It's too early to tell whether history will look kindly on Bill Clinton. But his last days in office can serve as an immediate lesson on how not to leave a job.

>From pilfering furniture to pardoning billionaire fugitives, the former Oval Office occupant is dealing with a PR nightmare that could affect his ability to get the six-figure speaking gigs he so desperately needs to pay off debt.

Whether you're an ex-president or an ex-employee, it's "stupid to burn bridges," says Bill Radin, author of several career books, including Take This Job and Leave It : How to Get Out of a Job You Hate and into a Job You Love. "Even if you felt wronged in some way, the last thing want to do is create the impression you are ungracious, or not employable again."

Since most of us will never get a chance to pardon criminals or leave with the good White House china, our concerns have more to do with staying in the good graces of bosses, co-workers and our industry.

Make nice with management

Even under the worst of circumstances - including a firing - leave with grace, advises Eileen Levitt, president and founder of The HR Team, Inc. and Vault's Human Resources expert. One of the worst things you can do is trash the company, every last employee, even the office decor, like one man once did during an exit interview with Levitt.

"Years later, he called me up and said he realized it wasn't the company, it was him and he wanted to know if he could come back," she says. "The reality is the company is never going to let him come back."

Radin and Levitt disagree whether ex-employees should reveal their truest feelings during the exit interview.

~ Levitt recalls one ex-worker who praised bosses who had made life miserable for him while he was there. His co-workers were counting on him to disclose hard proof to managers that could have remedied the situation.

"The people left behind were furious at him for not speaking up," she recalls.

But Radin says you should resist the urge to tell all during the exit interview.

"If you think your boss is an idiot, probably all your coworkers do too, but saying it isn't going to make anybody the wiser," he says. "Maybe you say it while having a drink at the corner saloon. But don't criticize anybody in the exit interview. You're only going to be looked at as someone complaining about sour grapes."

In fact, he says, thank your employers for the opportunity to work with them - even if you're thanking your lucky stars that you never have to see them again.

"A job, no matter how bad it appears to you, is always a learning situation," he says. "When working with people who are total fools, look at it as a positive experience. You now know what not to do."

Leave with dignity

Even if you've been fired, exit with dignity. When everyone gathers around your desk for the play-by-play of what happened behind closed doors, give them the briefest version possible.

"Say something like "it looks as though I'm not working here any longer,"he says. "The last thing you want to do is to create a lynching party and infect them with your problem."

While it's sometimes hard to resist the urge to coast through your final working days after giving notice, don't do it, say the experts. The practice of slacking is so common that HR managers call it short-timers disease. Still, you don't want people's last impression of you to be a poor one. Continue working regular hours and fulfilling your job duties.

~ "Go out of your way to make sure that you are helping," says Levitt.

Being helpful means doing everything from making a list of your responsibilities, passwords that may get lost, to training your replacement. Sometimes staying in a job for a longer transition works to your advantage. For example, maybe you can negotiate for a bonus you wouldn't be eligible for due to leaving or to stay eligible for a few extra months under the company's health insurance plan, she says.

Staying to smooth a transition could also buoy your reputation if you are leaving work under less than desirable circumstances.

Sarah Schulman, 31, who recently quit her job as a manager at a non-profit law firm after less than a year on the job, stayed with her company several extra months after giving notice to train her replacement. Although she left because her management style clashed with the other administrators, Schulman stayed with the company to leave a good impression.

"I can't possibly tell you if my former employers would badmouth me or not," says Schulman, who is still job hunting. "I did everything I possibly could to ensure it wouldn't happen. I am continuing in the non-profit world, which is a small world, and everyone knows each other. I wanted to be able to say I left in a professional way on professional terms."

Unemployed for the first time in years, Clinton is about the most visible job hunter out there. But will his parting actions significantly lower his ability to work the chicken-dinner circuit? Will he still be the Democratic party's favorite fundraiser?

"Put it this way, this isn't going to increase donations to the Clinton library," says Radin.

Already, UBS Warburg of London, a major financial company, has canceled negotiations to hire him for a speech. And federal prosecutors are deliberating whether to open a criminal inquiry into the pardon of fugitive commodities trader Marc Rich.

"When you're in a [career] job, it's really more than just a job, you're in your constituency," Radin adds. "If you make your constituents mad, you can get a bad reputation within your industry, and you can see your stock diminish in value."