How much of that should I include in my resignation letter?
When it comes to the exit interview, DO NOT SAY ANYTHING EITHER. It all goes into your employment record. You don't owe them any honesty, so just leave quietly and don't burn any bridges.
Think of it this way, what do you have to gain by being honest? What do you have to lose? I think you'll see being anything other than polite and positive in your resignation letter offers nothing but downside.
I had one experience where I submitted a resignation (two weeks' notice) the same day as someone else in the company.
I said the bare minimum in my letter. When questioned by the CEO, division lead, and co-workers, I also said the bare minimum and kept it very neutral. The other person, on the other hand, decided this was their opportunity to express their anger and frustration.
As a result, their last two weeks were full of tense meetings, shouting matches, threats of lawsuit from both sides, and dirty things being said behind their back.
Meanwhile, my last two weeks were easy, stress-free, and nobody gave me a hard time. The CEO made me an offer to stay (which I declined), people were spreading positive things about me (I heard this through several trusted sources), and I generally left on a positive note.
The thing is, I felt the same anger and frustration as the other person. But as the parent said, I knew there was absolutely nothing to be gained by releasing any of it.
* Have a proper emergency fund (6-12 weeks). You should not be counting on any pay after you give notice.
* Have references outside of your immediate current manager
* On Friday, "today is my last day"
* Still be honest why you're leaving
Two weeks notice is a courtesy you're not required to extend to an employer (EDIT: This is US-centric advice, please verify this is true in your non-US jurisdiction), and you should only do so if you're on good terms.
This is an international site, you should be careful giving out US "at will" state advice like it applies to everywhere.
In the UK for example, you can in theory be sued for failure to give a "reasonable" period of notice[0] (although in reality this nearly never happens).
"Reasonable" is up to you. As I said, notice is not (EDIT: as asked by other posters, this is US-centric advice. Please verify this applies in your jurisdiction) required. An employer is not required to provide you with any notice to terminate you, and therefore I only provide notice if I believe the work relationship will be amiable for the duration after I give notice.
Sometimes, you gain nothing from giving notice, and I refuse to allow fear ("hassle for employer", "coming back to haunt you") to drive my decisions.
(Here in Germany these things are a bit different anyways, default period is a month and can be longer by individual contract. Sometimes it is matched to the notice times the employer has to give, which go up to 7 months(!) for people that have been employed for a long time)
That employee was foolish to stick around. At the first sign of hassle from the employer you scoop up your things and walk out the door. Your local labor laws cover you as far as making sure your last paycheck is delivered within a certain amount of time.
* how much you care about improving the company
* your relationship with the person to whom you are giving the feedback
* the interviewer's ability to effect change
But, if you trust the exit interviewer to both listen and possibly act on your feedback, feel free to give honest feedback during an interview. It's better to give constructive criticism ('the company could do better about communicating business challenges affecting comp') than to complain ('I'm leaving because even though we exceeded quota, my team didn't get any comp increases'). Just remember that because you aren't part of the team anymore, you have much less credibility than before.
I recently left a job and had an exit interview with the CEO (small company). I knew he could effect change, if convinced, and was trustworthy, so I offered some suggestions. I've left jobs with larger companies where the trust wasn't there, and didn't say much in the exit interview.
So your name, the fact that you are resigning, and your proposal for your last day.
And as others have said, when you submit that understand that your employer may ask you to leave immediately, so be ready to collect your stuff and walk out the door.
Maybe it should go without saying, but if you're leaving on good terms, it can't hurt to say nice things in your exit interview.
Please accept this letter as formal notification that I am leaving my position with [company name] on [full date of departure]. After much consideration I have decided to accept another job offer. My new position will enhance my career growth and will expose me to challenges and opportunities that I believe are in my best interest.
I value the professional relationships I have made with my coworkers, as well as yourself. Because of this, if there is anything I can do in my last days of employment to help transition my work, please let me know.
If you are pressed on your reasons in a meeting or otherwise, make it clear that it was a hard choice and that you thought through it very well so that they don't counter the offer.
Keep it professional. It's all upside if you do.
My last day will be date(today + 14) % weekend.
I tried telling the truth in my first exit interview and all it did was burn bridges and make people mad. I wasn't even pulling skeletons out, I just stated the facts for why I was leaving and when they tried to counter (Another thing, NEVER accept a counter offer) and I refused they got all mad because they thought they were addressing all my reasons for leaving but I was still leaving. Don't give them that chance, you already know you want to leave, don't waste yours or their time trying to convince you otherwise.
Over the years, I've heard this advice repeatedly, but with often wildly different reasons. I'm genuinely curious what your rationale for this advice is.
The managers may also be resentful and suspicious of you.
Lose/lose.
The future consequences are also huge, you may no longer be seen as "team player" which can slow or halt your career, better to not take the chance and move on.
I'd have to disagree. Don't say anything negative. Don't talk about why you are leaving. But you can say some positive things. How you had a great time working with $team. How you hope that $project will be a success. How you will miss $company_gathering.
Downside: You're in a sucky environment for 1-6 months longer.
Upside: You have a LOT more negotiating leverage for your next job.
Management might throw some short-term things your way if you smile politely and play along until you have the next position lined up. The trick is to NOT LET THEM KNOW you're looking. Don't take recruiter/interview calls during work hours. Don't use company computers to scrub job boards and handle applications.
Your impulse is to walk away, and that's a hard impulse to fight, but believe me it will look better during interviews when you don't have a gap on your resume.
How will you answer questions about that? "Oh, I walked away in a huff when I didn't get a raise" signals that you could be a potential problem if/when problems arise at your new employer as well.
Every company has financial hiccups. Even if you aced your work every single quarter there are going to be cashflow problems somewhere else. Dig in, put your ear to the ground, and find out what is really happening in your company.
You will never get a chance like that. Of course, it doesn't always work, it really depends on the situation.
There's no guarantee you can find a new job right away, no matter how hot your skills are or how brilliant you are.
Also, you have less negotiating leverage when you're unemployed. If you are currently making $X and you get an offer for $X, you probably could negotiate for $X+10 or $X+20. If you're unemployed, and have been on the market awhile, you might get lowballed into taking $X or $X-10.
That actually happened for my current job. The boss was considering initially offering me my current salary, but I honestly said "I'm not so sure. Maybe I'll just keep looking instead." Then he wound up offering a 30% rate increase.
It might help to use a reference from the current employer too which is possible if you quit first.
$TODAY
To Whom it May Concern:
I would like to inform you that I am resigning
from my position here at $EMPLOYER, effective $DATE.
Sincerely,
$ME
Lesson learned; don't swear in notices, but also keep it simple. Even if you tried to offer them your honest view of how things were, chances are they'd get filed in a drawer and stuck away.
It took a number of people handing notices day-by-day at AOL before HR clicked that something was wrong, so at that point they invited the Sales team to the NY office (the sales team hadn't been on an overseas trip before). It was a nice gesture of the company; shame that the people got food poisoning on the first night.
In some ways, you could say that swearing got me my bonus.
Keep it concise.
Keep it as formal as possible and be polite. If you have an exit interview, don't complain about former peers or managers.
what a3n said.
Seriously -- thanks for the input, everyone. I'll keep it short, simple, and professional.
You can tell them that yu are giving them whoever much notice you're required to give; yu can tell them what you think your last working day is; you can ask them if there's anything they want you to focus on before you leave.
Raising the problem of mot being rewarded for work done is done through other measures, before you resign. You can mention it carefully during an exit interview - "I worked hard, my team beat expectations, I felt devalued when we didn't get the bonus." But it's probably best not to.
You may be able to use your current employment as leverage as you locate this new job. I was personally in a very similar situation, the end result was that the new company wanted to hire me ASAP and offered a decent pay raise over my current job; I put in my two weeks notice and revealed nothing. In the end, I was offered a raise at my old job (turned down); months later they wanted to contract me for some work on the weekend, and they've made it clear there's an open door if I ever want to return. Requesting two weeks before you can begin work (for time to put in your two weeks notice) to your new employer also demonstrates your loyalty and stability, something a good employer will recognize & respect.
edit: My resignation also marked the first of my team's mass exodus. 6 months later, everyone I worked with has left, and they've got a completely new team. A word of warning (at least in the US), you don't want to be caught trying to get your coworkers to leave, and especially not to get them to follow you to a new employer.
Sometimes tough decisions must be made, so before resigning (possibly out of frustration/disappointment) get the facts and the actual reason - and base your decision on that instead.
(of course, if senior management actually didn't inform about the reason - that might be reason itself to leave anyway...)
It could be argued that there would have been other ways to acknowledge the success in sales than handing out money (though depending on how this has been handled before, that could still have come across as trying to be "cheap" and have the opposite effect).
But if it's not possible to determine whether the increase in sale had any effect on the overall finances of the company or whether the company was all-in-all doing better or worse, that's a huge problem IMO.
I've seen business owners try to shield the actual finances of their company from their employees to siphon more money out of it far too often to see financial intransparency as anything other than a huge warning sign.
Note I'm not talking about the exact numbers. But if the company is doing badly when every metric accessible to the employees indicates otherwise, something is definitely amiss.
I've decided to resign my position as <position> at <company>.
My last day of work will be <2 weeks from today>.
Sincerely, <name>"
During the exit interview your reason for leaving is "decided it was time to leave to pursue other opportunities."
Public leaving letter you send out to coworkers: "Hi guys, it's been awesome working with you. I've met some truly exceptional people and you all have lots to be proud of.
I've decided to move on and pursue other things, but I truly wish everybody here the best and continued success and good luck!
Feel free to reach out to me at <personal email address>"
Your employers aren't stupid and people leaving right after they decided to do this will be an obvious cause and effect. Bonus, if they're contacted later on by a future employer for a reference, your outgoing personnel file won't be filled with bridge burning that could harm you later.
Everybody gets dissatisfied with their job at some point and leaves, it's part of being a working professional. Learning how to do it in a professional way is an important skill to develop.
Even if you're very friendly with the C-team at your company, DO NOT GIVE HONEST FEEDBACK. It can only hurt you in the future. I, myself, made this mistake a few years ago, and now I'm always worried a potential employer will ask for a reference from that particular employer.
ask for a meeting with someone senior, let them knows it's important. when you get the fifteen minutes you asked for, raise you concern. it undermines trust between sales and senior management, it's a big stress, etc. give them a chance to respond. there may be a perfectly sound reason for it - the money may piss you off but it may also mean the business can stay around longer for everyone.
if you don't like what you hear, pull out your short letter of resignation, sign it, and hand it over. don't make a stink, just say, "i'm sorry, i don't think i can do this. i have to resign."
but you gave them a chance, you were heard, and you made an opportunity. they'll connect the dots, but no harsh words should be spoken (no "get bent you jerk!"). don't burn any bridges, but this will be a way to be clear about what happened, and it may create an opportunity, in fact (who knows).
i hope that helps.
Keep it short unless you want to achieve something specific, and then include only the verbiage relevant to that purpose.
I have a better offer for a job I'm looking forward to starting, so there's nothing I can do that will help me personally. It feels more honest to me to be upfront and, who knows, it might help my colleagues.
I don't think being frank will affect my ability to get references from the people here. Aside from that, are there any other risks?
Keep the formal resignation letter short. It's perfectly fine to include a few pleasantries (unless you plan to sue them for something in the future.)
Then, if you wish, have some private conversations with management and give them an honest assessment of how they could better achieve their own purposes. Keep the focus on helping them. Take your former bosses out for coffee they next time they visit. Give them insights that they would not other get. Keep up your relationships with your former colleagues as well.
That's the purpose you should keep in mind. It's more than not burning bridges. It's about creating future opportunities for yourself. Create lemonade from today's lemons.
Edit: do this even if they're all evil bastards. You never know what will come of it in the future.
That's a mistake. You may see it as frank and constructive feedback, but they may see it as complaining and acting unprofessional. Is it really worth risking it?
If you really want to let them know why, tell them in the exit interview.
If they don't perform an exit interview, well that tells you they give no fucks about what you think anyways, so you'd be wasting your breathe.
#1 The tech industry is small. #2 The circles you move in are smaller.
Keep it professional, keep it simple, and always resign with decorum.
Many others have stated here the purpose of a resignation letter, but I would add that I extend it to verbal too.
No one is happy with such news, as others said - start searching for a new job and once you find, then quit.
Once you do this, you're setting the bridges on fire when you leave, so only do it to protect yourself.
Otherwise, say something like "Dear Boss, I'm resigning my position, effective xx/yy/zz. Thank you for the opportunity to contribute and I'm happy to assist in the transitioning my work."
Is the lack of increased compensation/bonus/promotion truly the deciding factor to resign? or were there other issues?
Especially in early-stage companies with ambitious growth plans it's easy to promise these things. But it can be very hard to actually deliver on cash-flow, in spite of achieving managements projected targets. You may for example, negotiate a differed comp/bonus plan if you decide to stay.
http://www.archives.gov/global-pages/larger-image.html?i=/hi...
I made the mistake of trying to be honest. I explained why I felt that the work environment needed to be improved. I tried not to come across as accusatory and didn't blame anyone, just stating that the environment negatively affected my health and that it was likely the reason for other systemic problems (e.g. the high turnover) the company was facing and should be addressed.
Big mistake.
To keep a long story short, I ended up suing the company because they withheld payments arguing I owed them work (and in fact threatened to sue me over that). I would have likely won, but agreed to a settlement (that mostly consisted of them giving me money and me signing a statement that I had already turned in all property of theirs before quitting -- which wasn't really contested to begin with).
All in all, it wasn't worth it. I lost a budding friendship with a colleague who stayed with the company (and likely had to bear the fallout from my resignation) and the first couple of weeks after the resignation (before I decided to sue and was able to hand it all over to a lawyer) were a complete nightmare, even though I didn't spend a single day of it at the company.
Now there is a company out there where employees think badly of me because they were either hired during the fallout or were told stories about it if they joined after the fact. There's an employer who hates my guts and may have told others to avoid me. And there's a company I'll have to avoid working with (directly or not) in the future.
I'm sure there was no possibility of a "good" ending at the point I quit to begin with because my biggest mistake was holding out until I was too broken to leave gracefully. But I'm also pretty sure a simple "I'm leaving for greener pastures" type resignation could have at least avoided fuelling the fire.
Don't ever go into the details about why you're leaving. If anyone depends on you, make sure to find a graceful transition for them (if only by informing them well in advance), but don't ever say anything that implies they should have done things differently.
Despite what people say, most of them don't want your honest opinion. They just want to hear they've done nothing wrong. You're already causing a disruption for them by leaving, don't allow them to spin it into an attack. You're far more likely to make them think if you don't give them an opportunity to think of you as an aggressor (and if they will do so anyway, you have lost nothing).
On the flip side, the right time to bring up problems is while you are still intent on working there. If delivering outstanding work is not acknowledged, address it before you have decided to leave. As an employee, your opinion holds weight (because ignoring it may result in your resignation). If you've already resigned, you've already played your hand.
(If you do, however, maintain a friendship with your former employer, you may be able to talk to him about the reasons why you left, but not as an ex-employee at work, but as a friend -- preferably in a different environment altogether.)
I'm writing a career management guide, and one of my chapters ("How to leave a job on the best possible terms") is exactly about this. You may also have an exit interview coming up, and that situation is similar (my chapter covers exit interviews in detail as well).
Here's the summary section from that chapter—maybe there are some things here that could help you make sure you leave on the best possible terms :)
— Leave on the best possible terms, even if you feel slighted — It’s always difficult to put on a happy face when things aren’t going well, but this is a time when you can really boost your reputation.
— Ask your manager and co-workers what you can help with before you go — Do this and you will make a lasting impression on your co-workers.
— Document the projects you’re working on so your successor is prepared — Your successor will have a much easier time absorbing your work, and they’ll thank you for it.
— Bundle up relevant documentation, emails, etc., and make sure they’re saved somewhere that others can get to them — Most companies are moving to cloud-based storage, so it may all be out there anyway. Even so, put together a master document that points to everything they’ll need.
— Make sure to return all your equipment in good shape, and do it quickly — Most of the time, you are just borrowing company property. You should return it in good shape, just like you would want your own property returned if you lent it out.
— Reach out to your closest co-workers to make sure they’re part of your network before you go — Your network is one your most valuable assets for finding future career opportunities.
— Reach out to your colleagues to say goodbye and share your contact information — If you’ve done all these things, you’ve left a great impression. Make sure your old co-workers know how to find you if they need someone like you in the future. And be sure to reach out to your closest co-workers to personally say goodbye whenever possible.
— Be vague and use positive language in your exit interview — It feels strange to advocate for being vague, but the exit interview is one of the times when it’s necessary. You won’t benefit by baring your soul on your way out, and the company isn’t going to change because of your feedback. Keep it short, sweet, and surface-level.
That's a one-page summary of the chapter, but the chapter itself goes into quite a bit more detail.
You can get the full chapter for free here: http://JoshDoody.com/leave?ref=hn6
The advice you're getting, to say basically nothing, is sound under all circumstances. However...
If you don't need to work again { at this company, in your industry, in your city, at all }, you should feel free to say whatever you want. That freedom takes years or decades of hard work to earn, and once earned should be used! Just how willing you should be to burn bridges depends on your personal situation and the nature of your industry and profession; if these are not people you would ever work with or for again anyway, and you wouldn't want a job with someone else in the same city or industry who respects their opinion, then the advice to say nothing for your own sake does not apply.
All that said, what are you trying to accomplish? If you've decided to resign and that decision is final, you're not going to accrue any benefit yourself. If you're looking for a counteroffer, forget it; you likely won't get one, and you'll be a marked man if you do. If your motives are altruistic (either for the benefit of the shareholders or your peers), then you must be hopelessly naive. These people are corporate managers, and so are their superiors; they've been carefully selected for sociopathy, greed, and incompetence by a mature and very stable set of processes. They know morale is in the tank and they don't care. The company is probably in trouble owing to mismanagement and they're probably hoping a few people will leave on their own so they can save themselves not only the cost of pay rises but also of severance. Telling them what they already know will, at best, give them fodder for the jokes they'll tell at your expense in the executive washroom. If your goal is simply to go out in style, don't bother with the letter; no one will read it anyway. Instead, write a public article (carefully avoiding the use of confidential information!) or invite all your peers out to a giant party at which you roast management ruthlessly. The leadership principle is to criticize in private and praise in public, but the opposite applies when dealing with corporate management: anything negative you want to say has to be said in public. Private criticism of corporate managers only gives them an opportunity to get ahead of you, whether by having Security remove you from the premises immediately, by slandering you among your peers, or by suing you. Why? Because when you tell them something you're not telling everyone, you give them information, and they will always use that information to their advantage and your injury. Unfortunately, if you have something negative to say about your employer, the only effective place to do so is in the press.
So while I disagree that one should never provide one's reasons out of self-preservation, I also don't see much point in using the letter of resignation as the means of doing so. Whatever your goals, there are better ways to achieve them.