How To Write A Business Farewell

A business farewell needs to be professional. It does not necessarily require a formal tone or style, but you need to remember that interoffice memos and emails have a way of getting around. Make sure that your final impression is a good one by adhering to the following guidelines:

1. Stay Positive: Even if you had a horrible job and you were treated badly by the boss, badmouthing people is not going to gain you any friends. In some cases it could get you into legal trouble. Anything you put in writing can be used against you, so if you have nothing nice to say, just be generic. "I'm grateful for the opportunities I had here" works well if you enjoyed the work. Otherwise just focus on how positive your future is: "I look forward to starting a new project."
2. Reach Out: Even if you have a great new job lined up, it's good to stay connected with people who are in your field. You never know when you might need someone looking out for you in the job world. Ask to keep in touch with people, and follow up on it.
3. Use Humor-Lightly: Humor is a great way to defuse the awkwardness of a coworker's departure-especially if it's due to layoffs or a firing. Make sure that the humor is not at the expense of others, though, or you run the risk of violating Rule #1. Poking fun at yourself or your situation can be funny, as long as it doesn't feel self-pitying. You can say things like, "I suppose this is a sign from the universe for me to finally take up underwater basket weaving. I can't believe my mom always said that wasn't a real career."
4. Be Brief and Professional: Odds are, a lot of your coworkers don't know you well, or even personally. Try to avoid inside jokes, emotional tangents and long-winded descriptions of your future endeavors. Save those for individual letters or emails to those who really matter to you. Keep the mass email or memo brief and to the point.