What to write in a farewell card for a colleague: 50 ideas
The card is open, the cursor is blinking, and nothing comes. Here are 50 messages for a colleague who is leaving: copy one, change a detail, or use it to find your own words. Add one real memory and any of them will sound like you.
Short and simple
For when one line is all you have, and it still needs to mean something.
Good luck with the new job. They are lucky to get you.
Great teamwork, great company. We will miss you.
Wishing you all the best in whatever comes next!
The kitchen will be quieter without you. Take care.
Thanks for your help, your patience and your good mood.
It was a pleasure working with you. Keep in touch!
New chapter, new adventures. Go get them.
You made the hard weeks easier. Thank you.
Safe travels into the next stage, and please stay in touch.
We will miss you in meetings, in the corridor and in the group chat.
Warm and personal
For a colleague you genuinely enjoyed working with.
Thank you for every coffee break that was meant to last five minutes. I will miss those conversations more than the meetings. Wishing you a great start in your new role.
In my first weeks here you explained everything and never once made me feel slow. I have not forgotten that. Good luck, and thank you.
We rescued a few projects together, hit a few impossible deadlines, and laughed a lot on the way. Thank you for being so reliable and so kind.
Working with you was a gift. I hope the next place sees you the way we do, and that you find people who appreciate you as much as we have.
You stayed calm in the busiest weeks, and the rest of us borrowed some of it. Take it with you, but leave a little behind.
You taught me that hard feedback can be said kindly. I use that every week now. Thank you, and all the best for the next step.
A loss for us, a win for you. You earned this move, and I am genuinely happy for you. Let us stay in touch.
A desk will be empty on Monday and it will feel wrong. Thank you for everything. Let us have lunch soon.
To me you were never just someone from the team. You were the person I could count on. Thank you, and good luck.
Whatever you do next, you will be good at it, because you were good at this. Thank you for making our team better.
With a wink
For teams that laugh together. Keep it kind, since the card may be read aloud.
Who will explain the printer to us now? We have no plan B. Good luck in the new job!
Officially you are leaving. Unofficially you stay in our group chat until you leave that too. Take care!
We voted not to accept your resignation. Apparently that is not legally possible, so: all the best.
The good desk by the window is finally up for grabs. We would still rather have you.
From today nobody volunteers to empty the dishwasher. Please visit now and then, if only for that.
Your new colleagues have no idea how lucky they are. We do. Good luck!
Hard to believe you are skipping our Monday meetings on purpose. Honestly, a wise decision. All the best!
Before you go, please write down everything only you know. Three copies, ideally. Thank you and good luck!
Warning: farewell blues. Side effects include a quiet office, an empty cookie jar and no one laughing at our jokes. Get well soon, us. Good luck, you.
We will not say you will be missed, because we are going to call you every time something breaks. Congratulations on the new job!
Formal: for managers and senior colleagues
Respectful and sincere, without sounding stiff.
I am grateful for the trust and the collaboration over the years. I wish you every success in your new role.
Your experience and calm judgment shaped this team. I am grateful for it and wish you all the best for the future.
Your door was always open, even when your calendar was not. I valued that greatly. Best wishes for what lies ahead.
I learned from you how to explain a decision clearly and still listen. Thank you for that, and good luck in your new position.
With sincere thanks for your support over the past years. I hope your next team values your work as much as we did.
A great deal of knowledge and even more kindness leaves with you. We will miss you and wish you the very best.
It has been a privilege to work with you. Please stay well, stay curious, and let us hear from you.
Clear words, fair decisions and the confidence you showed in me: for all of it, my thanks. I wish you every happiness going forward.
Best wishes for this new chapter. Your steady, reliable way of working will be missed around here.
You started a great deal here that will outlast your time with us. Thank you for your commitment, and enjoy what is ahead.
For someone who is more than a colleague
When the person leaving has become a real friend.
You showed me where the photocopier was on my first day, and somewhere along the way you became someone I do not want to lose. That stays, wherever you work.
You were there when things were hard for me outside work, and you never made a fuss about it. I will not forget that. I wish you only good things.
Some people turn a workplace into somewhere you want to be. You are one of them. Thank you for all these years.
I am sad you are going and proud of you for going. Off you go. We are cheering from here.
So many years desk to desk, and now it will be messages. Let us not let that slip. You mean a lot to me.
What you built here will carry us for a long time. Thank you for your work, your heart and your honesty. Take good care of yourself.
There are many good colleagues and very few people who make you feel understood. You did. Thank you.
Writing this is harder than I expected, because no sentence is big enough. So, simply: thank you for being here.
Every day with you on the team made me a bit braver. Take as much of our good wishes with you as you can carry.
When I think of the best moments in this job, you are in nearly all of them. Thank you, and see you outside the office.
One memory beats any line
A ready-made message is a good start. It becomes yours when you add something only you can say: a project, a moment, something you learned from the person.
Even “I still think about the night before the product launch” turns a nice line into one that lasts.
Pick the right tone
Write the way you normally talk to this person. If you are on formal terms at work, stay formal in the card. That reads as respect, not distance.
Jokes work when the whole team will get them and nobody is embarrassed. Leave out digs at the employer and guesses about why the person is leaving.
If someone leaves in difficult circumstances, such as after a layoff, go for the warm or formal messages. Keep the focus on the person and what they gave the team.
New job, parental leave or a move
For a new job, be happy for them even if you are sad for yourself. For parental leave, it is a “see you soon” rather than a goodbye: wish them a good time as a family, promise no work emails, and say you are looking forward to their return without any pressure.
For a move, a specific offer helps: a visit, a video call, a coffee next time they are in town.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use these messages as they are?
Yes. Every message here was written for Junto, so you can copy, shorten or change them. They work best with one personal sentence added.
How long should a farewell message be?
One to three sentences is almost always right. On a Junto card each message gets its own space, so you can write a bit more than on paper if you want to.
What do I write if I barely know the person?
Use a short or formal message. An honest “thank you for the good collaboration and good luck” is better than a long note that does not sound like you.
How do I collect messages from the whole team?
Make a Junto card, share one link, and everyone writes without signing up and can add a photo. The first … messages are free; after that you can unlock unlimited messages for that card.