Letter of Intent to Resign (Samples & Templates)

A letter of intent to resign is an official document that an employee writes to their company/employer informing them of their intent to leave their current employment.

There are four main reasons employees need to draft these letters as soon as they provide their employers with formal verbal resignation notices.

This includes the following:

• To avoid misunderstandings with their employers
• To ensure that employers have enough time to hire and train a suitable replacement
• To be able to leave their employment on good terms and maintain a positive employer-employee relationship for future job opportunities
• To have a record of when they will have left their job to receive benefits, vacation pay, etc

When you decide to quit your employment with a given company, you must submit a formal and professionally written intent to resign letter notifying your employer of your decision to leave. In spite of your reasons for resigning from your job, it would be best if you strived to leave your employer gracefully because you may need them to provide you with solid recommendation letters for your future job searching process. You may also need to be rehired in the company once your grievances have been solved; thus, avoid burning any bridges with your professional networks.

This article will shed some light on writing an effective letter of intent to resign and the essential tips to consider while drafting the letter.

Basics of Resignation Letter

A resignation letter is written to formally notify your employer that you want to resign from your post. Most employers require this document to consider the resignation binding; thus, it should be written in a formal, professional tone and address the key issues that prompted you to resign. However, before submitting your letter to the employer, consider scheduling a face-to-face meeting with them to discuss your intent to resign.

If a face-to-face discussion is impossible, speak to your employer directly over a phone call or video chat as a sign of respect. It is also standard practice to submit your resignation letter immediately after this conversation or in-person during your meeting. Your letter’s content should also be well thought out and address the critical issues that may affect the employer in hiring a suitable replacement, and it should be signed and dated.  

Generally, an effective resignation letter should contain a statement indicating your intention to leave, your final working day, a thank you note to the employer and your colleagues, your next steps, and any other relevant information.

Resignation Letter Format and Layouts

A letter of intent to resign is a formal business correspondence, and like any formal letter, it should follow the appropriate business letter format. The right font type to use while writing the letter should be Times New Roman, Calibri body, or Arial Black. The standard font size to use is 12. Always leave a blank line between the sender’s address, the date, the receiver’s address, and the salutation. Similarly, leave a blank line between each of the main paragraphs and the sign-off to make your document more organized.

There should be about seven lines to one page of a resignation letter, with a single or 1.15 spacing between lines. The typical length of an average letter of intent to resign is half a page to one full page in length. The margins of your resignation letter should be one-inch on both four sides. Within the body of your letter, left-align your paragraphs and justify your text. Remember to save and submit your letter of intent to resign in PDF format.

In your letter of intent to resign, you should communicate your purpose for writing the letter positively and respectfully. Use a polite tone throughout the document and provide only the essential information to ensure it is brief and to the point.

The following key points need to be addressed in your resignation letter:

Provide a professional header

The letter should begin with the sender’s information. The sender’s information includes their name and contact information. The date of writing should also be stated in day-month-year format, and the receiver’s information includes their full name, title, company name/organization they represent.

After this, provide a brief and concise subject line that clearly indicates your letter’s purpose, then write a professional salutation addressed to the letter’s receiver using their full name and correct title, Dear Mrs. Hannah Keller.

Introduce yourself by mentioning your job title

Begin your intent to resign letter from a brief introductory paragraph describing who you are and the job title you hold within the organization. Introducing yourself is important because it lets the receiver know more about you.

State the purpose of writing

In the same introductory paragraph, establish your purpose for writing the letter of intent to resign. For example, state clearly that you are writing to notify your employer of your intention to leave their company.

Announce the intent of resignation with the specific date

Use the first body paragraph of your letter to explain why you are leaving the company. While providing a specific reason for resigning is not mandatory. Some employers may require you to provide a reason for leaving to accept your resignation formally. Therefore, providing a more generalized reason for leaving the job such as “due to personal reasons” is powerfully recommended, mainly if your reasons are not related to the job itself.

Along with explaining your reasons for resigning, provide the exact date you intend to exit the company. The date should be at least two weeks before your resignation to allow your employer enough time to find and train your replacement. The notice period to give may also vary depending on the nature and requirements of your job; thus, be sure to check your employee handbook or confirm with your company’s HR department.

Express gratitude to your employer for hiring you

Generally, it is appropriate to state your appreciation and gratitude in your letter of intent to resign to avoid coming off as an ungrateful employee. Mention how grateful you are to the company for providing you with an opportunity for growth in your career and thank your colleagues. Including a thank you note for your employer ensures you maintain a positive relationship with your professional networks, and it helps foster a peaceful transition.

Express your quality time during the job

Despite your reason for submitting the letter of intent to resign, you should make an effort to show your employer that you have spent some quality time during your employment tenure at the company and that you are proud of the work you have accomplished over the years. Mention the projects that you were proud to be part of and briefly explain how these projects have helped impact your career life and prepared you for your next steps in life.

Offer assistance to train the new replacement

If possible, offer to help your employer with the transition process to strengthen your professional relationship with them further. For example, state that you are willing to train and onboard the new replacement such that they’ll have an easier time handling the job’s responsibilities and duties. In addition, offering assistance to train the new hire enables the company to understand your initiative and desire to see them succeed.

Ask queries (if you have)

Given that you have any concerns or queries that need to be clarified by your employer make sure that they are addressed diplomatically in the concluding paragraph of your letter. It is also vital to add that you value the conversations and appreciate their responses to any of your questions.

Sign off

After providing all the relevant information in your letter of intent to resign, end it with an appropriate sign-off such as “sincerely,” “yours truly,” “kind regards,” “thank you,” etc., then provide your signature.

Tip: You may need to leave your current job due to several reasons, including the need for a career change, to find a new job with better remuneration and benefits, to spend time caring for your family, due to personal reasons and emergencies such as an illness or death in the family, relocation, etc. You may also need to leave your job if the current working conditions are toxic/unbearable for you or due to a disagreement with your supervisors or colleagues.

Letter of Intent to Resign

Here we have template and samples you can use to write your own letter:

Download free sample letters given below:

While writing a letter of intent to resign, you must write it adequately for it to be accepted by your employer. Submitting a well-written resignation letter is not difficult if you follow these valuable tips and keep it positive:

Keep the letter positive

You must write a resignation letter that demonstrates your appreciation for the employer and the opportunities they have presented to you. Your tone should remain positive throughout the letter.

Deliver it in person

It is considered more appropriate to deliver your letter of intent to resign in person as a sign of courtesy and to demonstrate your professionalism. However, consider sending it as an email attachment if an in-person meeting is impossible.

Avoid complaining

Refrain from complaining or blaming anyone else for why you are leaving and focus only on the positive aspects of your job. Remember that the letter of intent to resign is the first glance they will get about your professionalism and personality. As such, avoid including any negative comments in the letter.

Remember networking opportunity

Just because you are resigning from your current place of work does not mean the job search stops. If your existing employer stays in touch with you, they may recommend you to their contacts in the future, so make it a point to always remain professional and courteous.

Keep it brief

Prepare your resignation letter in less than a page and include just the relevant information. Remember that this is your parting shot before leaving your previous employer, so do not leave out any crucial details. However, please refrain from making it too long as this may negatively affect your professional relationship with your employer.

Plan for immediate departure

If you are leaving your current employer shortly, make it a point to submit your letter of intent to resign a week or two before your last day at work. This way, you can use the time to tie up loose ends and prepare yourself for your new responsibilities once you leave the company.

Edit the letter

Grammar and spelling mistakes and repeated or irrelevant information should be edited out of your resignation letter to make the letter seem more professional. Also, make sure you have counter checked your resignation notice to ensure it aligns with your company policy on notice periods to provide while resigning.

Send it directly to the HR department

Letters of intent to resign should generally be sent directly to the company’s Human Resources department, with a copy also sent to your supervisor. This is because it consolidates all relevant information and simplifies it for their records.