6 ms·

Put the bare minimum, and do not say anything about compensation, etc. As a3n says, just say you are leaving, and when your last day will be. When it comes to

Put the bare minimum, and do not say anything about compensation, etc. As a3n says, just say you are leaving, and when your last day will be. 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.

Lawtonfogle 12y ago
Go a little above the bare minimum when it builds up bridges. But leave out anything that burns bridges.
refurb 12y ago
I would hesitate to deviate from this advice. 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.
- gk1 12y ago
  To back this up with an anecdote: 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.
  - toomuchtodo 12y ago
    I've found the best way to do this is: * 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.
    - detaro 12y ago
      Why would you not give 2 weeks (or really any reasonable time) notice? What do you gain from not doing it? (especially compared to the hassle for your employer and the potential of it coming back to haunt you)
      - toomuchtodo 12y ago
        Over my 14 years of work experience, I have occasionally encountered work environments that have turned extremely hostile for my last two weeks, simply because I decided to leave (I was once told by my manager at a DOE energy lab when I was in my mid 20s that he should "slap the shit out of me" for leaving, but that is a tale for another post). "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.
        detaro 12y ago
        Interesting. Were these environments where you would have expected that bad of a reaction? (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)
ChuckMcM 12y ago
Agreed, the only thing the employer needs is that you are leaving voluntarily and that means that you cannot sue them later because you lost your job. In some states it will also prevent you from collecting unemployment. 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.
freshyill 12y ago
This advice is solid if you're leaving because you have grievances. 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.
mooreds 12y ago
Giving feedback when leaving depends very much on: * 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 However, put no advice for the company in your resignation letter. As stated elsewhere in the comments, keep it to a minimum to keep things simple. 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.

Lawtonfogle 12y ago

Go a little above the bare minimum when it builds up bridges. But leave out anything that burns bridges.

refurb 12y ago

I would hesitate to deviate from this advice. 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.

gk1 12y ago
To back this up with an anecdote: 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.
- toomuchtodo 12y ago
  I've found the best way to do this is: * 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.
  - detaro 12y ago
    Why would you not give 2 weeks (or really any reasonable time) notice? What do you gain from not doing it? (especially compared to the hassle for your employer and the potential of it coming back to haunt you)
    - toomuchtodo 12y ago
      Over my 14 years of work experience, I have occasionally encountered work environments that have turned extremely hostile for my last two weeks, simply because I decided to leave (I was once told by my manager at a DOE energy lab when I was in my mid 20s that he should "slap the shit out of me" for leaving, but that is a tale for another post). "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.
      - detaro 12y ago
        Interesting. Were these environments where you would have expected that bad of a reaction? (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)

ChuckMcM 12y ago

Agreed, the only thing the employer needs is that you are leaving voluntarily and that means that you cannot sue them later because you lost your job. In some states it will also prevent you from collecting unemployment. 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.

freshyill 12y ago

This advice is solid if you're leaving because you have grievances. 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.

mooreds 12y ago

Giving feedback when leaving depends very much on: * 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 However, put no advice for the company in your resignation letter. As stated elsewhere in the comments, keep it to a minimum to keep things simple. 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.