2-Week Notice Resignation Letter (Copy and Paste)

Biron Clark is a former executive recruiter who has worked individually with hundreds of job seekers, reviewed thousands of resumes and LinkedIn profiles, and recruited for top venture-backed startups and Fortune 500 companies. He has been advising job seekers since 2012 to think differently in their job search and land high-paying, competitive positions. Follow on Twitter and LinkedIn

In this article, I’m going to give you a sample two-weeks’ notice resignation letter to copy and paste when you quit your job.

This letter provides two-weeks’ notice and offers to assist in a smooth transition of your workload, which your employer will appreciate.

Make sure you read until the end because I’ll also include the exact header info to put BEFORE your two-weeks’ notice.

I’ll also discuss whether to submit this letter and give your notice in person vs. via email.

2-Week Notice Resignation Letter Template:

Dear ,

I’m writing to submit my two-weeks’ notice to resign from the position of at .

I would like to submit my notice effective immediately, making my last day .

Thank you for the opportunity given to me by and for the chance to learn and grow here. I appreciate the support I’ve been given.

Please let me know if I can do anything to help facilitate a smooth transition before my final day.

Thank you,

Key Pieces to Include in Your Resignation Letter

If you decide to change and adjust the two-weeks’ notice template above, or write your own letter, simply make sure to include the following key components:

A sentence stating your intent to resign from your position
The fact that you’re giving two-weeks’ notice, and when your intended final day will be
A sentence thanking the employer for the opportunity to work in your current job
An offer to assist in a transition period to ensure a smooth handoff of work and leave on a positive note

As an optional step, you can mention your reason for giving notice, such as receiving a career-advancing job offer from another company.

However, this isn’t necessary, and plenty of job seekers hand in resignation letters with no mention of their exact reason for leaving.

Also, don’t say anything negative in your formal letter of resignation.

The company will keep this letter on record forever, and it’s simply not worth venting or stating any negative circumstances that caused you to leave.

You’re resigning and moving on to something better. Any challenges you are leaving behind are not your problem anymore!

Plus, most companies will ask you to attend an exit interview where you can provide more feedback. Don’t complain or badmouth whatsoever in your letter of resignation.

If you want to know every expected step during and after handing in your notice letter, read this article.

Header Info

When using the sample resignation letter above, you should also begin the page with the following header info:

Your name, address, and contact details
Today’s date (or more practically speaking, the date on which you plan to print and hand the letter to your manager)
The name and title of your manager, and the company name/address.

I’ll include a customizable header template below so that you can include the right header info above your two-weeks’ notice letter.

Header to Copy:

Your Name
Street Address
City, State, Zip Code
Your Phone Number
Your Email

The Date You Plan to Hand in the Letter

Your Direct Manager’s Name
Manager’s Job Title
Name of Company
Company Address
City, State, Zip Code

Begin your document with the above contact details before you copy and paste the two-weeks’ notice template from earlier in the article. You need to begin the page with this basic header info, then finish with the letter itself.

Should You Submit Your Two-Weeks’ Notice by Letter or Email?

You should type and print your two-weeks’ notice and hand the letter to your boss in person. Passing your two-weeks’ notice to your manager by hand will be seen as more professional and more personal (which is important if you feel you have a good relationship with your boss and want to stay in contact after you resign).

Schedule a separate meeting to do this, rather than mentioning your two-weeks’ notice at the end of another meeting. I discuss why in my full guide to how to resign from a job.

The bottom line is: This is an important event that deserves its own meeting, and you don’t want your manager to be thinking about other topics when you bring this up.

In terms of a written letter vs. email, it’s better to give a printed resignation letter for similar reasons. This is an important event and you want the company to have physical evidence of your resignation.

Plus, it’s simply considered customary in most industries.

However, if you’re a remote worker and do not regularly come to the office, you can use the two-weeks’ notice letter template above and then send it via email instead.

In this case, simply write a subject line like: “Two-weeks’ notice”.

Warning: Your Company May Decline Your Two-Weeks’ Notice Period

When you hand in your notice letter, there’s no guarantee that the employer will grant you those two weeks of work.

I once resigned from a job and was walked out immediately.

This can occur due to company policy, the nature of your role (for example if you work with sensitive customer information), or other reasons.

And I wasn’t paid for my remaining days, either. The company wasn’t obligated to accept my notice or pay me for that time if they didn’t want to.

So while I recommend giving two-weeks’ notice, you should be prepared for the small chance that an employer will simply say, “We accept your resignation effective immediately. Today will be your last day.”

Prepare for this mentally/emotionally, but also financially.

If you can’t risk this financially, then consider giving one week of notice to reduce your risk.

Keep the above risks in mind before handing in your resignation notice.

Don’t Add Unnecessary Info to Your Letter

One more benefit to using the resignation letter sample I gave you earlier: It prevents you from going into too much detail.

Be careful not to use any templates that are too long and detailed.

You should not be sharing everything on your mind or mentioning every small detail that contributed to your decision to quit.

The letter should be short and to the point, with only the necessary pieces.

And the two-weeks’ notice template above is designed to do this for you.

Conclusion: Writing the Perfect Two-Weeks’ Notice Letter

Save time when giving your formal resignation by copying and pasting the letter template above.

Or, write your own resignation notice letter using the steps and key components that I gave you.

Avoid two-weeks’ notice templates that are overly complicated or long. Less is more when handing in your resignation! Cover the basics, remain professional, and you’ll have a smooth and stress-free resignation.

Biron Clark

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