How to Resign From Your Job

Terminating your employment takes ingenuity. Just saying “I quit” isn’t the end of your resignation. There are steps to be taken to ensure that your soon-to-be former colleagues, supervisors, and managers are still part of your own social network—references for future endeavors. Resign professionally and gracefully following these simple rules:

Avoid being a job hopper: Carefully evaluate your reasons for your departure. Invest some time in self-reflection to determine what keeps you at a particular job or what keeps you from staying. Be advised though when creating a resume, most companies frown upon too many employment changes in your work history.

Have another job lined up first: When changing careers, make sure to have a written offer somewhere else before turning in your resignation. Cover all the bases before making any moves.

Resign in person: Provide both oral and written resignation when you are quitting a job. Your resignation letter should incorporate the following information: intentions, the date you are resigning, the date you wish to leave, and your signature. Basic resignation letter would look like this:

Today’s date

Company Address
HR Department

Dear (HR Manager),

I am writing to inform you of my resignation from (position/company name). As per my contract, I am providing xxx weeks notice and my last day will be xxx.

Sincerely,

(Signature)

Your Name

Be honest and tactful: For social networking solutions, you want to leave with a good relationship intact. Be truthful to the reason behind your leave, but do not go into details. Do not bad mouth your former superiors; it could come back to you later in your career. You’ll be also losing important references as well. Basically, don’t burn your bridges.

Offer two weeks notice: When quitting a job, make sure to offer two weeks notice—time for your company/boss/team to find a replacement for you. Offering transition time ensures proper knowledge transfer, tie up loose ends, and your work responsibilities to others. Don’t stay longer than the standard length of time (two weeks) to protect yourself from unexpected changes in both your old and new company.