When you are leaving your job, whether it’s because you have accepted a new job, retiring, or returning to school, it is always a great idea to send a letter to the colleagues you have worked with.
A Farewell Letter not only helps you in keeping in touch with your soon-to-be former colleagues but is also a great way of moving on from a job gracefully and more professionally.
Irrespective of your reasons for leaving, it is important to leave on good terms. The people you have worked with are an important part of your network, and they may come in handy in the future.
When to Send a Farewell Letter?
Before sending or informing your colleagues that you are leaving, it is important that you first inform the management. Inform your employer and make sure that everyone who needs to know that you are leaving is well informed. You don’t want your boss to find out that you are leaving from other sources.
The best time to send your letter is before leaving the organization. Send your email or letter a day or two before leaving. This way, you will provide your colleagues enough time to say their goodbyes.
Who Should Receive a Farewell Letter?
While informing everyone at the company that you’ll be leaving in a face-to-face conversation, sending a farewell letter ensures that everyone knows the news.
You should use your judgment to decide whom to send a farewell letter to. If you were working in a small organization, you might consider sending the letter to everyone. However, if it is a large company, you should only consider sending the letter to your immediate colleagues or to particular people whom you have worked closely with during your period at the company
What should you include in your Farewell letter?
Here are some things that you must include in your farewell letter:
Personalize your letter
Tailor each letter to individuals rather than sending out a group email to everyone. You can address each person by name and, if possible, include an anecdote or a personalized message reflecting on your time together. This will show your colleagues that you genuinely valued your time with them.
Say thank you
A farewell letter offers you an excellent opportunity to express your gratitude to your colleagues for any help or mentorship provided during the period you worked at the organization with them. Add a thank you note in the second paragraph of the letter for this purpose. You may also express how much you enjoyed working with them.
Include your Contact Information
You don’t want to leave behind a bad impression. The main aim of sending a farewell letter is to show your former co-workers that you value them. Even if you are leaving on bad terms, it is important that you focus on the positive aspect of your time at the company, don’t mention any negative things you may have encountered to the people you have worked with.
Keep it Short
Keep the farewell letter short and to the point. Along with including your contact information and saying thank you, you can also mention your plans. However, beyond this, keep the letter short and direct to the point.
How to Write a Farewell Letter
Following are a few key points to consider while writing a farewell letter:
- Start with greetings and address the recipient. For example: Dear, [name of the recipient]
- The first paragraph of your farewell letter should inform your colleagues that you are leaving the company.
- In the second paragraph, thank your colleagues for all the support they have provided you. Mention that you enjoyed working with them. You may want to personalize this paragraph for each person, specifying some of the things you appreciate about each of them.
Include your contact information in the third paragraph. Let your colleagues know where and how they can reach you. You can include your phone number, email address, and LinkedIn URL.
- In the last paragraph, thank them again for the time you spent with them. Then end the letter with a proper closing remark.
Pro-Tip
While taking the time to draft a farewell letter may look as if it is a waste of time at first, it can prove to be very beneficial.
When you are leaving your job, graduating from college, retiring, or leaving your current place of residence, it is important to stay on the right to stay on the good side with everyone you are leaving behind. In the future, the same people can provide you with some help in the next step you take.
Related : How to Write a Farewell Email to Coworkers
Farewell Letter Template
_ [Your name]
_ [Street address, City code]
_ [Email address/contact information]
___ [Date]
_______ [Name of the organization],
_______ [Name of the manager],
_______ [Street address, town code]
Dear _
Kindly accept this letter as a notice that as of [date] will be my last official day at __ [Company name] as a [job title]. I will be starting poultry and livestock farming soon, which will require my attention towards that project.
I would like to take this opportunity to give thanks to my immediate supervisors and colleagues for the skills that I gained and the built friendship during my stay here. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity that you gave me to work with you. A written document is not enough to express my gratitude, but I hope one day, we will be able to work together under different circumstances.
This letter is not a notification that our initial friendship is terminated; you can still contact me at ________ [phone number/email address].
Once again, I wish the company continued success.
Yours truly
_____ [Your name]
Farewell Letter Sample
Trina Hammond,
Careen, 1204 SA
Arizona.
September 3, 2018
Garry Millers Limited,
Human Resource Manager,
Johannesburg, 0489 CA
Atlanta
Dear Francis James,
I, Trina Hammond, am writing this letter to you as a notification that I will be leaving on September 10, 2018. After this date, we’ll no longer be associating formally and take this as a goodbye.
For the past three years, I have been able to experience work professionally, and your company has always created a conducive environment to work in. My stay at Garry Millers Limited has always been fruitful.
This decision to quit my job was not made up easily, and I think taking care of my health is an essential aspect to me.
I hope that we will keep in touch in the future. I will greatly miss my colleagues for the time that we spent together.
For any other assistance, do not hesitate to reach me at 444-000-4879.
I wish you the best of luck.
Thank you
Yours truly,
Trina Hammond.
Free Downloads
The best and fastest way to draft a farewell letter is by using a template. You can download a template and customize it to reflect your personal, work experience, and your relationship with your co-workers.
Final Words
Writing a farewell letter may be hard to draft at times; that is why using a sample farewell template can help make things simpler and cleaner. By downloading and customizing a template, you will be able to save time and have a more professional letter. Templates are also a great way of creating uniformity when sending bulk letters. Even though it is important to give each letter a personal touch, a template will aid in the letter format and general outline and the ideas of what to write.