Leaving a Job Without Burning Bridges
             How you part ways with an employer can be important to your future success.
             When Shea Weston began interviewing for a new job last year, she quickly learned that the world is indeed a small, small place.
             She was living in Iowa at the time and was contacted about a job in Florida. After several phone interviews, she was flown to the company to meet with her potential co-workers . . .one of which happened to be her boss from her first-ever job out of college.
             "I hated that job, but not because of him," Weston says. "He was actually very nice. But I worked there for two months and then found a job I liked better and, well, just cleaned out my desk and left. I didn't realize the trouble I was causing. Needless to say the interview was a bit uncomfortable."
             Weston and her former boss mended fences at lunch later that day, but the damage was done. She continued her job search elsewhere.
             No matter how much you enjoy or dislike your job, leaving it will always be accompanied by some feelings of regret.
             If we like our job, leaving is uncomfortable. We might feel we are abandoning commitments and friendships, and our instinct may be to get out ASAP. If we hate our job, we might be thrilled to be going, feel we owe the business nothing, and therefore have the desire to drop everything and run.
             But you cannot make those mistakes--especially in today's wired world where networking accounts for most hires (85% of jobs are unadvertised, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics) and where job-hopping is practically chic. No matter what the reason, you must leave your job in as an above-board a manner as possible. Some rules-of-thumb:
             Allow enough time at your old job. The old two-weeks notice is still standard, and if you can stay even longer, try to do so. This allows you time to finish projects and complete the exit process (finalizing benefits, payment, exit interviews and so on). Y...