What a Real Resignation Letter Looks Like

This is the REAL resignation letter I used to kickstart the biggest change in my life. I kept all of the formatting the same and removed personal identifiers (replacing them with all CAPS) so people could use it for their own purpose if they wanted to. I spent a lot of time writing this up and really tried to get the emotion right. It was a hard thing to do.

ME
ADDRESS
HOMETOWN, STATE, ZIP CODE
EMAIL

DATE

Dear PERSON,

I have decided to leave COMPANY to pursue a computer coding opportunity in PLACE. When I started with COMPANY back in DATE I started a new chapter of my life. I was eager to learn and develop new skills and I fully immersed myself in the job. I found out very early that you were going to be a stellar manager and we quickly developed a tight bond. Our shared love of the SPORTS TEAM and the City of HOMETOWN made it easy to engage and within a short time I became comfortable really letting you know how I think. You know how to connect with people on a personal level and I think that plays a large part in why you have become so successful and why I stayed at COMPANY as long as I did.

As I grew into the analyst role it became clear to me that there was a lot to learn, and so I put my head down and learned. I learned about the GENERIC industry, how to JOB SKILL, how to manage expectations, I learned my place as an analyst, I have made big strides in communication, and I even learned how to sell a bit, but most importantly I have learned that you must live your life with passion. You were the one who taught me most of these skills and for that I am grateful.

I feel now that I am at a point in my life where COMPANY has taught me all that it can and I must ask myself the question; am I living a life full of passion? I know that I will never be truly satisfied or successful if I don’t find my passion, and I so I have decided to move down to California to attend SCHOOL, a coding university. It is my hope and belief that SCHOOL will provide me the creative avenue and skills to live a life that is both personally and professionally fulfilling.

You might wonder why I am sending you all of this in an email and not explaining it in person, and I can understand if it comes as a big surprise. I truly wanted to tell you and I debated it back and forth for a long while, but at the end of the day I needed to ensure that I received the bonus that I earned.

The problem was this:

        SCHOOL starts on DATE.
        COMPANY’s Annual Short Term Incentive is paid on February DATE.

According to COMPANY’s Annual Incentive Plan Policy, in order to be eligible for an incentive award, employees must:

     “Be actively employed at the time of payment” and “Employees who resign from their employment or who are terminated 
     for any reason prior to the date of payment of the annual incentive” will be excluded from the Short Term Incentive 
     Payment.

Furthermore, as you explained to me on the phone a short while ago, upon giving notice of resignation it is COMPANY’s policy that I would be immediately walked out and would no longer be a part of COMPANY. Based on all of this information I determined that I would be putting you in a very difficult spot if I approached you on any of this, and there would be a very real chance that I would not receive my bonus. That was a risk that I could not afford to take.

It was a great pleasure to work with you and get to know you and part of why this is a difficult thing to do is because we were as much friends as we were co-workers. I learned a lot from you and I also feel that you learned a lot from me. I envy the passion that you have for your family, HOMETOWN, and your work. I think it is an exciting time for you and the HOMETOWN branch and I feel the hard work that you have put in over the past 4-5 years is finally getting through. I know there is still a lot of work to be done, but it feels more like it is just a matter of time now.

I hope in-time that we can reconnect and I would really like to hear how it goes with YOUR WIFE’s job, how SPORT for the boys goes, how the HOMETOWN office is doing, and how you and YOUR WIFE’s dream of opening up a BUSINESS VENTURE plays out, although I have no doubt that it will become a reality.

I wish you all the best in your current and future endeavours.

Sincerely,

ME