resignation notice & vacation time

[Koale]

I took two weeks of vacation to fly over and secure living quarters. The day I returned, I met w/my Supervisor and handed her my two week resignation letter in order to be 'eligible for rehire' when prospective employers called. It allowed her to shift others around to accomodate my shift and the work schedule in general. Sad thing was that after 12 years she didn't have another word to say to me since that moment on, not even a 'good-bye'.
Koale

[kodaka]

Don't give your resignation while you are on vacation. It will seem passive-aggressive to your employer, even if it's not what you intended. It will seem like you are trying to avoid a face-to-face conversation about your reasons for leaving, and avoiding the responsibility of handing of your duties to someone else. Wait until you get back and give them the full two weeks to establish a transition plan.

And as others have said, if your potential employer doesn't respect that you need to give your current employer adequate notice, then they are not a company you want to work for. They won't respect other relationships and boundaries if they can't do it for someone who doesn't even work for them yet.

[seain dublin]

Well according to the OP there is no firm job offer. The question of when can you start if offered a job was asked in a couple of interviews, that isn't an offer of employment.

So there is no reason to discuss resigning.

The norm as others has said is two weeks. When and if you're offered a job you get it in writing with a firm start date.

So you're now proably looking at starting no sooner than the third week of January if someone offered you a job after the New Year.

[scapegoatpa]

I recently had the pleasure of resigning from a job I have hated for years, to go into a job I have dreamed of for years. I "attempted" to resign six months ago, but foolishly let them con me into staying with a bunch of promises that never happened. This time I was determined to not let them change my mind and I didn't. I had two days of vacation scheduled and offered to do whatever it took to "do the right thing" as they had the option according to the company handbook to terminate me immediately and not pay me my last two weeks or accumulated vacation, or allow me to finish out and pay me. I was allowed to work out the two weeks with vacation days included and I would get payed the two weeks and my vacation.

But....as usual with these clowns it came at a cost. I would have to "clean up" two jobs that have been dragging on for months because my incompetent co-workers were not capable of completing.
Oh...and while they were at it, the final blow was to make me take a week of callout (over xmas of course) that I was not scheduled for since I was leaving anyway, and that way the bosses pet could be home with his family and not have to worry about getting called away. Nice.

[regdat]

i will be on vacation as of tuesday. i have 3 weeks. worried about how its gonna look if i hand my resignation in on the first week of my vacation. truth is i really need to leave. and my sup dont even want to send me on vacation it seems

[Nell Plotts]

Take a look at your employee handbook to make sure that you don't need to return to work to have your vacation paid. Not likely but you never know.

If payment for your 3 weeks vacation is assured there is no reason not to give notice your last work day.

My concern is that you need to clean out your desk/locker and return all your tools before you leave on vacation because none of that will be accessible after you give notice. If you don't want to tip your hand just tell your supervisor that because you will be gone 3 weeks you don't want to loose anything. Someone could burglarize your house, even steal your employee key card, and you won't know there is a problem until your return. Have the sup sign that they have received all that stuff. That way there is no reason for your employer to hold your paycheck.