Last week the internet was abuzz with not 1 but 2 of the most viral resignation  stories of the year. Have a quick read to learn how to NOT quit your job:

Episode 1: The JetBlue flight attendant.

Episode 2: Jenny quits via Dry via Dry Erase Board and emails the whole office.

Perhaps, piggybacking on such an unbelievable story of resignation, thechive.com released a story about, Jenny, an assistant to a manager at a company undisclosed who quit her job in spectacular fashion.

Jenny created a 33 photo slide show of herself holding up dry erase boards each with a different inscription explaining her reasoning for quitting. Evidently it had everything to do with her boss, who `she had overheard refer to her as a HOPA (hot piece of a**).

The next day, TheChive released that the “resignation” was actually a hoax. Jenny is a model from Los Angeles, hired to act out the scene.

The slideshow was hilarious and drew enormous buzz. Even though it was a hoax, it makes us, here at jobbi, wonder:
In today’s world: If you quit your job, should you go big? Should you expose your reason for quitting? Should you escape in brilliant fashion while still grabbing a few keepsakes (beers, staplers, etc.)?

Our advice:
Unless your goal is to be in the front and center in the media and that goal aligns with your future career goals, we would strongly suggest to always be professional.
A reputation takes years to establish and only seconds to destroy. Be careful before you click submit to YouTube or Facebook. Once anything compromising is on the internet, it is more than likely never coming off.

As truly epic as both of these stories were, Steve and Jenny’s “rehire potential” is far weaker than if they had resigned in a private and professional way. Unfortunately, employers are naturally risk averse. To employ someone the media has already documented means that if that person blows up again, it’s much more likely to be covered. No employer wants to have their company laughed at, even if it was an awesome story.