Quit - Or Be Fired - Without Notice
By Amy E. Feldman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Legally, what needs to be in a letter of resignation - or a letter of termination for that matter - in order for it to be effective?
'Hi Ted. I quit'. So said Gwen Deen, the mechanical engineer who quit the job she'd held for 18 years on a national GoDaddy ad in front of a hundred million people in order to fulfill her dream of making puppets for a living. Two questionable judgment calls.
Is that it? Do you need to send a letter of resignation?
Nope. There is no legal requirement that one sends a letter of resignation at all in order to quit. You can say 'I quit' in person, by text, with a hundred million people watching or simply by not showing up.
And, some people are surprised that the idiomatic pink slip is neither pink nor a slip, nor even a piece of paper. You can be fired in person, in writing, by email, text, or twitter. You need not have something in writing.
That said, if you hope to build bridges, an extra five seconds during your Super Bowl commercial to say something like I've appreciated the opportunity to work here and wish you the best is a courtesy that will serve you well in case your puppet business is not as lucrative as you expect.