So I've never resigned from a job before and was wondering: what do people typically put in resignation letters? I googled a bit and found this: https://www.1st-writer.com/Resignation.htm Is this pretty typical? Thanks

Last visit was: 09 May 2026, 01:48

It is currently 09 May 2026, 01:48

Toolkit

Business School and MBA

The B-School Applications

GMAT Club Daily Prep

Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.

Go to My Error Log Learn more

Request Expert Reply

Confirm Cancel

May 13
Top MBA Application Tips Guide
10:00 AM EDT
-
11:00 AM EDT
Applying to business school this year? Don’t miss Personal MBA Coach’s Top MBA Application Tips guide
May 15
FREE Prospects Evaluation!
05:00 PM PDT
-
06:00 PM PDT
Inquire for a free profile evaluation and guarantee statement for possible admits and scholarships!

Back to Forum

Create Topic

Quitting the job - resignation letters

1 2

isa

Current Student

Joined: 04 Dec 2007

Last visit: 21 Jan 2010

Posts: 1,687

Own Kudos:

224

Given Kudos: 31

Concentration: Healthcare, Strategy, MC

Schools:Kellogg '11

Posts: 1,687

Kudos: 224

23 Mar 2009, 08:55

Kudos

Bookmarks

Jerz

isa

I handed in the resignation on Friday. Here is the gist of the letter I ended up using:

"Hi Steve,

This is to inform you that I am resigning from X, effective March 20, 2009. Per company policy, this is a one (1) month notice.

I will be going to grad school at XYZ in the fall for my MBA and plan to graduate in 2011. I am looking forward to school and the challenges that await me!

I would like my last day to be April 24th.

If I can be of any assistance during this transition, please let me know!

Thanks,"

I plan to follow this up with personalized thank-you emails/letters to my managers, etc once I get closer to the actual quit date.

Thanks for all your help!

Shouldn't the effective date of your resignation be the same as your last day?

Oh in the actual letter the dates are correct and the wording a tad different - this is just my short version of it

MeddlingKid

Current Student

Joined: 01 Apr 2008

Last visit: 28 Jul 2009

Posts: 349

Own Kudos:

Schools:Chicago Booth '11

Posts: 349

Kudos: 23

01 Jun 2009, 08:03

Kudos

Bookmarks

I just gave notice last week, mentioning to my group's managing partner that I plan to stay on until mid-August. Our group is reportedly planning to lay-off additional members of the team in the next few months. Is it acceptable to offer myself up to be laid-off in July and collect a severance package, or is this a "no-no"? They are happy with my performance, but nonetheless I'm sure I'll be on the list of people to go if they do have additional lay-offs, since they know I'm leaving anyway.

falibay

Current Student

Joined: 28 Feb 2008

Last visit: 29 Dec 2009

Posts: 370

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 2

Location: New York, Paris

Concentration: Finance, Entrepreneurship

Schools:Wharton '11

Posts: 370

Kudos: 6

01 Jun 2009, 08:22

Kudos

Bookmarks

MeddlingKid

hey MeddlingKid, I have offered to be layed off to my boss. He said that it did not made any sense since I was going but he took it well. You can always mention it and joke about it. That's what I did.

Jerz

Joined: 09 Dec 2008

Last visit: 28 Jan 2017

Posts: 1,221

Own Kudos:

254

Given Kudos: 17

Concentration: Health Enterprise Management, Marketing, Strategy, Finance, Analytical Consulting, Economics

Schools:Kellogg Class of 2011

GMAT 1: 770 Q49 V47 Verified score

Posts: 1,221

Kudos: 254

01 Jun 2009, 08:27

Kudos

Bookmarks

I also (half-jokingly) volunteered to be laid off when my boss and I were talking about when I was planning to leave. I wouldn't expect your company to actually lay you off, since you're leaving anyway and it's cheaper for them to let you quit.

MeddlingKid

Current Student

Joined: 01 Apr 2008

Last visit: 28 Jul 2009

Posts: 349

Own Kudos:

Schools:Chicago Booth '11

Posts: 349

Kudos: 23

01 Jun 2009, 08:51

Kudos

Bookmarks

Jerz

Yeah, I suppose you are right. But if they have to lay somebody off to make numbers, they would probably get rid of me compared with somebody who plans to stay with the firm. By the way, I love your avatar picture!

riverripper

Major Poster

Joined: 10 Apr 2007

Last visit: 20 Aug 2022

Posts: 4,306

Own Kudos:

806

Given Kudos: 5

Location: Back in Chicago, IL

Concentration: General/Operations Management

Schools:Kellogg Alum: Class of 2010

GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V42 Verified score

Posts: 4,306

Kudos: 806

01 Jun 2009, 09:09

Kudos

Bookmarks

For me it was the discussion that was far more important than a resignation letter. Then again everyone knew I was applying, everyone knew I got in, and then very quickly everyone knew I was leaving during the summer. My supervisor and senior manager wrote my recs so they weren't surprised at all. Both took it extremely well and I continue to keep in touch with both of them.

The letter is just a formality. A sit down discussion with your bosses is much more important. This is one thing I think few employers get upset about, you aren't leaving for a competitor or something. Just talk about how great of a place it was, and you feel this is the best way to take the next step in your career. Even if you hate it, go out the door smiling and dont say negative things to get back. The world is smaller than you realize and you never know who might help or hurt later in your career.

Feedback is often welcome but you want to be fairly pc with your comments, and keep it constructive...none of that, I hate this place everyone is lazy and incompetent, so nothing ever gets done. Instead try I think that improvements to accountability and additional training might increase productivity and overall quality.

xenok

Joined: 01 Apr 2008

Last visit: 11 Jan 2012

Posts: 136

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 6

Concentration: Strategy, GM, Energy, Technology

Schools:Chicago Booth 2011

Posts: 136

Kudos: 60

02 Jun 2009, 16:37

Kudos

Bookmarks

Getting laid off vs resigning is again a cultural thing. I understand that in Japan and Korea, this is quite often possible because of the salaryman culture. In the salaryman culture, there is a certain degree of loyalty between the company and its employees (I understand this can be quite hard to understand for someone not familiar with the culture.) Lay offing someone who would have resigned anyway would cost more purely in financial terms, but the "savings" in the corporate culture may be judged more important.

I'm not saying this is always the case but this concept is definitely not unheard of either. In fact one of my fellow admits was lucky enough to get a nice severance package instead of resigning.

Current Student

Joined: 28 Dec 2004

Last visit: 07 May 2012

Posts: 1,575

Own Kudos:

687

Given Kudos: 2

Location: New York City

Concentration: Social Enterprise

Schools:Wharton'11 HBS'12

Posts: 1,575

Kudos: 687

03 Jun 2009, 07:58

Kudos

Bookmarks

i am actually missing meetings on purpose so that i get laid off as the bottom feeder! this plan works in my company..one of my colleagues who went to INSEAD pulled this off and walked away with $80K severance package!

If i can only be this lucky...

buffdaddy

Joined: 14 Oct 2007

Last visit: 13 Jan 2011

Posts: 546

Own Kudos:

303

Given Kudos: 8

Location: Oxford

Schools:Oxford'10

Posts: 546

Kudos: 303

05 Jun 2009, 14:38

Kudos

Bookmarks

i am actually missing meetings on purpose so that i get laid off as the bottom feeder!

FN, this after the nice reco + phone call from the CEO. Isn't this the ultimate back-stab?

My situation is kinda different. Some of my team has been laid off. I am trying to work harder so that the rest of the team have jobs come the next quarter or the next financial year.

I will resign at the end of July and give the company 4 weeks notice since no one knows that I am leaving...yet

MeddlingKid

Current Student

Joined: 01 Apr 2008

Last visit: 28 Jul 2009

Posts: 349

Own Kudos:

Schools:Chicago Booth '11

Posts: 349

Kudos: 23

05 Jun 2009, 15:24

Kudos

Bookmarks

buffdaddy

i am actually missing meetings on purpose so that i get laid off as the bottom feeder!

That's similar to what I will be doing my last 1.5 months. I spoke with my managers today and offered to help them bring in more business before I leave.

HBS2011

Joined: 12 Oct 2008

Last visit: 27 Nov 2010

Posts: 41

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 1

Location: London

Schools:LBS

Posts: 41

Kudos: 1

06 Jun 2009, 12:52

Kudos

Bookmarks

Jerz

that is very true however what about future employers? Will the fact that you have been laid off be construed negatively as opposed to someone who resigned?

MeddlingKid

Current Student

Joined: 01 Apr 2008

Last visit: 28 Jul 2009

Posts: 349

Own Kudos:

Schools:Chicago Booth '11

Posts: 349

Kudos: 23

07 Jun 2009, 09:06

Kudos

Bookmarks

HBS2011

Jerz

that is very true however what about future employers? Will the fact that you have been laid off be construed negatively as opposed to someone who resigned?

I wouldn't think it'd make much of a difference in this economy. Particularly if you work in finance. Half the people I know in finance have been laid off.

ACNguy

Current Student

Joined: 02 Jun 2009

Last visit: 09 Sep 2011

Posts: 356

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 20

Location: Ann Arbor

Concentration: General

Schools:Ross Class of 2012

Posts: 356

Kudos: 56

07 Jun 2009, 14:49

Kudos

Bookmarks

I'm curious what you guys think of my possible plan:
-By the time Im ready to resign I'll have probably north of 30 days of vacation time accrued. Preferably I'd like to give a couple of weeks notice that I'm leaving as this company has been good to me and I don't want to leave on a bad note. However, with that vacation time I wouldn't mind spending the last 4 weeks at home (I travel every week for work so being home is a treat) and taking those as vacation days and then having my final day at the company actually spent on vacation. I know it seems shady, but they don't pay out accrued vacation and obviously those last few weeks are going to be hectic and probably expensive (moving always is). My girlfriend is also not moving with me and I'm sure she's going to want to spend as much time as possible with me. What are you guys/girls' thoughts on this plan?

refurb

Current Student

Joined: 28 Feb 2008

Last visit: 30 Oct 2013

Posts: 1,321

Own Kudos:

161

Given Kudos: 6

Schools:Tuck

Posts: 1,321

Kudos: 161

07 Jun 2009, 15:23

Kudos

Bookmarks

ACNguy

I'm curious what you guys think of my possible plan:

They don't pay out accrued vacation? Is that even legal?

Anyways, you'd have to find out if your plan will work with HR. As someone posted above, sometimes you can't take any vacation for your final two weeks with the company.

Also, often you have to be at the company on your final day to sign certain forms, turn in your computer and badge, etc.

RF

ACNguy

Current Student

Joined: 02 Jun 2009

Last visit: 09 Sep 2011

Posts: 356

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 20

Location: Ann Arbor

Concentration: General

Schools:Ross Class of 2012

Posts: 356

Kudos: 56

07 Jun 2009, 16:07

Kudos

Bookmarks

refurb

ACNguy

I'm curious what you guys think of my possible plan:

NM, just checked policy and it appears they do pay up to 240 hours of vacation time. Guess I should spend sometime brushing up on my corporate policies before making any decisions. Thanks for the feedback.

Jerz

Joined: 09 Dec 2008

Last visit: 28 Jan 2017

Posts: 1,221

Own Kudos:

254

Given Kudos: 17

Concentration: Health Enterprise Management, Marketing, Strategy, Finance, Analytical Consulting, Economics

Schools:Kellogg Class of 2011

GMAT 1: 770 Q49 V47 Verified score

Posts: 1,221

Kudos: 254

08 Jun 2009, 02:59

Kudos

Bookmarks

HBS2011

Jerz

that is very true however what about future employers? Will the fact that you have been laid off be construed negatively as opposed to someone who resigned?

Easy explanation to any future employer: "my company was planning layoffs and since I knew I'd be leaving in a few months anyway, volunteered to be laid off and possibly save someone else's job who wasn't leaving for school."

HBS2011

Joined: 12 Oct 2008

Last visit: 27 Nov 2010

Posts: 41

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 1

Location: London

Schools:LBS

Posts: 41

Kudos: 1

08 Jun 2009, 11:25

Kudos

Bookmarks

Jerz

HBS2011

Jerz

that is very true however what about future employers? Will the fact that you have been laid off be construed negatively as opposed to someone who resigned?

True but I work in finance and havent been laid off. besides isnt it a mark of your calibre that even though 50% of your team got fired, you were selected to stay? i could be wrong (could be a us/uk thing) because I wouldnt mind having the cash just before bschool however not sure if it hinders with future job possibilities. I agree w the guy above about voluntary redundancies, my question is more for involuntary redundancies .

1 2