How to Verbally Give Two Weeks' Notice

Telling Your Boss

Pick the right time. Hopefully, you’ll catch your boss in a good mood, but there’s no guarantee. Think about giving notice on Friday. This leaves the weekend for your boss to cool down and adjust to the news. If you have a formal relationship with your boss, you might need to schedule a meeting with his secretary. Tell the secretary you need to schedule a short meeting and that it’s important. Also give notice when you are coming to the end of large projects. You need to leave your job gracefully, which means wrapping up loose ends on any unfinished work. Try to give more than 2 weeks' notice if possible if you're in a senior position.

Prepare what you want to say. You’re probably nervous about quitting your job. Accordingly, you should prepare ahead of time what you will tell your boss. You should follow these rules: Don’t go negative. Now is not the time to unload on your boss, even if you hated your job. The past is in the past, and you need to adopt a positive attitude. Keep it simple. You don’t need to go into a long, detailed story about why you are leaving. You’ve decided to make the switch—that’s all your boss is entitled to know. Identify something you’re grateful for. If possible, you should thank your boss for giving you the job. Mention one or two things you’ve learned.

Start with small talk. When the big day arrives, walk confidently to your boss’ door and knock. Say, “Greg, can we talk for a minute?” Smile and shut the door behind you for privacy. As soon as you sit down, begin with some small talk about the upcoming weekend or any big event. Hopefully, you haven’t told anyone else at work that you have accepted a new job. If you have, then your boss might already know. Also, your new employer might have called for a reference. If your boss says, “You’re leaving, right?” just roll with it. Smile and nod your head.

Break the news. Screw up your courage and tell your boss that you’re leaving. Start by saying something positive before stating that you're leaving. Try ending the conversation on a positive note by offering to help or train employees.Use simple language so that you are easily understood, and avoid being overly apologetic. For example, you can say, “I've had a great time working here and learning from you, and I'm ready for my challenge. I've accepted a new position at XYZ Company and begin in 2 weeks. I'm more than happy to help find and train someone to fill my place.” Give your boss a second to respond, if they have anything to say.

Rebuff any counteroffer. If you were a good employee, you should expect your boss to try and keep you. They might make a counteroffer for more money or more time off. You should politely decline and explain that you’ve made up your mind. For example, you can say, “Thanks for the offer, but I’ve already made up my mind. It’s not really the money, but the opportunity to advance. They said they’d consider me for a promotion after three months and I’m excited to get started.”

Thank your boss. Your boss is a future reference, as well as a potential business associate in the future. In fact, you don’t know where your paths will cross again. Accordingly, you want to leave on the best terms possible. To that end, thank your boss for the help they have given you. For example, you can say, “I’d never have gotten this job if you hadn’t hired me right out of college. I really appreciate it. What I’ve learned here will be the foundation of my success.”

Check how you should tell others. Before leaving, you want to clarify how the rest of the office will be told. If it’s a big company, your boss might want to send an email. If you work in a small office, your boss might want to tell everyone at a team meeting. Ideally, you will tell people who are important to you in person. Ask your boss to hold off on the email until you’ve had a chance to speak to them.

Ask if you need to tell Human Resources. Every company is different. You might need to write a letter to Human Resources to make your resignation official. Ask your boss if you need to write a letter and who you should address it to.

Letting Colleagues Know

Tell your mentors first. Identify anyone who has acted as an official or unofficial mentor. Also identify people who maybe helped you get the job in the first place or helped you get a promotion. You should tell these people that you are leaving your job. Stop by their office so you can talk in person. You should also make sure they have your new work email address. Mentoring should continue even after you leave your job. Remember to thank them for helping you. Say something like, “You’ve been the best sounding board, Kathy. I hope we stay in touch.”

Let close colleagues know. You should next tell colleagues you were close to. Chances are you’ll maintain some sort of relationship outside of work, so you don’t want them to be insulted that you haven’t told them personally. Stop into their office and break the news.

Tell a consistent story. You aren’t obligated to tell others why you are leaving, but they will want to know nonetheless. Accordingly, you should settle on a story and stick with it. Your colleagues will talk to each other and compare notes. Don’t tell one person you’re leaving because you can’t take the stress but tell another person you’re leaving because the commute is shorter. Ideally, you should settle on a story that is non-controversial. For example, you can simply say, “They promised promotion opportunities which I want to pursue.” Everyone can understand why you would want to leave for that reason. Whatever you do, don’t badmouth anyone, not even over drinks after work. If you need to vent, then call up your parents or therapist.

Send an email to other people individually. If other people need to know that you’re leaving, you can let them know by email. Keep it brief and friendly. Tell them your last day and ask them to contact you if they have questions. For example, other team members you work with occasionally should probably get an individual email. They might need to check about the status of a project. If you’re pressed for time, you can send one email and blind copy everyone on it. However, individual emails are better if you have time.

Avoid a company-wide email. Never send out an email to people you don’t know. In larger companies, it’s particularly awkward to read a good-bye email from someone you’ve never met before. Let your boss or Human Resources inform these people that you are leaving. Absolutely fight the urge to trash the company in a good-bye email. No matter how angry you are, nothing good has ever come from these stunts. Sometimes, they even end up in the news.

Writing a Resignation Letter

Format your letter. Set up your letter as a standard business letter. Choose a font that is readable, such as Times New Roman 12 point. Your boss should have told you who to address the letter to. If you don’t know, then call Human Resources to check. Don’t delay writing the letter. You should draft it as soon as you tell your boss.

Get to the point. In the first sentence, you should state that you are leaving and identify your last day. You don’t want the give the impression that you’re open to a counter-offer or other negotiations to keep you with the company. For example, you can write, “I hereby resign as marketing assistant at ABC Corporation, effective May 22, 2017.”

Express gratitude. Even if you’re writing the letter to Human Resources, you should thank the company. This letter will go in your personnel file, and you don’t want to come across as ungrateful. You can thank your boss for hiring you and for anything else that you’re genuinely grateful for. For example, you can write, “I can’t thank you enough for hiring me nine months ago as your marketing assistant. This job allowed me to put my college education immediately to work, while teaching me more than four years of college ever could.”

Set the record straight. There might be negative comments or performance evaluations in your personnel file. Now is the time to correct the record by providing context. For example, if you’ve been criticized in the past for being tardy, you can subtly explain why. You can write something like, “This company has been incredibly understanding. Even when I was going through chemotherapy and missing some time at work, I still managed to finish all of my work, thanks to the thoughtful staff at ABC Corp.” Remember to keep it brief and professional. You shouldn’t give a long-winded defense in which you go point-by-point and rebut every criticism ever made of you. Instead, explain away one or two of the major criticisms.

End the letter warmly. Repeat how grateful you are for having had the chance of working the job, and then give the company your warmest regards. Also let the company know whether you’re open to them contacting you with questions. If you are, provide your phone number and email address. For example, you can write, “Thanks again for the nine months to learn and grow with this company. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the help of my direct supervisor, Greg Jones, and my co-workers Caron Smith and Abbi Johnson.”

Distribute the letter. Make a copy of the letter for your records and then hand deliver it to Human Resources. You should also give your boss a copy of the letter so that they can read what you have written.