Home
>
Writing
>
Resignation Letters: Dont Let Yours Backfire On You...

Resignation Letters: Dont Let Yours Backfire On You...

It turns out that "tips and templates on how to write resignation letters" is the third most sought-after information at my Writing Help Central Web site.

So, when I looked into the subject more closely, I was surprised to find that there is not a lot of guidance available in guide book form on how to write a proper and appropriate resignation letter. In fact, a recent visit to the world's largest bookstore www.amazon.com revealed that there are no "how to" books available there that deal with the art of writing resignation letters.

Surprising, but true.

This is interesting, because when you really look into it, you realize that whether you leave a job gracefully and appropriately will almost certainly have career and personal implications, and can be almost as important as writing a resume/cv or a cover letter.

THE EMOTIONS BEHIND RESIGNATION LETTERS

A resignation letter will be one of the most emotionally- charged business letters that you will ever write. The sentiments behind it are invariably volatile because of what it represents. In fact, studies have found that leaving a job can be almost as stressful as the breakup of a marriage.

Nevertheless, it is highly advisable that not too many of those emotions, especially any negative feelings, get transferred to the written page. As much as possible, a resignation letter should be treated as a business letter, just like any other business letter.

There are a number of reasons why resignation letters have more emotional implications than most other personal or business letters. Here are the obvious ones:

- They are highly personal because they normally mark the

severance of both professional and personal relationships,

sometimes of a long-term nature.

- They typically signify the end of a period in a person's

professional and/or personal life.

- They represent the beginning of a new period or phase in

someone's personal and professional life, conjuring up

the fears that often arise with an uncertain future.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF RESIGNATION LETTERS

Following are a number of primary characteristics that are unique to resignation letters.

Not Just Job-Related

Mention "resignation letter" and 99 of 100 people will think exclusively about job-related situations. In reality, there are a number of areas and circumstances for which recommendation letters can be required. For example, in addition to leaving jobs, resignation letters can be required for such situations as: stepping down from a committee, opting out of a course at school, leaving a club or fellowship, and others.

Sensitive and Delicate

When you submit your resignation letter it will have implications for you, the organization you are leaving, and the colleagues and friends you are leaving behind. You must realize that regardless of the real reasons behind your departure, the message received by many will be that you're leaving because the organization and/or people just don't measure up any more. This is a natural human reaction for many people and can't be entirely avoided. Just be sensitive to it and don't say, do, or write anything that unnecessarily aggravates such feelings of abandonment.

Simple Formality or Big Surprise

A resignation letter can simply be the formalization of a conversation that already took place with your boss, or an announcement you made in a meeting. On the other hand, a resignation letter can be tendered completely unannounced, as a total surprise. In fact, this is often the case in the real world. If this latter case applies in your situation, you will have to be prepared to deal with any one of a number of possible reactions from the organization and your colleagues, ranging from total acceptance, to anger, bargaining, and resentment.

Positive Beats Negative

The way in which you resign from an organization can have significant implications, both career-wise, and personally. Regardless of the circumstances and/or atmosphere surrounding your departure, you will be well-advised to take whatever measures you can to neutralize any negative factors that may be in play. The approach and wording used in the resignation letter can go a long way towards achieving this aim.

Always A Balancing Act

Writing a letter of resignation can be a bit of a balancing act. You want to be honest, clear, and firm regarding your intentions to leave, while at the same time you don't want to alienate the employer you are leaving. It would be nice for that door to remain open, or at least ajar, just in case you want to enter it in the future. After all, you never know what may happen down the road. For all you know, your current employer could end up buying the company you are moving to. So be careful about limiting your future options.

Backlash Can Be Swift

Negative impacts from a poorly written or inappropriately worded resignation letter can be almost immediate. For

example, if you are hoping to get a good recommendation or reference from the employer you're leaving, a negative resignation letter can only hurt your letter of recommendation/reference. Also, even if you don't request a recommendation letter there is nothing to stop future potential employers from checking back with organizations you have worked for.

So here's a word to to the wise. Before you blindly jump into writing a resignation letter, you might want to spend some time thinking about it and finding out how to write one that is proper and appropriate, so that it won't come back to haunt you.

To see a fully-formatted "real-life template" of a simple letter of resignation, check out the following link:

http://instantresignationletterkit.com/sampreslet.html

? 2005 by Shaun Fawcett

Shaun Fawcett, is webmaster of the popular writing help site WritingHelp-Central.com. He is also the author of several best selling "writing toolkit" eBooks. All of his eBooks and his internationally acclaimed f-r-e-e course, "Tips and Tricks For Writing Success" are available at his writing tools site: http://www.writinghelptools.com

eco-friendly cleaning service Buffalo Grove ..

In The News:

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.