Coolest Way to Quit a Job: Make a Video!

Editor's note: The original version of this article was replaced — its content was generic placeholder text. This version tells the actual story.

Who quit her job with a dance video?

In late September 2013, Marina Shifrin quit her job at Next Media Animation — the Taiwanese company famous for its animated news reenactments — with a video titled "An Interpretive Dance For My Boss Set To Kanye West's Gone."

What happened in the video?

Filmed at 4:30 in the morning in the empty Taipei office, the video shows Shifrin dancing through cubicles, conference rooms, and hallways to Kanye West's "Gone," while on-screen captions deliver her resignation letter. The captions are blunt: she works for a company that produces "hilarious videos" while she hasn't laughed in two years; her boss is more concerned with the quantity of videos than their quality; and she's quitting to "focus on my life."

Why did it go viral?

Within days, the video collected millions of views (it would go on to pass 10 million) and became one of the defining viral moments of 2013 — kicking off a wave of "video resignation" copycats and endless debate about the right and wrong ways to quit a job.

Was quitting by video a good idea?

Career experts were divided. The video was undeniably creative and cathartic — but burning a bridge in public, with your former employer's name attached, is a gamble most advisors wouldn't recommend. Shifrin herself later said she didn't expect the video to explode the way it did. The takeaway: the coolest exit is the one that doesn't follow you into your next interview.