Bdtyktl

About 2/3 weeks ago, I had a one-on-one meeting with my direct superior/manager in which I explained him that I'm considering leaving the company for different reasons (not related to him). He understood, but he also said that he hopes that I would wait for a bit more (about the end of summer). I didn't promise anything back, but we closed the meeting on these (friendly) terms.

Further events happened after the one-on-one, which basically contributed to my 100% decision of wanting to leave the company. Therefore, I'd really like to leave now, which means giving the resignation notice and actually being able to leave at the beginning of June (I'm in Europe).

This would be fine, but I've also heard that in such period the company may be acquired by a bigger one. Since I have some "options/shares" (the company is a startup, it's not on the stock market), I would lose money if I quit before the acquisition.

As further context: I heard about the acquisition thing through an indirect way (a manager told one of my colleague who told it to me), and it may or may not happen (the manager is not even sure about it, but I know that it has not been orchestrated in order to keep me in the company).

The rational thing to do would be to hold strong, wait few months for a probable acquisition and then leave/decide what to do. However, I really have no drive/motivation to go further. I'm continuously looking at my screen, but I'm not doing anything, and if this protracts for a while I may also risk to burn bridges (hence future recommendations).

Should I ask for another one-on-one with my manager? If so, should I be honest about the acquisition thing and everything else (in theory it's a secret).

Also, next week I have a meeting with the CEO (it's a small company). What should I tell him? I don't think I can tell him about the acquisition thing, as he would get furious (he probably told it to few people, and then the news got leaked to few others).

In other words: should I tell my manager/CEO that I made up my decision to leave, but that I'm staying for X months (they will ask why...)?

Keep in mind that I don't have another job as backup, and the reason for not looking yet is because of the acquisition thing (it would be weird to search for it now, and then say to an eventual company that I will be able to join only in 6 months).

My advice is not to leave your job until you have a concrete job offer to go to.

I would ignore the shareholder aspect for 2 reasons:

1. You are making a life-changing decision based on an unsubstantiated rumour


2. If you divulge that you waited to leave and gain financially because of this information, then you may be accused of insider trading

Simple. If you may lose money then don't let that stop you. If you will lose money by leaving then you need to figure out how much, is it worth your while staying, and you make your decisions.

Don't stop for things that may happen.

Start looking for a new job and ignore the acquisition rumors. Do your existing job well.

1. Without a new job that's all just speculation. In order for you to move this along, you need to go actively looking.


2. You already have mentally checked out and your performance has suffered. This will create problems if it drags out too long. You need to get moving.


3. You can't make good decision on rumors. You need real data and sufficient information. You don't have that at the moment and there is no reasonable way for you to get it, so it's best to just ignore it


4. Even if it happens, it may not result in an immediate financial benefit. Many of these transactions have some strings attached to prevent an immediate mass exodus: lock out periods, vesting schedules, pro-ratings, etc. See point 3).


5. Depending on how your current equity is structured, you can perhaps still benefit, even if you leave right now. If you have stock grants, they are yours. You keep them, regardless of whether you stay or leave. If you have options, you can consider to exercise some right now or shortly after you leave (there is typically a grace period before they expire)

should I tell my manager/CEO that I made up my decision to leave, but
that I'm staying for X months (they will ask why...)?

No.

Decide for yourself if you want to stick around due to the potential acquisition or not. If the former, be aware that rewards for sticking around aren't usually immediate. In every case I have experienced, you'd need to be there at least 6 months post-acquisition to get anything.

Once you have decided then act accordingly.

If you have decided not to stick around, then find your next job, give the appropriate notice, and leave.

If you have decided to stay, then just keep it to yourself until you later decide to leave.

Playing games like "Well I might stick around or might not." or "Well I might stick around because there may be a bonus later." are more likely to backfire than not. If I were your manager/CEO and you proposed that to me, I'd almost certainly tell you to leave now.

I left a job three weeks before my first options vested. (Best guess at the time was $5000 to $10,000, as this was pre-IPO.) I didn't like the job, and the Director of Engineering was so impressed he made it clear I could come back—even though the quality of my work was career-worst—and that I would have a favorable reference.

However, I had come into a considerable sum of money unrelated to work. Even skipping $10K was not that painful. You will have to balance whether a better recommendation is worth the cost. We don't know what your equity is worth, but you might be able to find out.