Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Crafting a Two-Week Notice Letter

Whether you’re changing jobs, taking personal leave or retiring, notifying your workplace in a professional manner is required. However, writing a two week notice letter can prove to be quite tricky, depending on the reason you're leaving or your workplace culture. Although they are not always required by law, a two-week notice letter is an important piece of documentation which you should always provide when leaving a company. Here, we will provide you with a guide for drafting a two week notice letter, so that you can exit from your current workplace on a good note.

Although you might feel like you shouldn’t need to provide one, you might want to consider writing a two week notice letter for reasons such as:

Professionalism

Regardless of if your job was a casual summer job, or a full-time position in a corporate workplace, having a level of professionalism by writing a two week notice letter will make leaving much easier. You can use your two week notice letter to describe the reasons for leaving without having any emotion-filled conversations with coworkers or bosses, maintaining professionalism in the process.

Maintaining Relationships

If you want to leave a job, but have a great relationship with your bosses and managers, a two week notice letter is a great way to maintain relationships with them. Resignation letters can include your contact details in the sign-off, and provide a document for your boss or manager to refer to in the future.

Professional Reputation

For resigning from corporate roles, writing a two week notice letter is very strongly recommended. Maintaining your status as a professional who follows through with corporate protocols, even when resigning, will allow you to uphold your reputation to future employers. Your professional reputation is especially important if you would like to use a manager or boss as a reference for new positions.

Legal and Contractual Reasons

Your employment contract could have a clause in it which defines the notice period for resigning. It is usually two weeks, and your contract likely states that the two week notice should be submitted in writing, aka, a two week notice letter. To avoid any difficulties, legal or otherwise, when leaving a company it is better to review your contract and abide by it.

Smooth Transactions

We will get into the details of a resignation letter soon, but one important feature is the date of resignation, and the anticipated last day of employment. Putting these in writing allows your HR to process your resignation smoothly, and you can redeem your leave pay-outs and return your company items in a timely fashion.

We’ve made a step-by-step guide for writing a two week notice letter, so you can cover all the main points and resign ASAP.

1. Address the Recipient

You need to address the resignation letter to the right person. Two week notice letters are usually addressed to the manager you directly report to. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, you can address it to a person ranked one place higher or lower, or address it to HR directly. Use a professional greeting, for example:

2. State Your Intent to Resign

Simply state in your two weeks notice letter that the letter is for the purpose of notifying your resignation from the position you hold at the company. State the job title, company name and date of notice (the day you send the email). Then, include the last day of your employment, two weeks after the date of notice.

There is no need to include any pleasantries. A resignation letter is not taken personally by anyone in the company, so simply stating your intent to resign is enough, and maintains a professional stance. For example:

3. Express Gratitude

You can thank the company or manager for the opportunities and experiences you gained through your time at the company in the resignation letter. You don’t need to apologize, express guilt or make yourself sound like the bad guy. For example:

You don’t need to say anything more than that – if you would like to express more gratitude to your closest coworkers, you can do so in person or by goodbye emails. Your two week notice letter will only be read by HR and your manager, therefore any outpouring of emotion will likely not be read by your favorite coworkers.

4. Mentioning Your Next Steps

This is where you can detail why you want to resign from your company. You don’t have to mention your new role, company or start date. For example:

 If you don’t want to disclose that, you can say something vague in your two week notice letter such as:

5. Thank the Recipient and Sign Off

Thank the recipient for their time, whether you are resigning on a positive or negative note. If you have company property, or anything else which needs to be finished up, mention it as a way of closing the resignation letter. For example:

Then, sign off the resignation letter professionally:

Stay Professional

No matter the circumstances of your resignation, maintain professionalism in your communications. A two-week notice letter isn’t for getting revenge.

Be Clear and Concise

You don’t need to go into any detail beyond the date of resignation and your reason for leaving in your two week notice letter. HR will conduct an exit interview, where you can have a conversation about your resignation.

Maintain Positivity

Write the two week notice letter with a neutral or positive tone. There is no need for emotional language or any remarks about the company or coworkers.

Include the Important Dates

Always include the date you notify your employer, and your last day of employment (two weeks later) in your resignation letter. These are the key pieces of information required, and are more important than your reasons for resigning.

Overall, a two week notice letter is simply stating to your employer that you are resigning. There is no need to go into any detail if you don’t feel comfortable; but writing a two week notice letter is necessary to maintain professionalism. For more templates and professional advice, browse through CakeResume to get the information you need.

--- Originally written by Bronte McNamara ---