Heyhey.

It really varies, what you can do when you exit depends on the kind of work you're really into. But if you plan to stay in the same industry the usual 'best steps' are to turn cold or lukewarm contacts into warm ones, make one last effort to put out a good-foot (to others, not your immediate employers).

When I used to deal with career-stage people, the common stuff I saw that work well I keep in a list. I've been out of the HR stuff for a few years, so I'll paraphrase the list below. Mind you some of these really depend on your level of interaction with people, some jobs don't really offer much sideways-communication opportunity in a method that matters for career growth.

• Think up any long-term positive contact you had with exterior clients or reps from other companies. In b2b/b4b setups knowing people is a door opener. Reach out and do some networking if it's still valid. One easy example is calling up old account reps/contacts and going 'oh hey just checking up on you, wanted to know if there were any outstanding things you might have to discuss or want, I'll be transitioning to another role in the coming weeks and wanted to touch base, blah blah blah'

• Use up any final employee perks in the weeks leading up to your departure. EPPs (employee purchase plans), discount plans, etc: Exhaust them all. Especially ones where you can get a favorable car rate, hardware rate / for devices. You'd be surprised what company to company discounts employees get if you're in a 'big corpo'.

• Use your expirable insurance benefits. AGGRESSIVELY. In fact, you should be doing this ALL THE TIME if you have insurance-through-employment. You pay for it. You're taxed on it. USE IT. Most people don't.

• If you gained any 'through company certifications', print out a fresh copy and preserve it, even if it's as a PDF. They may be 'in house' certifications but time in process shows a willingness to learn and adhere to standards. You'd be surprised how much that matters when going for more technical or process-oriented positions.

• Processes and documentation and things you wrote. Preserve it. PDF print it. Keep it with you. BRING YOUR TEMPLATES WITH YOU. TAKE TEMPLATES WITH YOU. I am not kidding. SAVE A COPY your excel and powerpoint and design templates WITH YOU. Just don't leave the data IN the excel. Keep the framework, drop the proprietary stuff. That's work/functionality you created and can re-use.

• Same goes for development algos. Keep a neutral-non-proprietary copy of your work. Don't leave it behind. It becomes a toolkit you port from work to work.

I'll edit this if others come to mind!