Farewell Letter is a written way to leave a polite and professional goodbye message to colleagues when leaving work (resignation), intra-team transfer or retirement. The common practice in the US is to share a short email or Slack/Teams message in the last week after two weeks’ notice has been given. The tone should be positive, thank-focused, “not burning bridges” and respectful of privacy/policy boundaries. Rights such as wages, PTO payment, and COBRA are not discussed in the Farewell Letter; these are addressed in the HR channel.
Table of Contents
How to Write a Farewell Letter
- Subject Line and Greeting: Make the subject line clear (Subject: Farewell and Thank You). Use the name in the address according to the US style (“Hi team,” / “Dear all,”). Main Message” veya “Letter Body:
- Gratitude and Key Contributions: 1–2 Briefly mention the success or learning.
- Transition note: Specify to whom you are transferring ongoing tasks or the handover document.
- Contact information: Share personal email and LinkedIn URL (not company address).
- Closing: A simple signature such as “Best,” “Warm regards.”
What to avoid: sharing internal strategy or private information, expressing personal resentments, or soliciting offers or job search conversations. Keep the style general; short and positive sentences such as ”I’m grateful …“, ”I’ve learned a lot from this team …” are preferred.
Farewell Letter Templates
Timing and Recipients
Send the farewell letter during your final week after you’ve given two weeks’ notice and aligned on the tone with your manager or HR. The first submission is for the ”core team“ (the team you work directly with); the broad ”all-hands/company-wide” announcement is made only with the approval of the administrator or HR. Don’t over-replicate recipients; CC your manager and the person who will take over the job, but only send a short external farewell note to external stakeholders (client, agency) if your role is face-to-face with the client. Also set up your Out-of-Office response and email forwarding instructions on the same day; share personal email + LinkedIn for contact, not company addresses. TypeCalendar’s package of 40+ farewell letter templates includes distinct subject lines and body copy for team only, organization-wide, and external scenarios.
Templates by Scenarios
Not all separations are the same. The types of templates that comply with US standards should include:
- Individual Farewell Letter (Employee): Voluntary departure, brief summary of achievements + contact information.
- Manager Farewell Letter (to Team/Stakeholders): Thank you to the team, person taking over and roadmap.
- Executive Farewell Announcement: Corporate tone, public announcement (beware of PR risks).
- Retirement Farewell Letter: Emphasis on long service, thank you to the community.
- Intern/Contractor Farewell Note: Project-based closing, reference and portfolio links.
- Remote/Hybrid Farewell Message (Slack/Teams): Short, link-containing text for asynchronous teams.
What’s Included in TypeCalendar
TypeCalendar offers 40+ free Farewell Letter Templates organized by US workplace practices. Each template is in US Letter size, DOCX / Google Docs / PDF format and prepared with American spelling and punctuation rules. The package includes email text, Slack/Teams short announcement, manager announcement and employee signed “acknowledgment” variants. Placeholders (name, title, department, last working day, handover link, personal email, LinkedIn) are clearly labeled. You can adjust sections easily with add/remove logic. Additionally, sample lines are provided for the “first/last day” dates, handover document and contact information.
Download now and create a professional farewell message in 10 minutes
Open the 40+ Farewell Letter Template collection in TypeCalendar; select the template that fits your scenario, fill in the last working day and handover details, add your personal contact and share via email or Slack/Teams. A short and positive Farewell Letter that fits the US business culture will leave your relationship strong, streamline the transition, and keep your network healthy. Download and edit today; say goodbye in a clear, respectful and professional manner.
