The Work Thread

Glasgow

Yass boi.

Restructuring.

RE: Resignation letter.

Have any of you guys done it and what the hell do you have to say? To fill you in a little. I'm changing my job. I've been offered a better one, more money, less hours, closer to home etc. No brainer eh? The place I presently work is on it's knees. Anyway, flashback 2 and a half years ago, I was out of work and my present supervisor (and also a friend of mine) got me the present job. To which I'm grateful for. Obviously I'm sure he's gonna feel a bit put out about me quitting.

How do I word a letter that's to the point, but not cold hearted? Like I've said I've never had to do one before. Usually I've been made redundant and they've booted me out......... Ugh........

When I left my last job I didn't write a formal letter. I spoke with my manager, explained the situation, and then he just asked me to put some words in an email to confirm.

I put something along the lines of...

Dear Boss,

I'm writing to confirm that I wish to give notice on my position as <insert job here>. Given the required notice period of x weeks/months, my last day of work will be dd/mm/yyyy.

I would like to thank <company> for the opportunity, blah, I've enjoyed my time here, blah, etc.

I'm happy to work on handover/transition, blah.

Regards,
Lotus

If you need to write a formal letter, I'd imagine that a slightly expanded version of the above would do. Concise, professional, and has the key info (dates of leaving, showing appreciation, showing willing to help with a handover or finding a replacement). Anything more personal in terms of gratitude can be saved for the people who need/deserve it, and is probably best done in person. I think these kind of letters are more of an HR exercise/process than anything deeper than that.

Yeah I wouldn't write anything to personal, save kind comments for the people that were good to you and move on. 2.5 years is a long time nowadays, gooseberry fool is flying everywhere.

Gandalf wrote:RE: Resignation letter.

Have any of you guys done it and what the hell do you have to say? To fill you in a little. I'm changing my job. I've been offered a better one, more money, less hours, closer to home etc. No brainer eh? The place I presently work is on it's knees. Anyway, flashback 2 and a half years ago, I was out of work and my present supervisor (and also a friend of mine) got me the present job. To which I'm grateful for. Obviously I'm sure he's gonna feel a bit put out about me quitting.

How do I word a letter that's to the point, but not cold hearted? Like I've said I've never had to do one before. Usually I've been made redundant and they've booted me out......... Ugh........

I have always made resignation letters as bland as possible. You can have a quiet word with your boss to tell him how grateful you are, the letter itself isn't really important.

I always make them short and to the point.

Stuff like, "It is with regret that I submit my resignation with x weeks/months noticed and "I would like to thank employer for the opportunities" usually goes over well and ensures you aren't burning any bridges behind you.

Yeah Ive switched jobs a couple of times and its usually just a couple of lines in an email, sometimes they will ask you to print it out but its pretty much what Lotus outlined. Im resigning, my last day will be this day, thanks to everyone, regards. But do have a word with your manager before you type it up, they might want you to work a little longer than your notice for handover or they might be able to let you finish earlier by using up owed time off or stuff.

Yeah have a word first, they may also want to do something thing to make staying more appealing.

Cheers all. I shall be doing it tomoz as it's the last working day of the month. I actually feel awful.....

Gandalf wrote:Cheers all. I shall be doing it tomoz as it's the last working day of the month. I actually feel awful.....

It will feel bad but it will be for the best. They'll understand.

Moggy wrote:

Gandalf wrote:Cheers all. I shall be doing it tomoz as it's the last working day of the month. I actually feel awful.....

It will feel bad but it will be for the best. They'll understand.

I know what you're saying. I just feel terrible. My mind's fried. From an, albeit 'nice' funeral earlier, to worrying myself sick about tomorrow. I feel I won't be sleeping well tonight....

Loyalty is dead y'old wizard.

Between 1 and a half to 2 and a half years is the perfect amount of time to commit to a position. No reason to feel guilty at all.

I'm the one who's applying for another job after less than 7 months in the role .

Oblomov Boblomov wrote:Between 1 and a half to 2 and a half years is the perfect amount of time to commit to a position. No reason to feel guilty at all.

I'm the one who's applying for another job after less than 7 months in the role .

How come you're looking to move on?

2-3 years is about right I think. I was at my first company for 5, but I did three very different roles in that time, then 3.5 years at another before my current place. I just get bored and feel the need to move on. Don't understand how some people can stay in the same job for 10-20 years. Also if you want to make steady increases on your salary and 'climb the ladder', moving around is the way to do it, not staying in one place.

I just realised I had too many entrepreneurial, problem-solving skills to feel justified giving away the best years of my life to somebody else. Although I left the "world of work" entirely it was the best thing for me to do and I'm much happier that way, even if I'll be poorer for longer, I don't really care if I own my achievements. There is an immense amount of support out there in the business community if you're willing too look for it, I feel so underutilised or mashed into a very narrow margin in virtually any traditional "role" AND work very hard. It's staggering how few people recognise that is a genuine dilemma for some people however or just suffer doing a job that makes them feel like a tool. I would literally never like to feel "settled" into a job, that plays out like some kind of surreal nightmare in my head every time I think of it. There's nothing glamorous about self-employment however, I haven't had a penny to spare for years now so being motivated by money is the completely wrong way to go about it. I'd argue the same thing in terms of finding work you enjoy, something has to give to alter your course. Some people enjoy not having to think too much at work and dossing etc whereas I just get really bored and want to rip my eyeballs out, nevermind the vertigo/anxiety and all that. Having said that I can doss whenever I want but then the customers come knocking.

Lotus wrote:

Oblomov Boblomov wrote:Between 1 and a half to 2 and a half years is the perfect amount of time to commit to a position. No reason to feel guilty at all.

I'm the one who's applying for another job after less than 7 months in the role .

How come you're looking to move on?

2-3 years is about right I think. I was at my first company for 5, but I did three very different roles in that time, then 3.5 years at another before my current place. I just get bored and feel the need to move on. Don't understand how some people can stay in the same job for 10-20 years. Also if you want to make steady increases on your salary and 'climb the ladder', moving around is the way to do it, not staying in one place.

I'd count different roles within the same place as moving on to a different position. The important thing is to avoid having the same role on your CV for more than 3 years.

I'm looking to move on because the organisation is a mess. It'd make for a boring explanation so I won't bother. The simple reason is that I used to be happy going to work (at the old place) and now I'm not.

Well the deed has been done. To be honest I really don't know why I was all stressed out. He understood completely and basically said I'm doing the right thing.

Still have the feeling of letting people down in the back of my mind though.

Gandalf wrote:Well the deed has been done. To be honest I really don't know why I was all stressed out. He understood completely and basically said I'm doing the right thing.

Still have the feeling of letting people down in the back of my mind though.

Sometimes, Gandy, you've just got to make the right decision for you and disregard how it may affect others. Especially when it comes to employment. Don't feel bad.