Various surveys and studies show that Americans switch jobs between 10 and 15 times through their career(s). Joe Torre is an exception to this, as the majority of his professional path has been with the highly successful New York Yankees baseball franchise as head coach. In the light of an uncharacteristic season of poor performance, Torre is now in the final steps of finalizing a three year contact with the New York Dodgers. Talk about a sticky situation in terms of flipping sides.

Personally, I like change in professional sports and this move by Torre will be fun to watch when the new baseball season commences. I’m not sure however, that Yankees fans share my point of view. By the way, if you’re an NY local, I’d love to hear your take on this whole situation.

Now, back to that statistic I had mentioned previously. If you’re like me, you’ve switched jobs a few times already and know the pressures that ensue in these types of situations. The circumstances can further be pumped up if the switch is from one company to a competitor. There’s hardly anything wrong with this, but soon-to-be-former coworkers might feel betrayed. Follow these key points to gracefully switch jobs without the drama.

- Do not exalt your new position. Bragging shows disrespect and is just plain sloppy. It’s perfectly acceptable to be excited…on the inside.

- Be thankful for the opportunity to have worked at your soon-to-be former workplace. Gratitude is appreciated by everyone, and employers are no exception. Serve up the proper respect and never burn bridges. This is natural for true professionals.

- Give it 100% through the last day. Excitement about moving on to a new position is not a reason to slack at a current job. Continue on through your last two weeks as you normally would and hold up your responsibilities

- Clean our your work area, thoroughly. Make a clean break by not leaving remnants of your former self. Honestly, as much as people might love you, they won’t love what you leave behind.

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