Career Success

How to Write the Goodbye Email to Your Coworkers

From your work BFF to the coworker you don't particularly like, here's how to pen your goodbye emails to your soon-to-be ex-coworkers.

By Michele Lando
November 15, 2023

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

How do you say goodbye to your coworkers when you leave a job?

Depending on your situation at work, you might feel supported to take on a new opportunity that will propel your career forward, or you might feel some tension about the transition.

Regardless, you can handle the situation with grace in order to keep the connections you’ve made and maintain good terms with your current employer.

How to Write a Goodbye Email as a Coworker
What Not to Do in Your Farewell Email
BONUS: How to Share the News of Your Departure on LinkedIn
Templates for a Goodbye Email

Employer Brand and Employee Engagement Consultant Marta Riggins explains, “Every piece of communication you send when you leave a job is a direct reflection of your own talent brand.

Showing what you've learned, your personal growth, and gratitude to those who've shaped your career or supported you along the way out is just as (if not more) important on the way out, as it is on the way in.”

How to Write a Goodbye Email as a Coworker

It might seem strange to think about drafting goodbye letters to coworkers, but it's nice to do, especially when you've been working alongside folks for a long time. But, as we'll get into later, not all goodbye emails are created equally.

1. Send Your Note Promptly

When it comes to sending a goodbye email, it’s important to send your note promptly in order to give people enough time to process, say their goodbyes, and make any necessary adjustments before your last day.

Consider if accounts need to be shifted, external personnel need to be notified, or you need to share a new point of contact before your departure.

2. Keep It Short and Personal

There’s no need to go into extreme detail here, but do make sure to personalize the goodbye letter so that it is sincere. Use your coworker’s first name when addressing the email so it feels less like a mass message and more direct. If you do have a large group to send your email to, consider using mail merge to personalize each email without as much hassle.

If you have a favorite memory or a time that the recipient was extremely helpful, this is the time and place to share that. Sharing good sentiments will help further build the connection between you and your colleagues prior to (and after) your departure. Maintaining these connections will help build your network going forward. You never know where you’ll run into or reconnect with someone in your industry!

3. Use Emojis (If That's Your Style)

If you’ve been known to integrate emojis into your daily writeups, stick with your style and carry that through here! Don’t go crazy, but an emoji may lighten the mood during your transition, especially if you have an inside joke with your coworkers that goes along with the graphic.

4. Be Sincere + Grateful

When writing a farewell message, you want to leave a positive impression of yourself on those you’ve worked with. Maybe you were on a team for a few months or a few years.

Regardless of the length, good etiquette and grace when transitioning into a new opportunity will always work in your favor. Be grateful for what you learned in the role and share that with others. Even if it wasn’t the most positive experience for you, there’s no need to leave others with a sour taste.

With this said, this is not the time to fluff up your sentiments and act as if it was the greatest job ever if it wasn’t. You can be polite, gracious, and professional without lying and being overly bubbly about a role or company that wasn’t a good fit.

Riggins goes on to say, “When sending your ‘Goodbye’ email, consider it your greatest love letter. Share a favorite story or uplift and advocate for others by sharing your appreciation for their camaraderie. Even if your experience was less than stellar, take the high road and help acknowledge that you see them and you appreciate them for supporting you.”

5. If You Want to Keep in Touch, Include Your Personal Email Address and LinkedIn Profile

Depending on the internal firewall parameters, external emails can sometimes get sent into the junk folder, so it’s best to send the email from your internal work account with your personal contact information in the body of an email.

“Always make sure to provide your contact email or LinkedIn profile, because you never know who you'll work with or for again! Your next job is always tied to your network. It only takes that one perfect moment for a former colleague to see a LinkedIn post about what you're working on and connect the dots that they loved working with you and you'd be perfect for that open role on their new team,” suggests Riggins.

What Not to Do in Your Farewell Email

We know it's tempting to go off in your emails.

1. Don't Trash Talk Your Company

Your farewell email is there to share information and tie up any loose ends, not to trash-talk your current employer. Regardless of how you feel, avoid saying anything negative about your company in a goodbye email.

To reiterate, there is no need to be overly positive; however, it’s possible to write a professional email that has a neutral tone. A neutral, professional email won't rock the boat, increase tension, or burn any bridges.

Sending a negative email could not only burn bridges in the future but could create a hostile environment for you to work in prior to your departure.

If you do have criticism or suggestions on how to improve the workplace, save that for your exit interview where you can share constructive feedback to HR and provide insight on how they might improve the workplace for future employees.

2. Don't Make Promises You Won't Be Able to Keep

We’ve all run into friends or colleagues and shared sentiments that “we should get together sometime!” with the full understanding that the get-together will likely not happen. Instead of overpromising, share positive sentiments without making promises you know you won’t be able to uphold.

If you truly want to be a resource for others, offer mentorship, or if you would like to help them in some capacity, share this, but if you don’t want them to reach out, don’t offer that as an option.

3. Don't Give Too Many Details About Your Next Move

While you’re welcome to share the details privately with those you have trusted relationships with both on and offline at work, your goodbye email isn’t the place to get into the gritty details about your new job.

If you’re within a company that is supportive of your career growth, you can share where you’ll be heading next, but keep in mind that you do not owe anyone information. Don't share details that you’re not comfortable sharing.

Something akin to “I’ll be moving on to a new opportunity in the coming weeks…” is all you need to share. Be mindful about what YOU feel comfortable sharing based on your individual situation and support system at your current company.

4. Don't Offer Unsolicited Advice

If a coworker asks about how to handle a specific account or what strategies you initiated for a project, feel free to share your advice. However, if no one has asked for it, your goodbye email is not the place to offer this insight to others.

This is particularly pertinent if someone is looking to grow professionally and wants to develop their own strategy within the role. Giving unsolicited advice is considered “disrespectful and presumptive to insert your opinions and ideas when they may not be wanted. Unsolicited advice can even communicate an air of superiority; it assumes the advice-giver knows what’s right or best."

None of this will help to leave a positive impression when writing a farewell email to your coworkers.

BONUS: How to Share the News of Your Departure on LinkedIn

In addition to sending out internal emails to your colleagues, creating a LinkedIn post about your departure is a great way to connect with your network and share the news about your new opportunity.

If you love your current company and coworkers, highlighting this in a LinkedIn post may be a great way to acknowledge their role in creating a positive work experience, and may also shed light on the positive work culture for any of your connections considering opportunities at your current/former company.

If you are leaving a role to take a career break, LinkedIn now has an awesome feature that lets you highlight this. If you truly did just leave a role to take a break and focus on personal endeavors, discuss this on the platform. On the flip side, you can also openly discuss taking a new opportunity to further build your career.

Similar to how you would address this in a goodbye email, be sincere, grateful for the experience, and do not trash talk your company in a LinkedIn post. If you were not happy in the role you're leaving, focus on the positives of starting a new role and leave out the negative vibes.

You can say something along the lines of the fact that your previous role was a learning experience that you’re looking forward to taking with you on this new opportunity.

Templates for a Goodbye Email

When the time has come to say goodbye, you're probably going to send your work BFF a different email than your boss. Here are templates for goodbye emails for different types of colleagues.

Use these emails to show gratitude, offer assistance, and to simply say goodbye.

To Your Work BFF

This message is for that one person (or a couple of close friends) with whom you have a strong bond.

They might already be aware that you’ve been exploring other options, (realistically, you’ve probably discussed this offline); however, it’s best to send an email to clearly relay that you will be starting a new job.

You can save the gossip and celebration for that post-last day fishbowl margarita!

Hi [X],

As we have discussed, I’ll be leaving my current role here at [Company] as of [Date].

I’m excited about this new opportunity but will truly miss your encouragement, positive attitude, and collaboration on a daily basis. Your jokes and spirited impressions made me look forward to coming to work, and I will cherish those memories as I move forward.

My time at [Company] may be coming to a close, but I would love to continue to stay in touch. Let’s meet up for a drink or a coffee in the coming weeks!

It’s been a wild ride, and there’s no one else I’d rather have in the workspace next to me day after day!

All the best,

[Name]

[Email]

[Phone Number]

To Your Boss Or Manager Who You Love

Good management is hard to find, so if you love your manager and appreciate their leadership style, don’t be afraid to share that here. Chances are that your positive feedback and sentiments will make a big impact on them!

Everyone likes to learn that they’ve made a positive impact on someone else, so take this as an opportunity to make your manager’s day. They may be sad to lose you as an employee, but a truly great manager will be happy to see you succeed, regardless of where that is.

Hi [X],

This is not an easy email for me to compose. However, I wanted to reach out and let you know that I have accepted another offer and will be starting a new opportunity in the coming weeks. Please accept this as written notice that my last day at [Company] will be [Date].

I have truly enjoyed your mentorship and working as part of your collaborative team. This experience has taught me so much about [Scope of work], and I am excited to take this with me going forward in my career. [Job] has been such a valuable step in my career path, and that is largely due to your empathetic leadership, guidance, and training. [Insert anecdote about something you learned.]

Our time together at [Company] may be ending, but please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly at [Email] to keep in touch.

Thank you for all that you’ve helped me with! Wishing you all the best!

[Name]

To Your Boss or Manager Who You Don't Love

As discussed up above, there’s no need to be overly positive or share sentiments that are not true. However, it is still possible to send a positive message to someone you don’t love. Remember, if nothing else, the experience can be thought of as a learning experience to educate you on what you actually want in your career so you know what to look out for going forward.

[Hi X],

I wanted to let you know that I have accepted another opportunity and will be leaving my position at [Company] as of [Date].

Working at [Company] has taught me a lot about [Scope of work], much of which I will take with me into my next role, and I am grateful for this experience.

The [Department] team has been very understanding, and I will continue to clearly communicate closing tasks in order to tie up loose ends prior to my departure. Thank you for providing me with such valuable experience at [Company].

Wishing you all the best in your endeavors!

Thanks again,

[Name]

To the New Colleague or Your Replacement

Ok, remember how we said no unsolicited advice?

[Hi X].

As we discussed, I’ll be leaving my position at [Job Title] at [Company] as of [Date]. We were able to connect in person, but I wanted to recap our discussion in an email as well.

You’ve been such a pleasure to work with thus far, and I’m excited to see how you put your own spin on this new role. It can be a bit of a doozy at times, but I know that you will excel and flourish with this opportunity.

I may not be at [Company] moving forward; however, I’m always happy to be a resource for you! I’ve provided my personal contact information below if you’d ever like advice, a recommendation, or just want to catch up.

You’re going to do great, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for you!

All the best,

[Name]

[Email Address]

[LinkedIn Profile Link]

To Everyone Else (Co-Workers and All)

A general goodbye, this one is great for a more generic option for any other people you might need to tell about your departure.

Hi [X],

As you may have heard through the grapevine, I’ll be leaving my position as [Job Title] at [Company] as of [Date].

I wanted to reach out and thank you for helping to make my experience at [Company] such a positive one. As a whole, the [Company] community has been collaborative, spirited, and joyful, all of which I have truly appreciated when coming into work each day.

I may not be here at the office anymore, but would love to keep in touch. Please feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn so we can keep in contact! I’ve included the link to my LinkedIn profile below.

Thank you for your support during this transition! Wishing you all the best going forward!

[Name]

[LinkedIn Profile Link]

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Michele Lando

Michele Lando is a certified professional resume writer, personal branding expert, and founder of Write Styles. Amidst the start of her career in recruiting, Michele noticed people struggling to articulate their value through an expertly crafted resume and professional appearance, which is how the idea for Write Styles was born. She has a passion for helping others present the best version of themselves both on paper and in person, and works to help individuals create a perfect personal branding package. As a certified professional resume writer, Michele provides each client with individualized attention to advise on content optimization, resume review, and overall industry insight. Michele works one-on-one with clients to craft effective application documents including resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles. Additionally, she conducts workshops and creates resources to assist with resume writing, LinkedIn optimization, and career development.