How should I handle this/is this normal?

Alright, so I graduated with a bachelors degree in accounting last May. Ive been working at a small bookkeeping firm as an "intern" for the past year and two months. I'm also still taking classes in order to pursue the CPA (I need 150 credits for the certification). I mostly work part time, but working nearly full time right now due to the holiday break from school. I've been looking for a new job for about 6 months now in public accounting and just received an offer from a small CPA firm. The job starts in two weeks (Jan 9th), but on Tuesday I'm telling my current job that Friday is going to be my last day. I'm taking a week off and hanging out before I start in the public firm. Now here's where it gets weird / I dunno what to do.

First, let me preface this by saying I only make $9 an hour and will now be making near 45K salary at my new job. I also work with all females, 15 in total. The owner is also female and has a history of going crazy when people give their two week notice. Ive heard from other employees who left that the owner and office manager take it personally and belittle them when they give their two week notice. Another intern was promoted to receptionist, she had a masters in accounting. After she realized the job sucked she asked for more challenging work she told me the owner told her that her degree doesn't mean **** here. ***** not rocket science, it's bookkeeping right? Anyways she left and got escorted out. I've seen 5 people give their two weeks and they always get hassled and end up getting let go anyways.

What I'm basically asking is A. Is this normal? This is my first white collar job and I'd think it wouldn't be this weird when a part time intern leaves. B. Am I an asshole for only giving 4 days notice? After seeing all this weird **** I don't really feel like giving two weeks really matters.

I'm thinking about recording this convo for laughs via my phone recorder when it happens.

A. Not normal.

B. It is not very professional giving only 4 days notice and you are giving her more reason to go crazy on your ass when you do leave.

Yeah I figured. Every time I see someone give notice it's always a shitstorm anyways, so my justification is not to care given their prior history. I won't ever use them as a reference and since I make no money I don't need the extra cash. It's gonna be an interesting experience.

Record all interactions possible and post here for SF stardom.

Pics of your 15 female colleagues to properly evaluate....

You're a part time intern, they'll get over it. However, don't expect to ask for a reference. If they've treated you fairly (regardless of what others have experienced), they deserve 2 weeks notice. When you tell them the news, if they act nasty, be respectful but firm. Anyway unless you can push back your start date, it's too late now - at least be apologetic about leaving them in a lurch.

BY the way, congrats on the gig.

No pictures, nothing to look at...they are all over 35. My coworkers for the most part are pretty cool though, if that counts

Yeah, I was never going to use management as a reference, they have proven to be quite unstable. However, I did use my coworkers as references. I realize giving one week is rough, but it is what it is I suppose.

I judge employers by how they handle departure. It's unreasonable to expect someone to stay if they're given a much better opportunity elsewhere.

It's a small linked-in world and you never know where people will land. Four days is not very long. If it were me and they pushed back I'd skip a couple of those days off. You can use whomever you want as references, but that doesn't mean they won't be able to talk to others, especially the boss. I'd advise not burning any bridges.

just in case you are really thinking of doing it, it may be illegal to secretly record the conversation.

congrats on the new job and let us know how crazy your boss goes.

Yeah I didn't. I'm way too lazy to care that much, but wow was I wrong. Apparently everyone else was ******* up because it went fine. She was fine with the one week notice and even offered to write me a letter of recommendation anytime I wanted in the future. Lesson learned; maybe all the other interns and employees approached the situation unprofessionally. No joke I've heard some horror stories which included three former interns, so this was really unexpected.

Get the letter of recommendation now - your work will still be fresh on her mind and it will be telling in the writing. As time continues you are also less likely to actually receive it.

Glad to hear it worked out well for you.

Good for you man. Good luck

Quote: Umm, you do realize that one doesn't follow the other. Nothing to look at, and over 35 are completely unrelated. I know some God-awful ugly 20 somethings, and some damn hot 30 and 40 somethings.

As for the OP, yes you screwed up. Even before seeing what you wrote later about your departure being handled professionally, you really need to follow the conventions of your industry. In most, that means 2 weeks notice (and sometimes more). As an educator, if I gave a months notice but left mid-year I'd likely never find another job in the field since the norm/expectation is to finish out the school year. When I was in car sales, I gave 2 weeks notice to the general manager at my first job only to be yelled at for about 20min and then kicked off the premises. A sales manager who I was friends with took me to the side and told me that if I was to stay in car sales I needed to know that you give your notice as you leave your last shift (I later learned that he did just that at the end of that day). I was told that they are afraid you may try to take your customer lists with you and that you would have a bad attitude in your 2 weeks and lose them sales. So, it can be industry specific, but in most professional positions the norm is either 2 weeks and can be 4 weeks (my current employer requires at least 4 weeks if you want a good reference). Not following that can lead to a bad reference. As someone stated, you may not plan to use them as one of your 3 references, but potential employers will likely contact the employer anyway. One of the usual questions is whether you would be re-hired or not, and some employers will use whether you gave sufficient notice or not as part of their answer to that question. Whether or not you left with sufficient notice can also sometimes be an interview question.

You're a part time intern...its not like you have a contractual obligation to give ANY notice (if you do...you probably wouldn't have started this thread).

Sure, its not a nice move...but since they have demonstrated that they don't appreciate people giving a 2 week notice, you're probably fine. The 2-week notice is purely a courtesy, you aren't required to do it and if they treat others like **** when they give it, you might as well just skip 2 weeks of ****.

Hell...there are a lot of $9 an hour jobs out there where I wouldn't be surprised if the most common way of giving notice was to stop showing up.

Glad it went well though.