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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: bortman on June 01, 2018, 08:15:08 AM

Title: auto reply after RE from ~20 year university research career
Post by: bortman on June 01, 2018, 08:15:08 AM
I've worked for the same professor for nearly 20 years. 13 years at my current institution, and at another for 6.5 years before that.

My final day of work is today.

I'm probably definitely overthinking this .. looking for advice on wording for my auto reply.

For years I've been routing my .edu email through an aliased gmail account. Because my .edu account will be suspended at some unknown point in the future. IT staff won't give me specific date. Today I plan to "de-alias" the gmail account and use it to handle email related to my research.

I'd like to convey that:

1) I'm open to being contacted by collaborators about my previous research, and new research opportunities.

2) I was not fired, nor did I dishonorably resign. This is probably an overreaction, but in the current me-too climate there are many who are resigning their positions and I'm starting to feel like the word "resign" leans toward can easily be construed as having been asked or forced to resign.


With that, here's what I have now:

Quote
I have resigned my position and no longer work at the University of X.  This email address (bortman@univ.edu) will expire sometime in October 2018.

To contact me about matters related to my research, or new opportunities, please email me at bortman.univ@gmail.com.

For personal correspondence, feel free to contact me at my personal email address.

Kind regards,
bortman

Should I instead say something like "I no longer work at ..." or "I have retired from my position at ...." ?


Lastly, should I include a link to my LinkedIn profile? Would that come across as desperate? I don't have another job lined up, and don't need to go back to work, but if the right opportunity arose then I'd consider it.

I'd appreciate any thoughts from all y'all.

Thanks!
Title: Re: auto reply after RE from ~20 year university research career
Post by: radram on June 01, 2018, 08:32:18 AM
I would use wording similar to "conclude this phase of my life", or similar. I agree a simple resign statement does not project what you want it to.

If you truly want to pick and choose projects rather than just fade off into the sunset, I would also explicitly state that as well, like:

"I am interested in hearing about short term/full time/part time opportunities that fit well with my prior research, described here:....."

Congratulations!
Title: Re: auto reply after RE from ~20 year university research career
Post by: FLBiker on June 01, 2018, 11:50:09 AM
I like "retire" vs "resign".  Congrats!
Title: Re: auto reply after RE from ~20 year university research career
Post by: MrSal on June 01, 2018, 12:37:57 PM
why not state you've taken a sabbatical period in your life and have retired from that position? or just retired? which is truthful.you didnt just resign but also retired.
Title: Re: auto reply after RE from ~20 year university research career
Post by: bortman on June 01, 2018, 02:08:31 PM
Thanks for the congratulatory messages, and for the input .. very helpful!

Here's what I ended up with:

Quote
I have retired from my position at the University of X. This email address (bortman@univ.edu) will expire sometime in October 2018.

To contact me about matters related to my previous work, please send messages to
bortman.univ@gmail.com

I am interested in hearing about new research opportunities that fit well with my prior work, whether they be short term, part time, or full time.

www.linkedin.com/in/bortbortman

For personal correspondence, feel free to contact me at my personal email address.

Kind regards,
bortman


@MrSal: I avoided "sabbatical" because of what it connotes in an academic setting.
Title: Re: auto reply after RE from ~20 year university research career
Post by: Harper on June 03, 2018, 09:27:35 PM
I would delete the sometime and just write “will expire in 2018”. I know there’s uncertainty but I don’t think it’s necessary and sounds weird to me.

Congrats!