In a world where Presidents tweet from their personal twitter accounts and brands use their social media to communicate directly with their audience – from making statement about social issues, to recruiting new talent to work for them – it’s now normal practice for public figures to share breaking news with their followers, ahead of anyone else.

To this end, it seemed fitting that NSW Premier Mike Baird announced his resignation from politics via social media earlier this week (this, the same man who live-tweeted The Bachelor during his first term in office).

With an attached picture of a longer statement his post read: “I’m retiring from politics. It’s been an honour to serve you, NSW.” He then posted a video on his Facebook page with a piece-to-camera explaining that he was satisfied with his achievements in his decade in politics, but now wanted to spend more time with his family.

Baird isn’t the first high profile individual to announce that they’re quitting something over social media. But for those of us who aren’t politicians or CEOs, is taking to social media to announce a resignation really a good idea?

As we’ve written before, most experts recommend staying well away from social media during a transition out of a job – particularly if you’re not breaking up on good terms. It can be tempting to air your company’s dirty laundry on your way out the door but in the long run this will do nothing for your career’s future.

But, if you are in a position to announce your resignation directly to the public, you could do worse than taking a leaf out of the Baird playbook. For most of us, we probably won’t use Twitter to let our company know we’re resigning; it’ll more likely be that, after we’ve informed our boss, we’ll log on to share the news with our social networks.

So, when taking that plunge, keep these three best-practice tips in mind:

1. Stick to the the positives

A politician is unlikely to bring up past mistakes. But one thing Baird definitely got right in his announcement video was highlighting the achievements and success’ that marked his time in office. Keep those bridges intact and make sure your colleagues can see that you valued your time with them and at the organisation. It’s also highly likely that future employers will scan these posts when screening you, so keep that in mind – if you leave on a high-note that’s the insight they’ll take away.

2. Thank your team

Baird also ensured he thanked his colleagues. There’s nothing worse than leaving the impression that you’re an egotist who believes they owe nothing to anyone.

Demonstrating thankfulness to those you worked with also show future employers that you are socially adept and can work well in a team.

3. Don’t blame your employer

Baird doesn’t blame anyone else in his statement. Nor does he name names when describing the difficulties of his job over the past months. As we’ve already mentioned, social media screening is a mainstay of recruitment now, so if you cast your (soon-to-be) ex-employer in a negative light, it’s more than likely to arise at a future job interview – or when your old employers are asked to give you a reference.

When it comes down to it, posting anything on social media should follow the golden rule of ‘think before you type’. This is especially important when announcing that you’re leaving your job.

Regardless of your political persuasion, if you’re planning to let your followers know that you’re quitting; be like Mike.