Resignation Letter

---
name: resignation-letter
description: "Write a resignation letter that closes a chapter without burning it — short, warm, legally clean, and silent on everything that doesn't belong in a permanent file. Use when asked write my resignation letter, how do I resign professionally, what do I say when I quit, or review my resignation email. Produces the letter itself, the tell-your-manager-first script, the timing plan, and the list of things that must NOT go in writing."
---

# Resignation Letter Skill

A resignation letter has exactly one job: create a clean, dated record that you resigned, effective when. It is not the place for grievances, gratitude essays, or explanations — it goes in a permanent file, may be read by lawyers, and will outlive every feeling in it. This skill writes the three-sentence version that professionals use, plus the parts that actually matter and happen *around* the letter: the conversation before it, the timing, and the discipline about what stays verbal.

## What This Skill Produces

- **The letter** — 3–5 sentences: resignation, effective date, transition willingness, one line of thanks; nothing else
- **The manager conversation script** — the letter is never how your manager finds out; the 5-minute verbal comes first
- **The timing plan** — notice period, when to tell whom in what order, and what to have done *before* the conversation
- **The not-in-writing list** — everything the person is tempted to include, with where each item actually belongs

## Required Inputs

Ask for these if not provided:
- **The basics** — role, manager, intended last day, contractual/customary notice period
- **The reason and the temperature** — leaving happy, leaving burned, leaving for a rival? The letter stays identical; the *conversation* script changes
- **What's at stake in the exit** — unvested equity dates, bonus payment dates, non-compete concerns, references wanted — timing may need to move for these
- **Any special context** — remote manager (video call, not email ambush), toxic situation (shorter script, HR cc'd), or counteroffer expected (see [counteroffer-decoder](../counteroffer-decoder/SKILL.md))

## Framework: The Clean-Exit Rules

1. **The letter is a record, not a message:** every sentence beyond resignation + date + transition + thanks adds risk and zero benefit. Reasons, feedback, frustrations — all deliverable verbally or in the exit interview, never in the file.
2. **Verbal first, always:** manager hears it live (or video), letter follows within the hour "to make it official." A manager who learns from the letter — or the grapevine — is a reference lost.
3. **Check the money dates before picking the date:** a last day two weeks before a vesting cliff or bonus payment date is a very expensive piece of politeness. Verify vesting, bonus eligibility ("employed on payment date" clauses), and ESPP windows first.
4. **Notice is the contract's number, not the guilt's:** give what's contractual/customary; offering extra weeks to a company that walks resignees out same-day is a gift, not an obligation. Know which kind of company it is before the conversation.
5. **Warmth costs nothing and buys references:** one genuine thank-you line in the letter, real appreciation in the conversation. Even a bad chapter closes better warm — the industry is smaller than it looks.

## Output Format

# Resignation Package: [role] → last day [date]

## The Letter
[Full text, ready to send — addressed, dated, 3–5 sentences]

## The Conversation (before the letter)
[Opening line · the two sentences on why (verbal-only version) · transition offer · what to say if pressed on destination or counteroffered]

## Timing Plan
[Money-date check results → chosen date · tell order: manager → manager's plan for team/peers → letter · same-day-walkout contingency: what's backed up and returned *before* the conversation]

## Not In Writing
| Tempted to include | Why not | Where it belongs |
|---|---|---|

## Quality Checks

- [ ] Letter is ≤5 sentences with zero reasons, grievances, or feedback
- [ ] Effective date is explicit and money-dates were checked before choosing it
- [ ] The verbal conversation is planned before the letter is sent
- [ ] Personal files/contacts handled before the conversation, employer property ready to return — nothing that violates policy
- [ ] Tone reads warm-neutral even for a burned exit

## Anti-Patterns

- [ ] Do not put reasons in the letter — even good ones; they invite rebuttal and live forever
- [ ] Do not resign by letter/email alone when a live conversation is possible
- [ ] Do not vent — the toxic-job letter and the dream-job letter are the same letter
- [ ] Do not promise transition help you won't deliver — "available for questions through [date]" only if true
- [ ] Do not pick the last day before checking vesting and bonus dates — politeness is not worth a cliff