T.A.P. Q#434 - How Do I Quit Without Making it Personal?

Dear Experts,

I'm about to be formally offered a position I really want. I know this from the basic language and tone of my conversations with the hiring manager. I'm just waiting for her to finish speaking with my references and actually put an offer in front of my face. Exciting, yes. Of course I do not plan to quit my current job until I have accepted an offer and have it in writing, but I figured I'd solicit advice sooner so I can prepare.

See, my current job is...unique. I am one of five people who work for the company. I work from a home office with just my boss so our relationship over the years has grown from employee-employer to friends. In addition to my professional duties pertaining to the business, he has come to treat me a bit like a personal assistant. I do things like watering plants, helping him pick out an outfit for a dinner, giving advice, depositing personal checks, etc. It's a very relaxed atmosphere, filled with blurred lines and inside jokes.

In a way, I'd say he's a bit dependent on me. I'm terrified of quitting. I know it's the right thing for me, but I'm really scared of it blowing up into a big personal thing, when my decision to leave is primarily professional. More important than the friendship, I want to make sure that I can count on him to give me a good recommendation in the future considering this was my first job out of college.

How do I handle this the best way?

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