How To Resign

• Write the resignation letter and have it typed (see Sample Resignation Letter)

• Meet with your current supervisor spontaneously or casually, asking “ Do you have a minute?” which is a better approach than setting up a formal appointment.

• Hand the letter to your supervisor in a sealed envelope, with the boss’s name on it. (and PERSONAL/CONFIDENTIAL is a nice touch to add).

• Say to your supervisor something like this:

[Name], I’ve accepted another position and I’m leaving [company name]. I’d like to thank you for teaching me a great deal during the time we’ve worked together and for making a real contribution to my career development. I hope I can do everything possible during the next two weeks to make my transition a smooth one.

• Close the conversation, saying:

I’ve written up a list of all the projects I’m working on and their current status. If you could take a moment to review them in the next day or so, I’d be happy to do anything I can to complete them or hand them over to someone else during the next two weeks.

• If – and only if - the supervisor tries to start a conversation about the nature of the new job or the offer to bring up a counter offer, say to the boss:

[Name], I think you know I really respect our relationship a lot, but I’d really appreciate it if you would not try to make my resignation any more difficult than it is.