What to write in a congratulations card
Congratulations cards go wrong in two directions. They either overclaim — treating a modest result as a triumph, which the recipient can feel — or they hedge so carefully that they read as disappointment.
The examples below aim at the thing that happened. There's also a group for results that didn't go the way anyone wanted, because those cards are the ones that actually get remembered.
For exam results
Credit the work, not the luck. "You earned that" says more than "well done".
- Congratulations, {firstName} — that's a brilliant set of results, and you worked for every one of them.
- Well done, {firstName}. You put the hours in and it shows.
- Congratulations, {firstName}! Everyone here is delighted for you.
When the results weren't what they hoped
Send something. A card that acknowledges a hard day is worth more than a card that celebrates an easy one.
- Not the day you wanted, {firstName} — but it's one set of results, not a verdict. We're still here.
- {firstName}, you worked hard for these and that hasn't changed. Let's talk about what's next.
- Chin up, {firstName}. Plenty of routes from here, and we'll help you find yours.
For a promotion or a new job
Say what they'll be good at. Generic congratulations are forgettable; a specific one is a reference.
- Congratulations on the new role, {firstName} — they've made a good decision.
- Well deserved, {firstName}. Congratulations, and good luck with it.
- Congratulations, {firstName}! Enjoy the new job — they're lucky to have you.
For a business or personal milestone
Anniversaries, first years, retirements. Name the number — it's the whole point of the card.
- Congratulations on ten years, {firstName}. That's no small thing.
- Congratulations, {firstName} — a year in and going strong. Here's to the next one.
- Congratulations, {firstName}. Thoroughly deserved, and long overdue.
{firstName} isn't something you type out. Write the message once with it in, and every card in the send is printed with that person's own name.
Getting it right
- Name the specific thing
- One concrete detail — the exam, the season, the years they've been with you — is worth more than three sentences of warm generality. It proves a person wrote it.
- Sign it as a person
- "From everyone at the centre" is nobody. A name at the bottom — the tutor, the coach, the manager — is what makes it a card rather than a communication.
- Send it before the day, not on it
- Every card goes out at least 5 working days ahead, so it arrives in time rather than the week after. Set the date and it looks after itself.
- Match the size of the achievement
- Overpraising a small win reads as insincere and makes the next card mean less. Say the true thing warmly rather than a bigger thing loudly.
Now pick the card
Personalised congratulations cards for exam results, promotions and milestones. We print and post a real card for every recipient.