How to Quit a Job over Text — with Full Examples & Samples

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Look, if you can avoid quitting a job in a text message, you should.

No matter how frustrated you feel or how informal your job is, it is still better to resign in person, over the phone, or in a formal letter or email. 

That said, sometimes a resignation text is the only way forward.

Just make sure you follow up your text message with a formal email or letter, as required by your employment contract. 

Maybe you have a terrible relationship with your boss and just can’t handle quitting face-to-face for fear you’ll say something you regret.

Or maybe you don’t have access to a computer and need to get your resignation out of the way immediately. 

Whatever the case, if a text seems the best way forward, then the least you can do is make sure it is a well-written, clear, and polite text that portrays you in the best possible light. 

Follow these 13 steps to craft the perfect resignation text and have a look at the sample messages that follow.

 

13 steps for how to quit a job over text 

1. Greet your boss politely
2. Say you hope your text finds them well
3. Clarify who you are
4. Express gratitude for your time working at the company
5. Say you learned a lot
6. Explain that, unfortunately, you are resigning
7. Give your reasons
8. Express that you hope your employer finds a suitable replacement
9. Apologize for any inconvenience caused by your resignation
10. Say that you can be contacted with any further questions
11. Wish your employer all the best
12. Sign off appropriately
13. Sign your full name

 

How to quit a job over text

If you hope to be re-hired by a company, it is best not to burn your bridges by quitting over text.

Instead, take the time to write out a resignation email.

Or even better, email your boss to ask if you can have a few moments of their time sometime in the next few days—then, quit in person. 

However, if you know that you won’t be returning to work for your current employer, you can quit over text without too much guilt or worry.

Just make sure you present yourself in the best possible light and phrase your text message as politely as you can.

And don’t forget to send a formal two weeks’ or one month’s notice in the days after you send your text.

Here are 13 steps to follow if you are going to quit over text.

 

1. Greet your boss politely

Even if you don’t like the person you work for and have a tense relationship with them, there is no need to be rude in your final communication. 

A simple, “Dear Mr. Rogers,” will do. Or, if you are on more informal terms, you can call them by their first name and begin your text with “Hi David.”

 

2.Say you hope your text finds them well

This standard way of beginning any kind of professional communication adds a friendly touch to any message, whether it is an email, a text, or a letter. 

It lets the person you’re writing to know that you don’t harbor any ill will toward them, which will encourage them to read your message with an open mind. 

If you aren’t sure you want to use this phrase, you could also choose another way to say, “I hope this finds you well.”

The key thing is that you are expressing your good will toward the person you are writing to.

 

3. Clarify who you are 

If you work at a big company, or just aren’t sure whether your boss will have your number saved in their phone, clarify who you are at the beginning of your text message.

For example, you could say, “This is Gerald Fitz from accounting,” or, “Moira here from the front office.” 

Stating your name clearly will leave your boss in no doubt about who they’re communicating with.

This will help avoid any potential confusion about which of their employees is leaving the company. 

 

4. Express gratitude for your time working at the company

If you genuinely enjoyed your time in the workplace you’re leaving, you could include a personalized message about what makes the company special.

For example, you could say, “I really enjoyed working at Viscose and Virtue.

The company culture is fantastic, and I always enjoyed going into work.” 

If, on the other hand, you either didn’t have strong feelings about the job or really didn’t like being in the office, you can just add a generic, “it has been a pleasure working with you these past six months.” 

 

5. Say you learned a lot

This is an optional step for writing a resignation text, which you only need to include if you genuinely mean it. 

However, if your experience at the job you’re leaving was genuinely a good one and will leave you with great memories (as well as a new job to add to your resume), then telling your employer you learned a lot is a nice touch. 

 

6. Explain that, unfortunately, you are resigning

Now for the hard part. Express as concisely as you can that you are handing in your two weeks’ notice, or that you are leaving, effective immediately.

Writing a voluntary resignation is tricky because it raises questions about why you are choosing to leave your place of employment. 

While you don’t have to give a full account of your reasons if you aren’t comfortable doing so, the next step on this list encourages you to give at least a partial account of why are choosing to move on. 

 

7. Give your reasons

Whether you are leaving your job because you have already responded to an acceptance email from another employer or because you simply weren’t happy at the company, you should include a short sentence in your resignation text about your motivation for quitting.

 

8. Express that you hope your employer finds suitable replacement

Be considerate and acknowledge the fact that you are adding quite a few items to your boss’s to do list—think advertising your former position, responding to a whole slew of emails that begin, “I came across your job posting,” and ultimately hiring and training a new employee.

By adding the simple sentence, “Best of luck finding a suitable replacement” to your resignation text, you’re showing that you aren’t quitting from a place of anger, and that you want things to go well for your former employer. 

 

9. Apologize for any inconvenience caused by your resignation

Because your employer will now have to hire someone to replace you, train them up, and then get them up to speed on all the projects you were working on before you left, you are causing them an inconvenience by quitting. 

And let’s be honest, it probably won’t help their mood that you are quitting in a text message. 

For this reason, saying “I apologize for the inconvenience” or an alternative will make you appear more favorably in your former employer’s eyes. 

 

10. Say that you can be contacted with any further questions

If you are happy to continue to lend a hand after leaving, or if you want to leave the door open for your employer to contact you to follow up on why you are choosing to leave the company, say, “Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.” 

 

11. Wish your employer all the best

If you are personally close to your boss, you can wish them all the best personally.

If you don’t know them that well, you can wish success for the company.  

You could say, “David, I wish you every personal and professional success.” Or, if you prefer, you could say, “I wish Enterprise Solutions continued success.” 

You could also use one of the other ways to say “success” if this word feels too loaded for you. 

 

12. Sign off appropriately

Even though you are sending your employer a text message, because your reasons for sending it are professional, you should use a formal sign-off. 

The best would be, “Kind regards,” or “Best wishes.” If you are on informal terms with your boss, it would be acceptable to write, “Best,” or “Cheers.” 

That said, since your text will probably need to pass through more channels than just your boss, it is best to keep the language to business English. 

 

13. Sign your full name

To avoid any confusion about which employee is ending their stint at the company you work for, and since your text might need to be used as legal evidence of your resignation, sign your full name at the end. 

 

How to quit a part-time job over text

Part-time jobs are an interesting concept.

You’ll almost never feel as tied down by a part time gig as you will when you are in full-time employment, and you probably won’t have the same level of responsibility as when you’re in a career profession. 

Whether you’re quitting a summer job or just a year-round gig that puts a few extra bucks in your pocket every month, you probably don’t need to be as formal in your resignation text as you might if you were quitting a high-salaried professional job.

That said, the fact that you’re sending a text in the first place already makes your resignation pretty informal, so it’s still best to keep your language as professional as possible. 

Here is a sample text you could send to quit a part-time job. 

 

How to quit a job you just started in a text message

If you’re writing a resignation for a job you just started, it either means your circumstances have changed unexpectedly or that you are having a lousy experience at work. 

Whatever your reason, your employer may be a little put out by the fact that you’re leaving them in the lurch so soon after they hired you.

After all, they will have to go through the whole recruitment process all over again! 

That said, if you know you have to leave your job—for whatever reason—you can’t let the fact that it will inconvenience your employer make you stay in a situation that isn’t good for you. 

Here is a sample text you could use to quit a job you just started. 

 

How to quit a job you hate in a text message

If you hate your job, you can write a resignation that expresses disappointment about the position you’re quitting. 

There’s no point in holding too much back when you quit via text—especially if you know you never want to work in the place you’re leaving again. 

That said, do try to resist the urge to add any impolite emojis onto your text message, or to simply send a message that says, “I QUIT!!!!!!!!!!”

Neither of these things would be very mature, and as tempting as they might seem, you’re almost sure to regret them as time goes on. 

So, instead of sending a text message that is the equivalent of slamming the door in your boss’s face, take the high road and craft a message that politely explains that the job did not live up to your expectations. 

Here is how you might go about quitting a job you hate in a text. 

 

How to quit a job in a text message because you’re moving 

There is no better reason to quit a job than because you are moving to live in a different town, state, or even country. 

If your employer can’t offer you a remote working option, you will need to resign in order to live out your dreams of moving away. 

While it would still be best to let your employer know that you are resigning in a phone call or email, you might be pressed for time with only a phone accessible and want to get your two weeks’ notice in on time.

Or you might know that your employer won’t mind if you let them know over text. 

If you are close to your boss, you might want to quit informally over text and then follow this up with a more formal resignation email in the days to come. 

Here is an informal sample text to send if you’re quitting a job because you’re moving. 

 

How to quit a job over text if you have a new job

If you’re leaving your current place of employment because you have found a new position, you are in a tricky spot. 

You might not want to let on that you’ve leveled up professionally, but at the same time, you kind of need to give your employer a reason for your decision to leave the company.  

The best policy to adopt if you are writing a resignation due to a better opportunity is to be honest without being too honest. 

Saying that you are “moving on professionally” will get the message across that you have found a better paid position with more responsibility without you having to come right out and say it.  

Here is how you might quit your job in a text if you have found a new job.