Sample Resignation Letter printable pdf download

How to Resign

So you got the new job! Congratulations! Now comes the hardest part for some people – the

resignation! How do you tell your boss? What if he probes you with questions? What if he

criticizes your decision, questions your loyalty, pushes you for details or walks you out the

door immediately in one public sweep of humiliation? One of the things that can help this

process is a well-worded positive resignation letter handed to your boss or placed on his desk

prior to a conversation with him. It establishes your point for you and it makes it clear that

your decision is made. That in itself eases or even eliminates a lot of attempted persuasion or

manipulation to stay as well as the interpersonal tension with your peers. It often prevents

an uncomfortable counter-offer too. Consider a content sample like this one:

Effective today (date), I am officially tendering my __ week notice that I am resigning

my position of __________ at _________Company.

I have appreciated the years of

professional experience and market challenges which have enhanced my skills over the

years and provided significant value to you as well.

After sustained tenure at any given company, there comes a time when the challenge

of taking one’s skills to a new level in a different growth-oriented environment

outweighs the stability and predictability of one’s current situation. That opportunity

has become available to me recently. I have been offered an excellent position and I

have accepted the offer.

I am happy to do what I can in the next __ weeks to complete my current

responsibilities and to brief someone on pending issues to ease the transition for

another designee. According to official policy as I understand it, my last day will be

______.

Once the written resignation is submitted, try to keep your final days with your company as

professional as possible. Of course you have personal relationships at work which you will

miss but you are better off keeping your focus on why you are moving on to a new

opportunity rather than get emotionally entangled in department farewells. Remember the

reason you wanted to make a change in the first place and why this opportunity seemed like a

good fit for your career path.

Don’t listen to a counter-offer if you receive one. Where was that new title, salary, promotion

or office change before you gave your notice to resign? The Wall Street Journal, Business

Week and numerous others have documented many statistics on how seldom counter-offers

work out positively for the employee who accepts one. By resigning, the candidate has

basically exposed their “disloyalty” (as perceived by the company) and that makes the

Sample Resignation Letter