Writing Your Resignation

“Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer to your goal.”

— Elbert Hubbard

You have landed the plane and are ready for a new adventure.  The next step is to clear the deck of the current job, if you are fortunate enough to have one while you are looking.  The emotions at this point will be unique to each person, their situation and the history with the current company. 

Vindication: You may have been feeling frustrated with your current company or position.  A sense that they didn’t understand the impact you were having, and you were under appreciated.  Now that you have a new role, you may feel justified in those feelings and look forward to shoving this good news in their face.

Relief: The current role just makes you tired and now just feel a sense of relief about moving on to a new environment.  You are just looking forward to a new start.

Sadness: Perhaps you have liked the people you work with or the role that you had with the company, but you needed to relocate, wanted a bigger job or needed a job with better compensation.  The positive emotions about the new role might be a bit muted by the sense of loss as you are going to turn the page.

There are other feelings that you might have, and you may find yourself cycling through these different feelings depending on the day or hour.  Unless the situation is horrible, you should give a notice period to your employer.  In the USA it is typically two weeks and in Europe it can be months.  Whatever is appropriate, work to provide this time to start the transition for the company you are leaving.

It is typically required to put your resignation into writing.  This is more of a legal requirement so that there is documentation showing that you are choosing to leave your current company.  The format of your written communication is completely up to you.  It will need to include your name, the date and a statement of resignation.  It could be as short as, “I resign” or “I quit”, but usually it is worth being a bit more descriptive.

If you are feeling ‘Vindictive’, you may be tempted to throw some last-minute jabs or punches into your letter.  My strong suggestion is to take the high road in this situation.  The world isn’t as big a place as you might think, and you have no way of knowing if you will run into these people or company again.  You may feel some satisfaction with writing out the words, but there is really very little upside in this move. 

If you really feel strongly about this, then I would suggest writing two letters.  The first letter you should vent and put all your frustration into a very pointed and sharp communication.  Pour it all out and enjoy articulating the issues and your anger.  Then set that letter aside and write a short and fairly emotionless letter of resignation. Be sure that you don’t get them mixed up, but hand in the short and sweet letter.  You can keep the other one on your desk, but it will fade in importance as time moves on and you move on.

Here is a quick example letter for you:

Date: __________

Subject: Letter of Resignation

Dear [Recipient's Name or "Manager"],

I am writing to formally announce my resignation from my position as [Your Job Title] at [Company Name], effective [Last Working Day, typically two weeks from the date of this letter unless otherwise agreed].

It is with mixed emotions that I have made this decision, as my time at [Company Name] has been appreciated. I am sincerely grateful for the opportunities I have had to grow professionally and personally, and I deeply appreciate the support and mentorship I have received from you and the entire team.

Over the next [notice period duration], I will do my utmost to ensure a smooth transition. I am committed to completing my current responsibilities and assisting in transferring my duties to a colleague or a new hire. Please let me know how I can best support this process.

Thank you once again for the privilege of being a part of [Company Name]. I am excited about the future but will always look back fondly on my time here. I hope to stay in touch and wish the company continued success in all its endeavors.

Sincerely,[Your Name]

Maybe you mean every word that you write or maybe you feel differently, but it doesn’t really matter.  The goal is just to make a graceful exit and not burn any bridges.  The fact that you are choosing to leave, sends enough of a message.  You don’t need to go into great details or elaborate.  You may have an exit interview and there you can decide if it is worth going into additional details or not.  Usually, it would be best to say less versus more.

You have written out your thoughts, but I encourage you to try and hand your letter of resignation to your current boss in person and in private.  Think through what you will say and use your letter as a guide.  Don’t make it personal!  Keep it positive and fact based.  This will likely be a challenging day for you, but being able to talk about it will help both you and your current employer.  The conversation might be 5 minutes or over an hour.  You can only control your side of the discussion, so just roll with the situation and know that you have done the right thing. 

If you can’t talk in person, you can make the phone call or virtual meeting to communicate with your current boss, and as a last resort you can send the e-mail message and then follow-up with a call or wait for the phone to ring.  The response of your boss could be quiet resignation, support for your next role or anger.  You may have a sense which way it may go, but just be ready for anything and hope to be positively surprised.

Transitions will be more emotional in the moment than you might think.  Stick to the facts, be calm, and stay professional.  This is kind of like the end of a ball game and you want to be a good sport.