How many times have you thought about writing that resignation email? Some of you may even have it saved in your drafts already. Employees resign for a myriad of reasons from organizations and the reasons can vary for everyone. However, few things remain common amongst them, such as having to submit a resignation email/letter. In the haste to resign or resign from an organization for the very first time, employees often make some common mistakes which can easily be avoided. Let’s take a look at some of those common mistakes to avoid them altogether.

What is a resignation letter?

Before writing that letter of resignation, it is important that you understand what a resignation letter is and why it is written. The basic understanding is clear to all. It is written when an employee decides to leave an organization for good. It is a formal notice to one’s employer or direct supervisor regarding one’s decision to move on from the organization. 

Although a letter of resignation denotes that you will no longer be a part of an organization, it is important to remember that it is still a formal document and must be written with a professional and polite attitude.

Common mistakes made while writing a letter of resignation

a. Sharing too much information

Everyone has a specific reason to resign from an organization. Those reasons could be personal or professional. One of the most common mistakes made is to share too much information regarding why one decides to leave an organization. While the reasons are definitely discussed at length during exit conversation amongst the management and the employees, it must be taken into consideration that a resignation letter is used at multiple levels of exit processes and must be kept professional. 

Unless you are willing to broadcast your reason to leave to the entire organization, keep it simple and short. It is not only required at multiple steps of an exit process in your current organization, but can also be asked as a part of the onboarding process of any organization you move into next.

b. Criticizing the organization/management

Being dissatisfied with the organization or the management is one of the most commonly seen reasons for leaving an organization. No matter how strong the urge to share this information with the company, ensure not to indulge in any bad-mouthing. It may seem like one has nothing to do with an organization after resigning and exiting. It may even be true for personal effect however all past organizations undoubtedly play some or the other significant role in your future endeavours. From needing a letter of recommendation for further studies or character references, anyone and everyone from your current/past organizations plays an important role.

c. Sharing your future plans/new job too soon

Again, we get it. You achieved something bigger and are eager to share that information with your peers. Try to hold it in a little longer though. Ensure that no one at the organization you are exiting knows about your future plans or the next company you will be joining before you complete the onboarding process for your new job. This may be flagged as paranoia by some people but incidents have definitely occurred in the past due to which such practices have been adopted. For instance, your current organization could take offence (highly unlikely but possible) and share a bad character reference beforehand or someone from the candidate pool from your current organization could try and beat you to the punch. Most of these scenarios seem highly unlikely and yet, have happened to multiple people in the past.

While it is important to ensure that the information is not shared on your resignation letter/email, one should also take care of not sharing too much verbally. It never hurts anyone to be a little safer.

d. Mentioning your salary/perks as the reason to leave an organization

Yet another common reason why people often move on from organizations and another common reason you shouldn’t highlight on your resignation email/letter. I agree that in order to attain a hike at the current organization, one needs to share this information with the management however there are other ways of doing it. Firstly, ensure to do it in person, verbally. Putting things like this in writing could jeopardise your chances of staying back anyway as no company wants someone who works only for money. It is clear where the loyalty of such people lies. 

Be vocal about it with your immediate supervisor. Have the conversation discreetly and politely and yet, respect the decision of the management before leaving in case it doesn’t work out the way you’d like it to.

e. Personal disclosures or too many sentiments

We all build personal and lasting relationships at the workplace. It is after all the place where we spend most of our time. Take that into consideration and keep a personal relationship separate from the professional one. Emoting is acceptable at times like the farewell party or an informal gathering however in an exit meeting, keep your calm and hold your information until the very latest.

Conclusion

Altogether, it's recommended to share this decision of yours in person with your manager/supervisor before shooting the email as it can have a rather rude effect if informed via email directly. Once the in-person conversations are finalised and a decision has been made to stay in effect, it is then better to keep the resignation email/letter as simple as possible. Mentioning that you have now decided to move on from the organization even though you value your time at the said organization and thanking your superiors for their support in your decision is the best way to go.

Go ahead, edit that email in your drafts folder!