When deciding on the amount of time, don't fall for the guilt trip from your boss or what people tell you is the "standard" given notice. This is as personal and customizable an aspect to your job search as anything else. Know what should factor into this decision and why.

While still the expected terms of many people, it's not as common these days for an employee to give the typical 2 weeks notice. Many more candidates today are giving shorter notice of just a week. Given the privileged access many professionals have to private company information and technical systems, some employers actually are quite amenable to this and prefer to keep that window short as well.

Regardless of any industry trend though, you should ask yourself three questions to determine how much time to give when resigning:

1) What does your new employer want?
That's right. I put your new employer before your old one. Don't get caught up in the "burnt bridge" cliche. You won't burn any bridges if you handle yourself well during the resignation. The new company must take priority since many times you will be entering into a new job during a critical time and a few days one way or the other can make a huge difference.

Do you really want to miss the product launch, the manager's leadership conference, the kick off meeting with your team? The first thing you should do is find out if there is anything specific that would require you to be on board by a certain date. Let this be the biggest factor to your decision so you can get off on the right foot with your new job.

2) What does your existing employer want?
Yes, you should also put some stock in this. Sometimes there is a very reasonable request made for you to stay on an extra day or two longer. However, keep in mind that what they want is for you not to leave! As a result, they will be highly manipulative about constructing an argument for why you are needed to stay on for an additional 2 or 3 weeks.

You need to know that your job is not to FINISH your work, it is to TRANSITION your work. There's a big difference. Also, knowing that there is limited time employers will have you available to them, they are also likely to put as much work on your plate as possible before you leave. Find out what they may want, but be smart enough to weigh out the appropriateness of that request.

3) What do YOU want?
Now the real question gets answered. You may find that you want to get out of there earlier rather than later because you feel uncomfortable around your boss and co-workers knowing that you are leaving. You also don't want to continue to face the uncomfortable counteroffers that are inevitable. On the flip side, there may also be compelling reasons to stay on a bit longer than expected (for bonus eligibility, project completion). All of these things are understandable, but will need to be negotiated with your new employer if they conflict with when they want you to start

Great, now you've decided how much time to give and need to go cover this within your resignation conversation. Remember that this is not about how much notice you give, but about HOW you give notice in general. Use a well-written resignation letter and follow the right steps and you'll have nothing to worry about.