Resigning is a standard part of any job. It is also a process that many people have difficulty in completing in a smooth and professional manner. The act of resigning should be simple short and sweet. By following some tried and true steps you can make it painless and more importantly professional.  

1.     Keep it Simple. You should be out of the room after advising your manager of your decision in less than 2 minutes.
2.     Present your decision in a positive past tense. Thank your manager for their support and help. The tone that you are projecting should be light & grateful. At your professional level Sydney can be a small town and it is inevitable that you will meet people again. By leaving on a professional and positive note you will nullify any future embarrassment.
3.     Prevent discussion and negotiation. Commence your resignation by opening with: “After some deliberation I have made a decision that is right for my career, thank you for respecting this”.
4.     Once you have advised your manager and tendered your letter of resignation, it is important to get out of the room as soon as possible.
5.     Prevent “Buyback” by understanding why you have made a decision to resign in the first place. Promises made in a buyback discussion rarely eventuate and studies in the UK show that more than 80% of people who accept a buyback proposal will resign within 12 months. The difference is that at that time the specific role that you were resigning to take will have gone. Your position in the company will often become untenable.
6.     Your manager’s motivations to talk you into staying are largely selfish. A resignation will mean that they will have to take up the resulting workload, your resignation will often reflect negatively on the manager.
7.     A resignation is only annoying and inconvenient; it is not the end of the company you worked for. They will recover.
8.     At some point your manager will also resign. That will be for their own reasons in the same way that your resignation is for your own reasons. 

Keep It Short, Sweet & Simple.