Rate my resignation!

In My Humble Opinion
1

Alright, before I send this, I’d like some opinions. On content, tone, what can be changed, etc.

I don’t want to burn any bridges, as nobody knows what the situation will be a year or three from now. Anyway, here it is, unedited. (Well, companies and people deleted to save the guilty.) Some of it is redundant probably, and again keep in mind it’s a rough draft so editing is welcome. Keep in mind I’ve never tendered a letter of resignation, so this is as raw as it gets. (OK, it’s an email, but that’s how I was told to send resignation notice. We don’t do the paper stuff.)

HR people are especially needed in critique. Anyway, here it is -
<person>

This email is to serve notice that effective 12 October 2006 I will resign my position of <job> at <company>. It is with regret and sadness that I must do this, but at present I cannot turn down an opportunity with another company that I feel may better recognize my talent, skills and dedication to my employer’s goals.

I had hoped that someone, at some point, would recognize my skill and value as an employee of <company>. I appear to be wrong. I have come to realize that my value to <sompany> is nowhere near what the value <company> has placed on me, or lack of value, as it were. This is extremely disappointing, to a level that I simply cannot perform my job to my own expectations I place upon myself. At present I don’t feel that I can overcome my resentment to the lack of respect or recognition to be able to effectively help the company achieve it’s long-term goals in becoming a leader in our industry.

My compensation has shown me I’m not valued, my lack of promotion after 18 months has shown me I’m not valued. The fact that many have been promoted, received raises and bonuses putting their pay rate above mine though I have much more experience, has cemented my opinion of how little <company> values me.

This was one of the few jobs I ever truly enjoyed doing. I hate to leave, and will for a long time doubt myself for doing so, but I need to move on and discover another employer that may be better willing to recognize what I offer, what I can do, and what I’m willing to learn to make my employer even better than what it was before I was hired.

duffer

So there it is. Warts and all. Not sure of the tone, and there’s a draft that would make the Pit visitor’s blush. I don’t want to burn any bridges, but I want it known why I’m leaving. Is this (emial resignation) the correct forum to air my disatisfaction? Should I just make it “I quit. Hire me if I come back.”?

Opinions/advice welcome.

Thanks

2

That should be your resignation letter. Keep it short, sweet and simple.

I wouldn’t add anything else.

That letter would be on file 15 years from now when you’re looking for another job and some brand new HR clerk is filling out the background verification form.

3

I’ve been in your situation, and my advice is to keep it short & sweet.

Dear <person in charge>

I am resigning from <company> effective October 12 in order to take another position more compatible with my talents, skills and goals.

Sincerely,
duffer.

You don’t want *anything * in your file that could *conceivably * be used against you, especially if you don’t already have another job. Complaints, however justified, can be used to show that you had a bad attitude, were not a team player, etc., even if that is not really the case.

If your supervisor asks to have an exit interview, or to discuss why you’re leaving, that would be the time to tell him/her your other reasons. But not in writing. If they never ask, then you’ll know they don’t particularly care.

4

I agree with Dalej42. You rather defeat the not burning bridges goal by saying that they don’t value you as an employee. Keep it short and to the point.

5

Agreed and suggest one more cut:

Relevant fact only.

6

While tellng the company all the negative reasons you’re resigning is very cathartic, it’s usually counterproductive unless you’re working in an industry you will never return to, or that is so vast you’ll never come across someone else who ever worked in the company. You never know when something like that might bite you in the ass.

Also, why would you want to do their work for them? If they’re such assholes, let them figure out why they’re losing good staff.

IOW, what dalej42 said.

7

Yeah, I’m with everyone else - keep the personal reasons out of it. If you feel they need to know, have a spoken-word conversation with a supervisor so it can’t go into your file right away.

I still think the resignation letter we wrote for my boyfriend was the best. He worked for a magician in Reno and the guy always treated him like he was an idiot because the other kid he worked with was college educated in the field, despite the fact that a college education in stage technology doesn’t really mean much. So when we wrote the resignation letter and brought that up, we put “Imagine, if you will, how David Copperfield would feel being compared to a magician like Mark Kalin?” Mark Kalin, of course, being the boyfriend’s ex-boss.

Apparently he turned beet red and threw stuff. Guy had a serious ego/self-esteem problem.

~Tasha

8

I agree with those who have advised that you pare this down to the bare essentials. The stuff about not being appreciated may make you sound whiny and demanding (I am not saying that you are whiny, just that the unedited letter might give that impression). Regardless of how the company treated you, once you decide to go, it’s almost always best not to leave with words of complaint or resentment.

9

You might want to take a look here: Free Resignation Letters Samples - IQUIT.ORG - How to quit your job

or you could use this example: http://www.watergate.info/images/resign.jpg

10

So don’t say anything that might burn any bridges. Your first sentence is safe, but after that, everything is risky.

11

duffer, a resignation letter is not an opportunity to vent. Keep it short and sweet. It’s not like they’re going to read your letter, smack their foreheads, and say “Oh my God! Duffer is right! How did we not see it before?”

You know why you’re leaving. Leave graciously. Everything else is just pettiness.

12

Do take the opportunity to leave a positive impression by complimenting them on something. Perhaps you could say that you’ve enjoyed working for them and have learned a great deal?

Something like:

Dear <person in charge>

I am resigning from XYZ Corp. effective 12th October 2006 to take a position elsewhere. I have enjoyed working for XYZ and have learned a great deal from my time here.

Yours sincerely,
duffer.

13

Another one here who agrees with dalej42.

14

Yet another opinion that you should remove everything but the first paragraph.

15

That’s a bridge-burner if I ever saw one. Tell 'em you’re leaving, thank them for the time and opportunities you had with them, and tell them you look forward to crossing professional paths with them in the future. Done.

Good luck on the new gig!

16

[QUOTE=dalej42]
That should be your resignation letter. Keep it short, sweet and simple.

What Dalej42 said, except don’t do it via email. Print it out in proper letter format, sign it, stick in an envelope and hand it to him or her.

17

Slightly of the topic, but you’re mad at the company because they haven’t promoted you after 18 months?? You’re being a bit unrealistic here, friend…

18

*Especially * don’t write it, but don’t even *say * it. You can be burning bridges you didn’t even know were there, and can build a rep you don’t need. No city and no industry is so large that a telling-off won’t get around, even if it feels good at the moment. Keep a smile on, thank them, and leave on superficially-cordial terms even if it burns you up inside. The rest? Tell it to your dog and get it out of your system that way. Or write the letter you proposed, read it out loud pretending they’re in front of you, then burn it. And do that before the exit interview if there is one, or at least the day you hand in your notice.

19

I agree with everyone, but may I add, erase the whole thing from your mind right now!

At every interview, one of the first questions is “why did you leave your last position” and if you go into the rant that you just wrote, chances are slim you will get the new job.

You are not the first person to be under-paid, under-appreciated and treated unfairly at a job. That is why people quit.

However, most people are clever enough to say, “I left my last job because I am looking for a position that offers more growth potential.”

Think positive.

Your resignation letter, as it stands now, is two vowels short of “fuck you”…and probably not a good exit strategy.

20

if you feel you must, highlight any factual issue orally in the exit interview and don’t sign anything.

Giving an explanation is not considered “not burning bridges.” Simple, factual resignation is “not burning bridges.”