When leaving a job, you may want to write your coworkers, boss, or employees thank you and farewell messages. Or you can write a farewell goodbye message to a coworker or boss when they leave the company.
Writing a pleasant goodbye note may encourage others to remember you fondly. Saying thank you to coworkers is #8 on the list of 15 things to do before leaving a job. I’ve had to say thank you and goodbye to coworkers a few times, and I know it isn’t always easy.
At the office, the farewell message is usually sent via email when sending the same message to a group of people, such as a team or others that you had contact with.
When saying goodbye to one person, such as your boss, mentor, or close coworker, you may want to write a handwritten note instead of sending an email. Handwritten notes may feel more personal, and the person will likely keep them longer than an email.
Depending on how much interaction you want with your colleagues want before your last day helps you determine when to send your farewell message. You could send your email on your last day to limit interaction. Or, if you want your coworkers to have more notice and time to say goodbye, send it a few days or a week before your last day.
If you are retiring, read through the retirement thank you messages.
Most of the goodbye messages are example farewell messages written by the person leaving the job. However, a section below contains examples of what to write to the departing colleague.
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Writing Farewell Thank You Notes
You don’t have to thank or say goodbye to everyone on the list below with a farewell message. I listed others to whom you may also want to write a message that you may not have considered otherwise.
- Your team (could use a group email)
- Your co-workers that were not on your team (could use a group email)
- Your boss (individual note is best unless you don’t have anything special to say to the boss. And then you can include your boss in the group email)
- Your employees (individual if you have specific things to say to one person, use group for your entire team)
- Anyone else you had contact with that you feel like saying goodbye to or thanking before your last day
If you know of someone else that is leaving, you may want to send them a message. If they send you a farewell email, you could reply and write them a farewell message
What to include in your farewell thank you message
Below are some suggestions for what types of things to include in your farewell note. They are followed by sections of examples notes written to a boss, employee, and coworkers.
- Your last day date, in case anyone wants to say goodbye to you in person (if you work at the same location) or reply to your message.
- Where and what your next job is. People always wonder! But that’s entirely up to you. Don’t share about your next job if you are not comfortable doing so.
- If sending an email, the subject line could be:
- Farewell and best wishes
- My last day is [Date]
- Goodbye and contact info
- Thank you
- Message content which could include:
- I look forward to our paths crossing again in the future.
- I enjoyed working with you.
- Please stay in touch.
- It’s been an honor working with you.
- I wish you all the best with your future endeavors.
- Compliments of the team or to an individual.
- There are more examples in the notes below to inspire your farewell messages.
- The thank you message
- Usually, I recommend being specific when thanking someone. However, that is nearly impossible to do in a group email. So, your farewell note might feel generic, which is okay in this situation.
- Thank you for all of your help and support.
- Thank you for being great to work with.
- I am grateful to have worked with such a wonderful group of people.
- I appreciate the time you spent mentoring me and helping me to grow my skills
- Contact information, if you want to stay in contact with people! Maybe you don’t. Only provide contact information if you are genuinely okay with someone contacting you in the future. If you don’t want a bunch of Facebook friend invites from acquaintances, don’t include your Facebook info.
- Social media accounts like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
- Email address
- Phone number
- A link to your website/blog if you have one.
Farewell Message Format Template
Your note can look like the example that follows. For more information on the layout of a thank-you note, read how to write a thank you note.
Dear [Person’s Name],
Your Message (this is the middle section).
Second paragraph (optional).
Third paragraph (optional).
Closing (such as kind regards, thanks again, etc.),
Your Name
Note: words in [brackets] in the examples below, should be replaced appropriately for your note.
The format of the farewell examples messages will be the same, so only the middle section of the note is included in the examples below when the note has only 1 paragraph.
Thank You Email When Leaving Job Template
Note: This section of examples is for when you are sending one email to multiple people. Since it’s being sent to a group, you will not be thanking anyone for anything specific.
Some of the examples will feel generic and simple. These emails are more casual and could be used for sending a group email.
Farewell Email to Colleagues
Hello All,
I’ve enjoyed working with all of you. My last day is [Day of Week], [Date]. If you’d like to stay in touch, here are my contact details:
List only the contact details you want to provide, such as:
Facebook Link or LinkedIn profile
Phone number
personal email address
etc.
Also, feel free to send me your contact details.
Best Regards,
[Your Name]
Last day thank you farewell email
Dear Team,
I’ll be starting a new exciting opportunity next week [Only if you want to, say what your new job is] and will be leaving the company. My last day here is [Day of Week], [Date].
I will miss working with all of you. You’ve been a great group to work with the past few years. Thank you for all of the good times! This was a fun place to work and I have many good memories of our teamwork and team lunches.
If you’d like to stay in touch, my email address is [your email address]. [Any other contact information that you want to provide].
Best Regards,
[Your Name]
Thank you email when leaving job
Dear Team,
Thank you all for being so great to work with it! It’s been an honor working with such a dedicated, successful, and supportive group. I am going to miss you all.
If you haven’t heard yet, I’ve accepted a position at [Company Name]. My last day here is [Day of Week], [Date]. It’s been a pleasure working with you.
Please feel free to stop by my [desk/cube/office] this week to say goodbye and hear more about my new path.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Farewell Email to Team Group Email #4 – to only those on your current team
Dear Team,
You’ve been the best team I’ve ever worked with. Working to together on projects has been a delight. I will miss working with you. However, I’m am excited about my new opportunity with [Company Name].
My Facebook page is [link to your Facebook page], and my email address is [your email address].
Kind regards,
[Your Name]
Thank you email when leaving a job
Dear Team,
We’ve achieved a lot together as a team. It’s been an honor working with each of you. I have enjoyed the camaraderie and consider each of you a friend.
I am excited to move on to a new challenge at [Company Name]. If you want to know more about it, please let me know. Tomorrow is my last day.
Also, please respond if you’d like to stay in touch.
Kind regards,
[Your Name]
Farewell Message to Team
Dear Team,
As [Boss’s name] announced in the meeting yesterday, my last day is on [date]. I am leaving with a tinge of sadness as I’ve come to enjoy a friendship with each of you.
You’ve inspired me to keep learning as much as I can. Now, to keep growing, I feel that moving to a larger company will lead to more opportunities.
Thank you for being a fantastic team!
Let’s stay in touch.
Kind regards,
[Your Name]
Farewell and Goodbye Message to Team
Dear Team,
You’ve been a fantastic team for the past two years. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to work with each of you. My last day is on [date]. I am hoping we can squeeze in a team lunch before then.
Also, thank you for listening to all of my cat stories! I am very excited that my next position is at the Humane Society where I can spend plenty of time helping cats.
[Note: In your note, replace the sentence above with whatever you talked about a lot with your coworkers and where your next position is and why you are excited about it]
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Below are examples of personal notes written to 1 person only.
This could be done in a handwritten note or an email or even an instant message if your company uses Skype or Slack (or another messaging program).
Thank You Letter to Employee When Leaving Company
Here is an example of an appreciation letter from a boss to an employee leaving their job. If you do not want to keep in touch with the employee, leave out your personal contact information.
Hello [Person’s Name]
I have enjoyed having you on my team during the past few years. I am thankful for all of your contributions to our team. Your work on [project name] was outstanding and provided a great deal of value to the company.
Also, I appreciate your honesty whenever I asked for feedback on my performance. Not everyone was willing to share things with me.
As I start my new opportunity, know that I will miss working with you. Perhaps our paths will cross again in the future. Until then, please keep in touch! My personal email is [your email address] and my phone number is ###-###-####.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Thank You Messages to Employee When Leaving Company
Here are more example farewell messages that a boss could include in a thank you letter to an employee that is leaving the company.
2. Thank you for being a dependable employee. You will be missed. You were terrific and supportive with training the new hires. It’s going to be hard to replace you.
3. I wish you all the best at your new position. Thank you for everything you did while on my team. Your work on [project name] was top notch. You’ll be remembered as one of the good ones!
4. I am sad to see you go! But I am happy for you at the same time. The new position may be precisely what you are looking for. Thank you for always being willing to help out with whatever was needed without complaining.
5. You’ve been an incredible support to the team and me. Thank you for all of your process improvements. Your legacy will live on here with all the macros and other tools you developed to make everyone’s jobs easier. I wish you all the success in your next position.
6. Thank you for your hard work and dedication while you were on my team. [Client name] expressed many times how much they liked having you on their project. They are going to miss you too! Here is my personal email address if you’d like to stay in touch: [your email address].
7. You will be missed! I do hope your new job provides you with what you were looking for as a next career step. Thank you for being awesome.
Thank You Note To Boss When Leaving Job
This section is for when you are leaving your job and want to write your boss a farewell thank you message after your resignation.
Hello [Boss’s Name],
Thank you for being the best boss I’ve had so far in my career. You’re a wonderful listener, and I felt valued as a team member.
The team events over the years have helped with team bonding. Some people will say they are a waste of time, but they were not to me.
If you want to stay in my personal email is [your email address].
All the best,
[Your Name]
Thank You To Boss When Leaving
Here’s another example of a thank you goodbye note to your boss when you are leaving the company.
[Boss’s name],
Thank you for all the advice you have given me. I appreciate the recommendation you gave to [new company name] on my behalf. I believe it helped me to get the job. I am looking forward to trying out [new career field].
Please stay in touch.
Thanks again,
[Your Name]
Farewell Thank You Letter To Boss
[Boss’s name],
Thank you for sharing your wisdom with me while I worked on your team. Under your supervision, I learned there are often many ways to solve problems. I will remember that advice as I move into my new role at [Company Name].
I would like to stay in touch. What is your personal email address? Mine is [your email address].
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
Thank You Messages to Boss When Leaving
Here are a few more thank you messages you could use in a thank you email or note to your boss as you are leaving your job.
4. You’ve been a great manager. I will miss working with you and the team. Perhaps our paths will cross again in the future.
5. It’s been an honor working with you. I will treasure all of the advice you passed on about [job topic]. Whoever you hire to replace me, will be fortunate to learn from you.
6. You were my favorite team lead ever! I will miss chatting with you. Thank you for giving me opportunities to learn and improve my skills in [topic/program]. It’s because of you that I was able to accept the manager position at [new company name]. I appreciate all your support in my personal development.
7. Thank you for being a wonderful boss. Your integrity made your team great to be on. I felt inspired to give my best every day. If you want to stay in touch, my email is [your email address]
Thank You Messages To Coworker Leaving job
When your coworker leaves the job, here are some thank you farewell messages that will help you write a note to them. You can congratulate them and provide your contact information, if desired.
These messages are for your departing coworker. Remember to use them as inspiration and write your goodbye message in your own words.
Note: it can be easy to say Good Luck. There are 100+ ways to say good luck here.
These messages can be sent as a reply to a farewell message. Or if you didn’t receive a farewell note, you can still send the person that is leaving an email, if you desire.
1. I have enjoyed working with you! Congratulations and good luck with your new position. We made some great memories while sitting near each other. My work life isn’t going to be the same without you. You will be missed.
2. Thank you for all you taught me about [subject they taught you about]. My knowledge and skills improved because of the time you spent mentoring me. I wish you all the best on your new adventure!
3. Wow! I am excited for you and your promotion. We had some fun times working together. Good luck with the new role. I’m happy that you found a new place to work to advance in your career goals.
4. You’ll do great at your new position! Thank you for being a great friend while we worked together. The workplace isn’t going to be the same without you.
5. Thank you for everything that you taught me! Its been a pleasure working with you, and I wish you all the best in your new position. I have many fond memories from our time together on the [training/topic] team.
6. I am excited for you and your new position. I hope it works out well for you. Thank you for being an excellent teammate while we worked together. I will always remember your kindness when I was the new coworker.
7. I am going to miss working with you! I was surprised to hear about departure. I appreciate all you taught me about [topic]. You were a great mentor and wonderful colleague. I believe that you have a bright future ahead of you.
Related: How To Be a Good Coworker: 10 Do’s and 8 Don’ts From an Expert
Thank You Message to Coworkers When Leaving a Job
This section of example messages is for when you are leaving a job, and you want to thank a coworker or colleague with a farewell appreciation message.
1. You were one of my favorite people to work it. I’m so glad we were assigned to the same team. Thank you for being so fun to work with it. I liked discussing programming problems with you and coming up with solutions.
2. Sitting next to you for the past few years has been delightful. I will miss hearing your stories and working on projects with you. You are very good at the position. If you ever decide you want to join me at [company name of new position], I will gladly recommend you. Of course, I better make sure I like working there first! I’ll let you know in a few weeks how things are going.
3. Thank you for all of your support while we worked together. I appreciate all the time you spent mentoring me when I was new. I feel like I learned more from you than anyone else. Your knowledge about [topic] surpasses most others. I’d love to stay in touch. Here is my contact information [and then provide your contact information].
4. I’m so glad we connected that day in the cafeteria when you saw my cat shirt. I love talking about cats with you. You may have heard already, but my last day is [Date]. I accepted a new position at [company name]. Would you like to meet for lunch in a few weeks? I should be settled in by then.
5. I will miss working with you! My last day is on Friday. Thank you for all of your help and support during the past year. I hope our friendship will continue once I start the new position. My contact information is: [list your contact info]. Thank you!
6. Thank you for being a reliable source of information about [topic]. As you may know, you became my trusted source during the past year. I appreciate that you were always up to date with the latest information. I am going to miss your expertise. Let’s stay in touch as friends! My email address is [your email address].
7. I loved working with you. Please know that I will miss you and look forward to meeting for lunch soon. Thank you for being a great friend and coworker!
I hope the examples above helped you to write your perfect farewell message as you say goodbye! If you need more tips and examples, check out this post by UpJourney.
More From Tons of Thanks
Heidi has been writing thank you notes for more than 30 years and is the author of A Modern Guide to Writing Thank-You Notes. Her goal is to help people write better thank-you notes by providing tips and examples.