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My last day is this coming Friday. There are a few people that I would like to reach out to so that they understand how important their role has been in my career since I have worked at this company. I am not a fan of the blast email to everyone in my addressbook but was looking for some advice. Thanks.

jhack's picture

How about a "Thank You" note? Handwritten, describing what they've meant to you...it would be just the thing.

John

HMac's picture

I'm also not a fan of the "farewell email blast."

I recently left my company and wanted to send notes to a couple of dozen people, I sent individualized emails - (not [i]handwritten [/i]notes - sorry, John, I just didn't have that in me! :wink: ).

And then, for the real "core" of key people - maybe a dozen - I followed up by phone the week after I left, just to show that I was serious about thanking them and staying in touch.

Finally: less personal but important, I made sure to update my online address books (Plaxo and LinkedIn), just to make sure I'd catch any changes in their contact information in the future.

WillDuke's picture
Training Badge

The personal touch is definitely nice. Hand-written notes are the king of the hill. But a phone call, stopping by their office, a lunch together, these are all good things too.

Mostly I would say let those close to you know first. Then , when you're done, send out the email blast to catch the rest. It is possible you'll forget someone and catching them with a blast is better than missing them entirely.

And good luck with your new endeavor!

MattJBeckwith's picture
Licensee BadgeTraining Badge

[quote="WillDuke"]Mostly I would say let those close to you know first. Then , when you're done, send out the email blast to catch the rest. It is possible you'll forget someone and catching them with a blast is better than missing them entirely.[/quote]

I agree with Will. Blast after the personal touch to the closest ones is fine.

Best wishes to you.

sklosky's picture

pmoriarty's picture
Training Badge

When I left my last company (3000 people), I went around in-person and said goodbye to those people that I specifically wanted to thank or to let know that I was leaving. That was it. No broadcast email.

cruss's picture
Licensee Badge

[quote="pmoriarty"]When I left my last company (3000 people), I went around in-person and said goodbye to those people that I specifically wanted to thank or to let know that I was leaving. That was it. No broadcast email.[/quote]

My last day was Friday and I just did the same thing. But I will be sending thank you cards to few people.

US41's picture

The farewell email blast is truly a social crime. I'd like our company to suspend email to more than one person at a time during the last week they are on the job.

This is how I read those messages: "My last day is today and I want to thank all of you ... here is my hotmail address for you to send one final good luck message to and then this farce of a relationship is over forever."

Written thank you notes and contacting them by phone to gather their personal contact information and then reaching out to them even after you have left - working your network - that is much, much better.

HMac's picture

As usual, US41 nails it. My reaction when I open one of these broadcast farewells is "HEY - I'm not important enough to you to rank getting my own note???"

JorrianGelink's picture

Personal Communication

That is all you need, as long as it is personal.

Sending a "farewell email blast" which I also reference to self-destructing the Enterprise in Star Trek, pretty much says "You all individually mean a lot to me and you have individually made an impact, because you mean a lot to me you're all getting the same message"

Visit those in person before you go, look them in the eye, shake their hand, and thank them for helping you be successful. This 3 second interaction outweighs 800 trillion farewell e-mail blasts.

And to be honest, it will probably save you more time spending 3 seconds each on those you care about as opposed to sitting in the office for 2 hours figuring out how to word the e-mail.

Save an Enterprise, no more grandiose farewell e-mails :).