How to hand in your notice of resignation with grace, respect and professionalism.
Handing in your notice of resignation is a nerve-wracking thing to do. Even when you’re eager to move jobs, or even actively unhappy in your role and you can’t wait to get out of the door, it’s still a test of nerve and will to approach your boss and say you’re leaving.
It’s harder still when you know you’ll miss where you work, that the friends you’ve made there won’t be in your life every day, and the work you’ve been doing at that firm has to be passed on. Handing in your notice of resignation is as much a test of your emotional control as it is an HR process to go through.
As we’ll discuss in the other 2 blogs in this series, your notice is a sign of your intent to leave a company: it does not mean you’re straight out of the door. There are many considerations to take once your notice is handed in: the ongoing relationship with your staff and the emotional backlash you may suffer, and the counter offer, which your employer may well want to offer immediately.
Job Acceptance Hack! - It’s worth noting that in some sales roles you may literally be walked off site in the event of your notice being handed in and a counter offer not being accepted. This happens primarily if you’re moving roles to a competitor and this is only legal if you were hired as an “at-will” employee. Make sure you check your employee handbook and contract to make sure this is the case.
However in the main you’re setting out your intention to part ways with the company after a given amount of time (your notice period), in which you will depart from your responsibilities and hand over your workloads, clients, communications, company property and anything else affiliated with the company.
Here are the things you need to review before and after you hand in your notice of resignation:
Review your employee handbook or contract before you hand in your notice
- Most employers will stipulate what their notice period expectations are in the event a staff member leaves. You need to make sure you understand what that is before you hand in your notice. Also, there may be multiple people to inform, and/or specific channels of communication the employer expects you to follow to make a clean break with the firm.
- The contract will also stipulate what happens if you are an at-will employee, so make sure your house is in order before you hand in your notice if this is the case IE. Any items at work you have you want to keep, or any workloads/customers/client relationships you value who need to be transferred to other workers.
Make sure you tell the right people first and make it personal
- Do not tell your work colleagues or friends first - having rumour or gossip spread around the company before your line manager or boss finds out is possibly the most unprofessional thing you can do, plus it causes unnecessary stress and confused communications up and down the ladder.
- Your boss should be told first, and, if required, your head of HR too. Your boss will undoubtedly have a solid grasp of your workloads and what constitutes a fair handover of work within your notice period, and of course as your manager they will understand and no doubt want to discuss the reasons for you leaving.
- Also, do not do this over email or phone call. Where possible do this face to face, or via video call. You own your boss at least that: it shows respect to your employer and that this is as much a personal decision as a professional one.
Prepare and hand in your written notice
Once your meeting is complete, either hand in a paper version, or email over, your notice of resignation. There are plenty of notice frameworks you can access online, but a standard format is:
- Your Name
- To: Name of your Boss
- Your intent to leave your job, and to do so as per your agreed notice period.
- Your thanks for the opportunity to work with said company.
- Your commitment to working to the full extent of your ability until your tenure finishes, noting your last working day
- Signed and dated
This means you’ve stated you want to leave the company by a certain date as per your contract, and that your boss or HR team cannot extend this or make up a new date off the hoof.
Communicate with you colleagues and leave on a positive note
- Although you may have a couple of weeks (or longer) to wait before you officially depart, telling your work friends and colleagues should be done immediately. It’s like ripping off a plaster - it’s not nice, but it has to be done to ensure enough time is given for continuity and ease of departure. Communication in this regard is key - from the emotional shock you’ll all feel, to handling sales clients or dealing with handovers, your work colleagues are the crux in making sure you exit a company with everything wrapped up.
- Plus, if your colleagues or Boss end up being a reference you want to make sure you do everything in your power to make sure they have a lasting positive image of you in their workplace!