I left my last position in good esteem with everyone, despite the fact that my departure was not due to the most pleasant circumstances. When I quit my job I did it for a lot of good, logical reasons even though I absolutely loved my job. One of the main reasons, or at least the genesis of those reasons can be traced back to the head boss and his inability to respect the employees and the company we were working for. I let all of this go out of my head until I received a call a week ago from the president of the board of directors. She was calling to ask about the performance of my head boss, and believe you me I had more than enough to say. When she gave me a survey to fill out about his performance, however, I began to worry. When I left, on good terms, my boss offered a great recommendation and told me he would be a fantastic reference. I do have enough references, but his reference could realy help if I attain another job in this field. I didn't want to ruin this reference by unleashing my anger in a survey that could very well affect his job. Still when I filled out the survey I did it with honesty. When he reads it, I know he will know it is me because the events I talk about are specific. However in doing this I did more than just vent my anger, I hopefully was able to help the organization for the greater good. I didn't write an angry letter, I wrote a thoughful analysis. We work with children and they need the best staff they can get. I hate that I am not that staff anymore, but if I still have to power to help. I would rather do that than retain some reference.

Sometime you have to remember what is most important. The job itself was never the important thing, it's those kids, and somehow even though I've moved on, I think I was still able to help.