How to Resign? Depends on the Reason!

admin

5 years ago

Mrs. Type A,

Thank you for your resume template and your Interview Prep Guide! I was able to obtain a promotion at another company. I’m excited, but realized I wasn’t sure how to tell my boss I’m leaving. Do you have a post on that?

Kathy

Congrats, Kathy! Glad my Resume and Interview Prep Guide were helpful (see here). How to resign is a very tricky subject…

On one hand, you are excited about new opportunities and colleagues (and, potentially, compensation). And yet, you are not quite sure how to tell your current employer that you are leaving. Any time you are looking at leaving a company, it begs the question, “how to resign?”

Why is it difficult to know how to resign?

Well, either you are happy at your current company and, so, it’s hard to explain why you accepted a role at another company. Or, you are very frustrated and angry with your manager and/or company as a whole and you can’t stand to look at your colleagues anymore…but not sure if you should say anything about the issues you had.

On top of that, you also don’t know what your future holds and whether you will cross paths with your soon-to-be ex-colleagues again.

Imagine if you wrote a scathing summary of everything your manager did to wrong you. And then, a few months after starting at your new company, your ex-manager is hired to be your new manager at the new company. That would be awkward.

You don’t know if the people you complain about may end up moving over to the company you are about to go to. Or, they may live across the street from your new boss. Perhaps your current company eliminates your position in a year and your old company is hiring. Or, the company you are leaving may acquire the one you are going to and you’ll be working with you ex- colleagues again.

Would that really happen?!

It’s actually not that uncommon. I had a colleague who worked for a really bad manager at a previous company. Years later, through subsequent moves and mergers, the employee ended up being the bad boss’ manager. It did not go well for that ex-manager.

Even if you don’t think there’s a chance you’ll work with your colleagues again, you risk them feel you over-reacted with your dramatic revelations and feel grateful that you’re leaving. That doesn’t exactly leave the door open for you to come back, or work with them on good terms in the future.

In summary, the risks likely do not outweigh the benefits of using your resignation as a platform for your deepest thoughts about your co-workers and company.

Therefore, you need to resign with grace and a sense of professionalism.

How do you do that?

Well, there are a few different approaches, depending on why you decided to leave and what you want next….

How to Resign Based on The Reason Why

In any scenario, there are a few guidelines I suggest:

Provide only the necessary information; you do not need to go into why you are leaving, or the responsibilities of the position you have accepted.
Be specific about they key information (i.e., I am leaving on XYZ date not “end of month”)
Follow your company’s guidelines for voluntary resignations (i.e., do you call your manager, email your department lead, etc). Most larger companies will have information about resigning on their intranet, but if not you can call HR

With those guidelines, here is a “base case” resignation note and I’ll explain how to adjust depending on your Scenario:

Dear Manager,

I am writing to announce my resignation from ABC Company, effective August 17, 2019.

Regards,

Mrs. Type A

It’s really not earth shattering. But, this is just the base case, you will likely add more information. Let’s examine some scenarios to see why you may add / change this “base case” resignation note.

Scenario 1: You were unhappy with your career progression and would actually stay if you were given a counter offer that provided you with better compensation and/or job opportunities.

Honestly, I wouldn’t expect a counter offer, and I wouldn’t resign assuming you would get one. In my company, I have never offered that to anyone who has resigned. We do not want to encourage employees to resign just to get the raise / role they want.

That said, I have given offers to candidates (actually, quite a few) who call me back and say they are declining because their company countered them with better opportunities or pay. So, many companies do make a practice of making counter offers. And, therefore, many employees will write a resignation letter and bring it into the discussion with their manager but neglect to officially submit if the employer counters.

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend taking a counter offer, to be honest. If the employer didn’t do right by you to begin with, what makes you think that will change a year from now? This article has great information cautioning employees on accepting counteroffers.

Nevertheless, in a strong job market, counteroffers are not uncommon.

If you would stay if given a counter offer of more compensation and / or better role, then you could add to the “base” something like:

“This was not an easy decision to make. The X years at ABC Company have been very rewarding. I regret I could not continue with my intended career path here.”

Or, something similar which leaves the door open for discussions (but doesn’t request anything).

Scenario 2: you’re leaving for personal reasons (i.e., shorter commute, fewer hours) and you don’t want anyone to feel like they did something wrong

You could add something to the base case note, such as:

“This was not an easy decision to make. The past X years at ABC Company have
been very rewarding, as I have been able to further my career objectives while working with talented individuals.

I have greatly enjoyed working for you and am grateful for all of the opportunities for growth and development that you have provided me.

I wish you and the rest of the team all the best. Please let me know how I can be of
any help to ensure a smooth transition.”

I had someone resign once in order to move closer to her parents. She added that exact text above and I appreciated it because I had put a lot of time into her development. I’ll always be supportive of her and continue to mentor her. I’m not sure I would be as open to continuing to be helpful if she was not as appreciative of my support.

If you want to stay on good terms with people who supported you, I think it would be great to add a phrase like that.

Scenario 3: there isn’t a chance you would stay because your boss / leadership / colleagues were horrible and you were miserable

You are better off not anything about it, and just keep to the base case note.

While that may be unsatisfying, I actually don’t think you need to say anything, honestly. When good people leave, questions about their experience with management arise.

Furthermore, the lack of praise and warmth in your note will make it clear enough. When you look at the warmth of the notes in Scenarios 1 and 2, it will be obvious to people when you omit those phrases. If you don’t express your appreciation for development, and regret at leaving, then the message about your unhappiness is clear and you don’t need to state it.

If nothing else, the best revenge is to make them miss you, which they may not do if you criticize everyone on your way out.

Is there anything else to consider besides the resignation letter?

In addition to these Scenarios, also note there are other important things to consider when determining how to resign:

How to communicate your departure: be sure to align with your manager on how to communicate. If you manage people, you may want to directly inform them. You could say something like, “I’d like to tell my team directly about this. I will do that by end of day, and then you can send a note to the department.”
Notice timeline: Give as much notice as possible. And be proactive about how you transition.
Moving to the competition: if you’re going to a competitor be prepared to leave that day. Your old employer may not want you around a long time if you’re going to a competitor. HR may inform you that your departure is effective immediately.

Hopefully you found this information helpful! Imagine how great it would be to have a new job at a new company and know you have the support of everyone at your old company. If you resign effectively and professionally, you should be in that position!