Giving Notice

The ‘Golden Rule’ in life is never burn any bridges and this has never been more true when giving notice to your employer. Resigning is a daunting task, even if you have mentally checked out months ago and are more than ready to start your next work chapter.

It goes without saying that giving notice must be done professionally as you may need your employer to be a referee in the future. To help the nerves, you should always prepare a short and simple resignation letter which should always include:

• The effective date of your resignation;
• An explanation of your resignation;
• The date of your last day of work;
• A thank you for the opportunities that they gave you.

You should also consider including a positive statement about your employer and/or company and even wish them well for the future. Remember, you always want to leave on good terms. Also, bear in mind that your resignation letter will be kept on your employment file and could be accessed for future reference.

You should always resign in person to your immediate supervisor. Sometimes this may not possible: your supervisor is interstate for work or on annual leave. In those circumstances, it is acceptable to resign in person to the HR Manager. After resigning to the HR Manager, you should send a short email to your immediate supervisor advising them that you have just resigned and attach the resignation letter.

A usual notice period is 1 month. Before drafting your resignation letter, do check your employment contract as some notice periods can be longer or can be as short as 2 weeks.

Having a well drafted resignation letter always makes giving notice less stressful.