The Resignation Guide includes suggestions on how to resign from your job gracefully and professionally. It guides you through how to communicate your intentions, what to say, and perhaps more importantly, what not to say when you are resigning. In addition, it'll help you understand what your current employer might do to retain you and what factors to consider when presented with a counter-offer. We hope this can be a useful resource when you are taking your career to the next level.

1. The
Resignation
Guide

2. Intention
to Resign

3. Once you have spoken with your boss, promptly submit a
resignation letter stating the specific resignation date to prevent
unnecessary misunderstanding and attempt to make you stay. The
resignation letter should be given to your boss immediately after
the conversation. Even if you and your boss can't agree on a
specific resignation date right away, it's a good idea to specify a
date, such as one month from now, as specified in your work rules.
If you are changing jobs, it should ideally be the day before you
start working for the next company. When choosing a date, it is
important to choose a date that will not cause you any trouble if it
is accepted. It is necessary to show that you are firm with your
decision by submitting a resignation letter immediately after you
have verbally resigned. It is also a good way to clear your mind if
you are feeling unsettled about your boss or colleagues. The reason
why you need to submit a resignation letter is to let them know
that you are serious about quitting.
The basic rule is to verbally
express your intention to resign
to your immediate superior
before anyone else in the
workplace. When you resign
from your job, it’s important to
do so as gracefully and
professionally as possible. There
is a possibility that your current
boss may become your customer,
business partner, or boss at
another company in the future.
Surprising your boss by handing
him/her a resignation letter all
of a sudden may not be the best
approach. Instead, speak to your
boss first.

4. January XX, 20XX
Dear XXXXX
Please accept this letter as my formal notice of resignation
from XXXXX Company, effective January XX, 20XX.
（Optional）This was not an easy decision and took a lot of
consideration. However, I have decided that it is time to move
on based on the needs of my family and for my own
professional growth.
I wish both you and XXXXX Company every good fortune and I
would like to thank you for having me as part of the team.
Kind regards,
XXXXX （Name, Signature）
退
職
願
私
事
こ
の
た
び
一
身
上
の
都
合
に
よ
り
来
る
令
和
○
年
○
月
○
日
を
も
て
退
職
い
た
し
た
く
こ
こ
に
お
願
い
申
し
上
げ
ま
す
令
和
○
年
○
月
○
日
○
○
○
○
印
○
○
株
式
会
社
代
表
取
締
役
社
長
○
○
○
○
様
The contents of a resignation letter should be short and simple. You do not need to write the reason why you
are resigning or what you will do after resigning.

5. Why
Are You
Leaving?

6. Your boss will probably ask you, "What are you going to do next?”, “Who are you going to
work for?” or “How much are they paying you?” However, you don't need to tell your
current company the name of your next company, the position, or the salary you are being
offered.
Some people, instead of saying, "I'm changing jobs," say things like, "I'm going to help my
family's business" or "I'm going to get a qualification in XXXXX for the future," but lying
is not recommended. If your boss insists, say, "Actually, I'm replacing someone’s position
at a certain company, and this person hasn't been told about this yet. So, I can't disclose
right now, but I'll let you know once I'm settled.”

7. (1) Push Factor --- dissatisfaction, anxiety or problems you are having with the current situation, resulting in a
desire to leave the company.
(2) Pull Factor --- feeling that the next step is more attractive to you, resulting in a desire to join the next
company.
It is also important to think about what to say and what not to say on why you decided to resign. Only YOU know the
real reason for resigning or changing jobs, and you don't need to tell this to anyone. The real reason can be either or
both of the following:
The important thing here is to emphasize (2) without mentioning (1). Start with your future goals and aspirations,
and clearly state that you have already made up your mind to resign and change jobs. If you give the impression of
being indecisive, you are more likely to be deterred. The one thing you definitely want to avoid is mentioning your
dissatisfaction with your current workplace, such as salary, treatment, or human relations, as the reason for
resigning. This is not only rude as a matter of etiquette, but if the company offers to improve your dissatisfaction,
you will have no reason to leave and may be persuaded to continue working.
Even if you are unhappy with the current company situation or your boss/colleagues, express your gratitude for
having had the opportunity to work with them. Giving negative comments about anyone will not make you look good.
If you give any negative comments about others, people will remember, and you will not be able to take them back in
the future.

8. Retention
Strategies

9. If you express your intention to resign, even verbally, your relationship with the company will become like
that of a married couple who once said, "Let's break up.”
You were approached by a recruiter and have received an offer from another company because you are
talented and have a unique/valuable skill set. We understand your current employer will try very hard to
retain you because you are a hard act to follow. Additionally, in some cases, the timing of the resignation
falls during the busy season or the peak of the workload, or it is sudden, and there is no succession plan or
successor available.
Your immediate supervisor will be told by the supervisor one level up, "Excellent employees are quitting
because you're not doing enough to take care of them! Do something about it!” Your immediate supervisor will
do everything to retain you to protect their reputation. Even if your immediate supervisor doesn’t really mind
you leaving, they want to able to tell their supervisor one level up, "I did my best, but this employee was
adamant about resigning and I couldn't change his/her mind.” Your immediate supervisor is also feeling, "If you
quit now, my workload will increase, so I want you to stay as long as possible, even if it's just for a day, while
your successor is being decided.”
The situation is similar to a couple who once said, "Let's break up," and then later said, "Let's stay together
until the kids are out of school.”

10. Psychological tactics such as praising you and giving you a feeling of guilt.
Temporary special treatment. "I talked to the president, and he'd love to have dinner with you soon.”
A raise or promotion in the middle of the year (or a promise to give you a raise or promotion at the end of the year)
A transfer or relocation in line with your desired career path.
“I haven't told you, but we're actually going to be making some organizational changes soon, and I'm going to need you to do
XXXXX."
At some companies, interviews are set up with the president, senior executives, or human resources manager, whom you rarely
see, as a cheering group for your immediate supervisor. The message is, "You're making a big mistake by leaving now!” They will
attack you from various angles with this message. If your company says, "Okay, we understand, you can leave right away,”
your next employer would wonder if it was the right decision to extend you an offer. The more important you are to the
current company, the more persistent the efforts to retain you.
Retention tactics include the following:
Also, counter-offers include the following:
If you want to accept a counter-offer, you need to ask for a written memo/contract, not a verbal promise. Verbal promises
can be forgotten if a change in management takes place in the near future. Retention tactics and counter-offers may be
attractive and an easier option than changing jobs. However, the offers may not adequately address underlying concerns
resulting in long term retention. In one U.S. study, more than 80 percent of employees who received a counter-offer resigned
for personal or company reasons within six months, and more than 90 percent resigned within 18 months.

11. Counter-offer

12. Even if you accept the counter-offer, won't the reason why you decided to leave in the first place
(dissatisfaction or anxiety with your boss, colleagues, policies, systems, plans, etc.) continue to exist
in the company? Would the problem be solved by you receiving a raise, promotion, transfer, etc.?
If you accept the counter-offer, are you in danger of being labeled as "a disloyal employee, but money
will keep you around for the time being"?
Why has your value increased between yesterday and today? Could it be that you have not been
properly evaluated based on your work performance until now?
Isn't a counter-offer just a delayed message about your past contributions?
Try to remember and sort out the reasons why you thought about resigning or changing jobs.
Is the company buying time until they can find a replacement for you?
When you express your intention to resign and are presented with a counter-offer, you should consider
its implications from various angles carefully before making a decision.
(1) Push Factor --- dissatisfaction, anxiety or problems you are having with the current situation,
resulting in a desire to leave the company.
(2) Pull Factor --- feeling that the next step is more attractive to you, resulting in a desire to join
the next company.

13. Presented by
Kazuhiko Mori
Senior Director
Makana Partners K.K.
+81 80 1147 1133
km@makanapartners.com
CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY | PUBLISHED MAY 27, 2021
Any use of this material without specific permission of Makana Partners is strictly prohibited