# Farewell Speech for a Colleague Moving to a New Job > A two-minute send-off for a colleague who is leaving for another job: how long to speak, sample lines, and what to leave out, like the reasons they're going. Source: https://hidengpt.com/write/farewell-speech-for-colleague # My colleague is leaving for another job on Friday, and I'm saying a few words at the send-off. Keep it to about two minutes, roughly 260 words: what they did for the team, one story and a plain good luck. Leave out why they are going. HidenGPT's Speech format, set to Retirement / farewell, drafts it from your notes; write that they are changing jobs, not retiring, so the draft doesn't treat it as a retirement. Updated October 10, 2026 · by the HidenGPT team Try it with your own details Enter to send · Shift+Enter for a new line ## How to do it in HidenGPT - 01 Find out who else is speaking and for how long, whether anyone joins on video, and what the colleague has told people about the new job. - 02 With Speech picked under “Use it for”, set Occasion to Retirement / farewell, Minutes to 2 and Your role to something like “his teammate on the app team for four years”. - 03 In the main box, write that they are moving to a new job, not retiring, then add two or three things they did for the team, one story and what to keep out, and send. - 04 Fill any [add a short memory] with something true, cut anything they wouldn't want said in front of their manager, and check the new role's name with them before you say it out loud. - 05 Read it once against a timer; if people are on video, look into the camera for the last line so they feel included. [Speech & Toast](https://hidengpt.com/tools/speech): Weddings, graduations, keynotes: timed to the minute and written to be read aloud. ## How long to talk, by the kind of send-off Farewells for someone changing jobs usually run shorter than retirement speeches. The person stays in the working world, the team is often back at their desks an hour later, and nobody expects a career review. A rule of thumb: - Gathered around the desks or at the end of a stand-up: 1 minute, about 130 words. One thing they did, one wish. - Team lunch or cake in the break room: 2 minutes, about 260 words. - Leaving drinks or a dinner with more than one speaker: 3 minutes at most, about 390 words. - A video call: aim for 90 seconds. People on mute can't laugh back, so drop jokes that need a long setup. For the 2-minute version, try this split of 260 words. About 30 to open: why everyone is here and who you are. About 90 on what they did for the team, with one number or one thing the team still uses. About 90 for a single story. About 50 to wish them well and raise a glass, or a coffee mug. If you're the third speaker, cut the story to 40 words and keep the rest. ## What changes when they're leaving for another job A retirement closes a career. A job change continues it, often in the same field, sometimes at a competitor, and the person may be your client, partner or colleague again in a few years. So the speech looks back at what they did here, forward to the new role, and leaves the door open. Leave out: - Why they are leaving: pay, a manager, a reorganization, a missed promotion. Even if everyone knows, the send-off is the wrong place. - The new salary, title or employer, unless they have announced it themselves. - “Traitor” and “going over to the dark side” jokes. They play badly for the manager who is losing them. - “Who's going to do all your work now?” It sounds like resentment, and the people who will pick up that work are standing in the room. - “See you back in six months.” Funny to you, awkward for them. If they are transferring to another office or team rather than leaving the company, keep it lighter and end with the next time you'll work together: “See you on the Tuesday call, Sam. Same checklist, different time zone.” If they're leaving after layoffs or on hard terms, keep it to one minute, thank them for specific work and skip the jokes. ## Lines you can adapt Openers that start with the person, not the occasion: “For four years, nothing shipped until it got past Sam's checklist. Today we're letting him go without one.” “Most of you know Priya as the person who answers your question before you've finished asking it.” Middle lines that give one fact the team will recognize: “The checklist is still pinned in the channel. He called it boring on purpose, and he was right: boring is what you want on release day.” “When the March outage hit, Sam stayed online until 2 am. At nine the next morning there were donuts on the kitchen counter, and he didn't mention either.” Closes that wish them well and stop: “Denver is getting a very careful person. To Sam.” “Wherever you end up, you'll know the coffee orders within a week. Good luck, and stay in touch.” Lines to replace: “We're losing a valued member of the team” (it could be said about anyone), “Words cannot express how much we'll miss you” (it announces a feeling and skips the reason) and “Don't forget us little people” (it turns the moment toward the team). ## Using the Speech format for a job change There is no separate farewell setting. Retirement / farewell covers both, and its rule asks the draft to honor the person's work through concrete things they did and keep the goodbye wistful but hopeful. That suits a job change, as long as your notes say plainly that they are moving to a new job; otherwise a line about well-earned rest can slip in. At 2 minutes the target is about 260 words, and you'll see a warning if the draft comes out under about 182 or over about 338. Heartfelt + witty is the starting tone. Witty works for a team that jokes all day, Formal for a senior leader leaving. Stage cues, under More details, put [pause] or [raise your glass] where they help, and they don't count as words. The draft builds on the details you give and is told not to invent stories, names or events, so a thin note gives a thin speech with [add a short memory] where a story should be. The red pen takes a light pass for stock phrasing. You read it, change it and say it in your own words. ## Not the right tool if - A colleague who was let go, or is leaving after a dispute, and hasn't asked for a send-off. Ask them, or their manager, what they want before anyone speaks. - The goodbye email to the whole company. That is read, not heard; the Email format's Announcement type or the Anything format suits it better. - A retirement after a long career. That needs more time and a different shape, which the retirement speech page covers. ## Other ways to do it A card the team signs Right for someone who would hate a speech. Two honest lines from each person beat a paragraph from one. A one-minute toast with no script Enough at a stand-up send-off: one thing they did, one wish, done. A LinkedIn recommendation Outlasts the party and helps them in the new job. Write it the same week, while the details are fresh. ChatGPT or another chatbot Fast, but expect “valued member of the team” and stories that never happened. ## Questions ### How long should a farewell speech for a colleague be? One to three minutes, with two as a good default for a team lunch. At 130 spoken words a minute, that is about 130 to 390 words, or 260 for two minutes. ### What do you say when a colleague leaves for another job? Say what they did for the team, tell one short story, and wish them well in the new role. Keep the reasons they are leaving out of it, and name the new employer only if they have announced it. ### Should I mention where they are going? Only if they have told people themselves. If they have, one line is enough, such as “Denver is getting a very careful person.” If not, “wherever you end up” does the job. ### What do I say if my boss is leaving? Speak for the team and keep it about what they did for you: one decision they backed, one thing several of you learned from them. Leave out jokes about the next boss and anything that sounds like a review of their performance. ### What if they are transferring, not leaving the company? Keep it lighter and shorter. You will still work with them, so end with the next time you'll meet, such as a weekly call, instead of a goodbye. ### I'm the one leaving. What should my own farewell speech say? Thank three or four people by name, each for something specific, share one memory, say how to reach you, and stop. One to two minutes is plenty. Set Your role to “the person leaving” and keep complaints and reasons out. ### How do I give a farewell speech on a video call? Make it shorter than you would in person, about 90 seconds. Name the people joining remotely, look at the camera rather than the screen for the toast, and ask everyone to unmute for the goodbye at the end. ### Can I try it without subscribing? Yes, up to 2 drafts a day on the homepage, with no account needed. To save drafts and write in your own voice you need a plan; the first month of Pro is $3. ## Related - [My coworker is retiring after 31 years, and I've been asked to say a few words.](https://hidengpt.com/write/retirement-speech-for-coworker) - [I want to resign politely without explaining myself.](https://hidengpt.com/write/resignation-letter-without-explaining) - [I'm giving my two weeks' notice and need a simple letter I can hand in or email today.](https://hidengpt.com/write/two-weeks-notice-letter) - [A colleague asked me for a LinkedIn recommendation and I don't know what to write.](https://hidengpt.com/write/linkedin-recommendation-for-a-colleague) - [I'm the best man at my brother's wedding, and I have three minutes.](https://hidengpt.com/write/best-man-speech-for-brother) - [Does my writing sound like AI?](https://hidengpt.com/tools/ai-cliche-checker) - [Essays, homework and everyday writing that sounds like you](https://hidengpt.com/write) [Prefer HidenGPT on Google](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=hidengpt.com)