The tradition of writing a farewell letter to colleagues on the last business day came to Russia only recently. Is it worth wasting time and e-mailing words of gratitude to already former co-workers? To the last day at the old job was another step forward, listen to the recommendations.
Why is this needed?
To decide whether or not to write a farewell letter to colleagues, answer two questions for yourself.
First, do you want to maintain business (or maybe friendship) relationships with colleagues in the future? The professional world may turn out to be rather narrow - it is quite possible that you will meet with former colleagues more than once. Having parted with colleagues on a positive note, you will be ready for new meetings and, possibly, for joint projects in the future.
The second question is whether you are ready to spend time and effort and write a truly informative, rather than formal, letter? So that every reader understands you and your motives, so that everyone you say thank you is ready to thank you in return?
If you answered “yes” to both questions, then the farewell email will definitely benefit your career.
Of course, personal farewell in most cases is more emotional than writing, which means it causes a greater response from the interlocutors. But, alas, in the bustle of the last working day it is difficult to find time to say a few words to each of several dozen people with whom you crossed paths on business matters. In addition, it is in the letter that you will be able to carefully and deliberately state all that you wanted to say, without missing anything.
Learning to say thank you and goodbye
It is generally accepted that a farewell letter is a tribute to the rules of good manners and business etiquette. Indeed, by writing it, you will once again emphasize that you are a well-mannered person and know how to say “goodbye”. However, this is the difficulty of writing a farewell letter: a good message should not look too official, on the contrary, it simply must be informal, oriented at the same time to all readers together and to each individual.
So what is it worth writing in a farewell letter? First of all, inform recipients that you are leaving the company. Not the fact that all employees of the company already own this information. If possible, state the reason for your dismissal. If you can’t do it delicately, it’s better to get around this issue than to make any hints. Indicate the brief results of your work in the company, without forgetting about the merits of your colleagues. Be generous and share some of your personal merits with your former colleagues. Do not forget to say about all the good that surrounded you in the now former workplace. For example: “I liked working in a democratic atmosphere - I always appreciated the opportunity to share my vision of solving problems”; “It’s great that we found a common language and almost always agreed on the main issues.”
A significant part of the farewell letter is words of gratitude to colleagues. And again, no standard phrases are needed - in this part of the letter you need to find words to personally thank those people who are especially dear to you and from whom you have learned something. For example, a roommate was your mentor in the first working week, the boss taught you how to draw up reports correctly, and a friend from the PR department repeatedly cheered you up with a good joke.
It is best to complete the letter with a proposal not to lose touch, for example, like this: “I hope that we will meet again and again on working issues and in an informal setting.” Remind your contact phone number and email, give a link to the profile on the social network.
In which case can I not write a farewell letter?
Perhaps it is better to do without long farewells to colleagues if you leave to work for competitors. In this case, your gratitude and hopes for a speedy meeting are very likely to look somewhat ambiguous. However, in this case there may well be exceptions.
You should not write a farewell letter if you intend to “finally talk it out” and talk about the “mess in the company”. Such a letter would look more like a diary of a loser than a farewell to a successful person.
Finally, a farewell letter can not be written if you are 200% sure that you will never meet with former colleagues. But is this possible? Unless, instead of further career, you decide to go to the moon ..
Why is this needed?
To decide whether or not to write a farewell letter to colleagues, answer two questions for yourself.
First, do you want to maintain business (or maybe friendship) relationships with colleagues in the future? The professional world may turn out to be rather narrow - it is quite possible that you will meet with former colleagues more than once. Having parted with colleagues on a positive note, you will be ready for new meetings and, possibly, for joint projects in the future.
The second question is whether you are ready to spend time and effort and write a truly informative, rather than formal, letter? So that every reader understands you and your motives, so that everyone you say thank you is ready to thank you in return?
If you answered “yes” to both questions, then the farewell email will definitely benefit your career.
Of course, personal farewell in most cases is more emotional than writing, which means it causes a greater response from the interlocutors. But, alas, in the bustle of the last working day it is difficult to find time to say a few words to each of several dozen people with whom you crossed paths on business matters. In addition, it is in the letter that you will be able to carefully and deliberately state all that you wanted to say, without missing anything.
Learning to say thank you and goodbye
It is generally accepted that a farewell letter is a tribute to the rules of good manners and business etiquette. Indeed, by writing it, you will once again emphasize that you are a well-mannered person and know how to say “goodbye”. However, this is the difficulty of writing a farewell letter: a good message should not look too official, on the contrary, it simply must be informal, oriented at the same time to all readers together and to each individual.
So what is it worth writing in a farewell letter? First of all, inform recipients that you are leaving the company. Not the fact that all employees of the company already own this information. If possible, state the reason for your dismissal. If you can’t do it delicately, it’s better to get around this issue than to make any hints. Indicate the brief results of your work in the company, without forgetting about the merits of your colleagues. Be generous and share some of your personal merits with your former colleagues. Do not forget to say about all the good that surrounded you in the now former workplace. For example: “I liked working in a democratic atmosphere - I always appreciated the opportunity to share my vision of solving problems”; “It’s great that we found a common language and almost always agreed on the main issues.”
A significant part of the farewell letter is words of gratitude to colleagues. And again, no standard phrases are needed - in this part of the letter you need to find words to personally thank those people who are especially dear to you and from whom you have learned something. For example, a roommate was your mentor in the first working week, the boss taught you how to draw up reports correctly, and a friend from the PR department repeatedly cheered you up with a good joke.
It is best to complete the letter with a proposal not to lose touch, for example, like this: “I hope that we will meet again and again on working issues and in an informal setting.” Remind your contact phone number and email, give a link to the profile on the social network.
In which case can I not write a farewell letter?
Perhaps it is better to do without long farewells to colleagues if you leave to work for competitors. In this case, your gratitude and hopes for a speedy meeting are very likely to look somewhat ambiguous. However, in this case there may well be exceptions.
You should not write a farewell letter if you intend to “finally talk it out” and talk about the “mess in the company”. Such a letter would look more like a diary of a loser than a farewell to a successful person.
Finally, a farewell letter can not be written if you are 200% sure that you will never meet with former colleagues. But is this possible? Unless, instead of further career, you decide to go to the moon ..
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