What it needs
- The date you give notice.
- Who it is to: usually your manager, with HR copied.
- A subject line, in India: “Subject: Resignation from the position of Senior Software Engineer”.
- Your notice: that you are resigning, from which position.
- Your last working day, in line with your notice period.
- An offer to hand over your work.
- A short thank-you, and your name.
You do not need to say why you are leaving.
Your last working day
Your notice period is in your appointment letter or your company’s policies. It may depend on your grade, or on whether you are still on probation. In India it is often 30, 60 or 90 days.
Count it from the day you give notice. Sixty days from 2 March is 1 May. The builder works the date out from the day you give notice and your notice period, and you can change it.
Some employers let you leave early, or pay in place of notice. If you hope to, ask your manager. Do not assume it.
Keep it short and positive
Three or four short paragraphs. Your old manager may be asked for a reference, and HR will write your relieving and experience letters, so leave on good terms.
How to send it
Follow your company’s way of doing it. Often it is an email to your manager and HR, with the letter in the email or attached as a PDF. Some companies ask you to resign in their HR system as well.
Talk to your manager before you send it, if you can. Keep a copy, and the date you sent it.
Relieving and experience letters
In India, a new employer usually asks for a relieving letter, which says you have left and handed over your work, and an experience letter, which confirms your role and your dates. Some companies give one letter that does both.
Many companies give them on your last day, or once your full and final settlement is done. If they do not arrive, ask HR in writing. The examples show short, polite requests for each.
Elsewhere
In the UK and the US, a resignation letter is just as short, but there is usually no subject line, and no relieving letter to ask for. Your new employer will check your references instead.