Thinking of quitting?
While most of us stick to a traditional resignation letter, some people decide to go out with a bit more…flair. Their exits are so memorable, they’ve become the stuff of legend. While we definitely don’t recommend trying these at home (or at work), they certainly make for a good story. We’ve scoured the internet for some of the most dramatic, creative, and downright bizarre ways people have actually resigned.
Here are eight of the greatest ways to resign, proving that for some people, leaving a job isn’t always a quiet affair:
Real-life examples of dramatic resignations
Here are a few examples of employees who turned their resignation into a performance.
The marching band exit
In 2011, Joey DeFrancesco, a hotel employee, decided a simple notice wasn’t enough. He showed up to work with a full brass marching band in tow. After handing in his letter and bluntly stating, ‘I quit’, he made his grand exit to the sound of trumpets and drums. Now that’s what you call leaving on a high note.
The interpretive dance video
Marina Shifrin worked for a viral-animation company and chose to resign through the medium she knew best – a viral video. She filmed herself dancing around the office to Kanye West’s ‘Gone’, ending the video with a simple message: ‘I quit! I’m gone’. Her video quickly gained millions of views and even landed her job offers in the media industry.
The Super Bowl ad
Most people tell their boss they’re quitting in person. Gwen Dean told her boss, Ted, during the Super Bowl. She appeared in a commercial, looked directly at the camera, and announced, ‘Hi Ted, I quit’. She then walked off screen to start her own puppet business. It was a bold, expensive, and very public way to hand in her notice.
The resignation cake
They say bad news is easier to swallow with something sweet. News director Mark Herman took this literally by writing his resignation on a cake. He left the edible notice in the office for everyone to see, though he did also provide a more traditional paper copy.
Another employee, now known as ‘Mr. Cake’, resigned from his management role by baking a cake that announced his departure and promoted his new cake-making business. Talk about a sweet transition.
The video game resignation
A game developer named Jarrad ‘Farbs’ built a mini Mario-style flash game to announce he was leaving. In the game, Mario delivers the classic line, ‘My princess is in another castle’, letting his employer know that his own journey was taking him elsewhere. It was a perfectly geeky way to say goodbye.
The haiku tweet
Today's my last day at Sun. I'll miss it. Seems only fitting to end on a #haiku. Financial crisis/Stalled too many customers/CEO no more
— Jonathan Schwartz 🦉 (@OpenJonathan) February 4, 2010
When Jonathan Schwartz, the former CEO of Sun Microsystems, decided to step down, he did so with poetic grace. He posted his resignation on Twitter (or now, X) in the form of a haiku:
‘Financial crisis/Stalled too many customers/CEO no more’
It was a concise and surprisingly elegant way to announce his departure to the world.
The toilet paper letter
Not all creative resignations are so glamorous. One unhappy employee wrote their notice on a roll of toilet paper, complete with a drawing of a toilet. The message was clear: they felt the company had treated them like…well, you get the picture.
The price tag announcement
An employee at Bed, Bath & Beyond found a unique spot for their resignation letter. They wrote ‘I’M QUITTING TODAY’ on a promotional price tag for an oven, ensuring that customers would see their message before management did. It was a bold move that definitely got the point across.
Quiet quitting vs. revenge quitting
When quitting goes wrong
While some resignations are legendary for their creativity, others are remembered for all the wrong reasons. Here are a few cautionary tales.
The emergency slide escape
JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater had a particularly bad day at work. After a tense exchange with a passenger, he decided he’d had enough. He grabbed a beer from the galley, deployed the plane’s emergency slide, and slid his way out of a job. It was a dramatic exit that led to his arrest and became a viral news story.
The company-wide email roast
After 35 years at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Michael Stuban wanted to make sure his final words were heard. He sent a scathing email to all 2,000 employees, criticising management for being ‘out of touch’ and calling out the company’s low morale. It was a classic case of burning bridges in spectacular fashion.
The fake farewell party
One woman decided to test how much her colleagues appreciated her by throwing herself a lavish ‘farewell’ party using the company credit card – but she had no intention of leaving. When her boss returned and discovered the stunt, the employee claimed it was a ‘social experiment’. Unsurprisingly, the experiment ended with her being promptly fired.
Four things you should never do on your last day of work
Frequently asked questions
Still have questions about resigning? We’ve got the answers.
Can I quit my job without a notice period?
While you can technically quit a job without notice, it’s generally not recommended. Your contract will specify a notice period, and failing to honour it could be a breach of contract. This could damage your professional reputation and might affect your final pay.
What should I include in my resignation letter?
Your resignation letter should be simple and professional. Include the date, your name, the position you’re resigning from, and your final day of employment. You can briefly thank your employer for the opportunity, but there’s no need to go into detail about why you’re leaving.
Should I tell my colleagues I’m leaving?
Once you’ve handed in your notice to your manager, it’s a good idea to let your close colleagues know. You can do this in person or via a polite goodbye email. Keep it positive and professional, and don’t forget to exchange contact details if you want to stay in touch.
What if my boss gives me a counter-offer?
It’s not uncommon for an employer to make a counter-offer to convince you to stay. While it can be flattering, it’s important to think carefully about why you wanted to leave in the first place. If the underlying issues haven’t been addressed, a pay rise might not be enough to make you happy in the long run.
Reasons for leaving a job: What to tell your employer
How to resign (the right way)
These stories are entertaining, but they’re not exactly a blueprint for a successful career move. Leaving a job on good terms is important for your professional reputation. If you’ve decided it’s time to move on, make sure you do it professionally.
A standard resignation letter is all you need. It should be polite, concise, and state your last day of employment clearly. And if you need help getting started, you can use our free resignation letter templates.
And if these stories have you thinking about your own career path? We’re here to help you find a job you’ll love…
Eight signs it’s time to resign
How to survive an exit interview
Still searching for your perfect position? View all available jobs now
My resignation letter from last week:
Dear Principle Technologist, Line Manager, Human Resources and Technical Scheduling,
I have known you all for so long that I count you not just as valued colleagues but also friends. I
wonder if I may shorten your names to Prince, Lin, Hu and Tech, as terms of endearment?
I know that QA is interested in its employees not just as classroom fodder but as rounded human beings with distinct personalities, individual needs and desires, and a full and rewarding life outside of
work. For instance, I while away long hours in lonely hotel rooms at the frontiers of civilisation, indulging in my twin passions of creative writing and portraiture. Please don’t feel guilty, Tech, for sending
me to these remote locations, for it was there that my debut novel was born (The Young Demon Keeper, available on Amazon, semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award). I have attached
portraits of you (Hu, please let me know if you would like your portrait either destroyed or sent on to you). A less time-consuming pastime is wine making. Alas, the wonders of the Interweb are not yet capable of sending samples of that as an attachment.
Sadly none of these hobbies are conducive with standing in front of a classroom of eager neophytes and extolling the advantages of a clustered columnstore index. Having dedicated so much of my waking hours to training aspiring geeks, I feel the time has come to apportion a greater amount of time to my other passions. I have in mind lounging in a hammock in the shade of my own Portuguese quinta, sipping wine made from my own grapes, tapping out my next best seller before going down to the local tavern and fleecing tourists for charcoal portraits.
I may even keep chickens.
Thus it is that I must now offer you my notice of resignation. Weep not, for you know that I go to a better place, or at least a better place than some of the places you have sent me. I ask only that, whenever a few of you are gathered at a Third Thursday event, you raise a glass to, um, you know,
tall guy, bald, stupid ties. Was always hanging around the TCAs making inappropriate comments.
Saúde.
I am, as ever, or at least for the next twelve weeks, your humble servant,
Bob Simms
Author, artist, vintner and potential chicken herder.
I once walked off a job. Instead of giving the company the month’s notice my contract stipulated, on a Wednesday afternoon, I asked the head of personnel to call by my office. There I presented her with a list of complaints which the plant manager had sent me. This she recognised. I then presented her with the letter I’d sent him a month earlier refuting all the allegations. This she admitted she had never seen before. I then told her that I was leaving at the end of the week, and I expected to be paid for the full time I’d been working for the company. This set the company off in a tizzy to try and forestall any legal action I might have later chosen to undertake. Although I cleared my desk and moved out on the Friday evening, I was still going into the company’s premises the following week to sort out the legal formalities of their paying me off… with compensation for constructive dismissal.