for a reason, and once your notice period is over, it’ll seem like it passed in no time at all.  

Keep in touch  

The excitement of receiving an amazing ServiceNow job offer can quickly wear off when you have to be patient and wait out your three months’ notice. Talk about anticlimactic. You might start to feel a bit underwhelmed or forgotten over those three months. To combat this, make sure you stay in touch with your Recruitment Consultant and/or your new manager. 

Any good Recruitment Consultant will be in regular contact with you during your notice period, so you shouldn’t need to reach out to them, but by all means, check in with them more often if you want. If you haven’t been given the details of anyone at your new company, ask for them, and reach out. This will keep you in the loop, and engaged with your new role. If you are invited to any social events with your future employees, try to attend if you can. This is the perfect opportunity to form relationships before you start, giving you a good foundation to build upon in your new workplace.  

Be thorough  

You’ve got three months to tie up any loose ends, and hopefully for your organisation to find a replacement, if this is their plan. Whether you are handing over to the person stepping into your role, or to somebody who will cover your responsibilities for a short while, make sure you hand over effectively. You need to be thorough, and help facilitate a smooth transition however you can. This way, you’ll leave with your reputation intact, if not boosted. The small ecosystem strikes again! If you leave on bad terms, or with false promises and a poor handover, word of mouth will work against you.   

If you’re on a three-month notice period, and thinking about changing roles, get in touch with one of our ServiceNow Recruitment Specialists for further advice.