Is a career break what you need right now?

I recently took a career break and I recommend it. It turns out that at this very moment, in the middle of a pandemic, quite a number of people decided to do the same.

HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT A CAREER BREAK IS FOR YOU? There are many reasons people take breaks from their careers. Below are only some, the most common.

• HEALTH: this is why I took a career break recently. I had fallen into the trap of thinking that the burden of taking extended time off would not be fair on the team. And so I continued to work and worsen. So, the COVID-19-related economic downturn showed me the error of my ways when I was laid off. True to my usual form, I immediately launched in a full blown job search but my health had other plans. That was how I finally decided to pay attention and took an extended break. Take it from me: listen to your body attentively and act in its favor early.  Or maybe you need to take a break to care for someone else’s. This is not uncommon.  As a Recruiter, I lost count of how many candidates had to do this.
• EDUCATION: you want to attain an education goal that is incompatible with full-time employment. This could be obtaining a new degree or honing in on a skill that is not related to your present career, for example.
• MOTIVATION: you have tried everything: vacation, start a new hobby, dedicate more time to a hobby you already have, spend more time with family and friends, dedicate time strengthening your spirituality, etc. Still, the thought of continuing in your current job for a living is more than you can take.
• CALLING: your true passion is calling you and you want to give it a go. This is similar to “Motivation” above. It is different where it is more that you really want to see if you can make a living out of your calling, not so much that you can no longer swallow your job.
• EXPLORATION: in the course of performing your role you became sufficiently interested in another type of role within the company. After researching it you realized you have the skills necessary to be successful in it and want to give it a try.
• PARENTHOOD: this is the reason why I took a career break in 2011: the birth of my daughter, the world’s only near-perfect child. Others take a career break after an adoption.

ARE THERE CONSEQUENCES TO TAKING A CAREER BREAK? Yes. As with everything in life what we do has consequences, good or bad. Let’s explore some.

• REINTEGRATION: some employers are reticent to hire someone who voluntarily took a career break. I was not completely inactive when I took an extended maternity leave. I was working part-time in my own practice as a Career Coach. Additionally, I remained active in my recruiting career by sourcing for independent colleagues, for example. Still, it was difficult to return to work full-time as a Recruiter as some employers still see maternity leave as a threat to continuity of the role. Others seem to think that taking such a leave leads to loss of skills. As a Recruiter I have had to consult with Hiring Managers who are reticent in considering candidates who took breaks to attain additional education full-time. Whatever the reason, there is some risk.
• FULFILLMENT: you may realize that going back to your current role just isn’t the same. The reality is, it will not be or feel the same. During your break, life continued. Hopefully, you experienced unprecedented freedom and enrichment. In all likelihood, the experience changed you a bit. Likewise, the business world changed and the way the company or the department functions most likely also changed. So, re-entering the workforce full-time will be and feel differently, even if you return to the same employer in the same role.
• BLACK HOLE: if you go back to the same employer, it is possible that your previous role no longer exists or that it changed so much that it is unrecognizable to you. Therefore, returning may feel a bit like you are facing nothingness and being sucked into something foreign to you all at the same time.

SOME ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS. Take a 360-degree to planning your career break to increase its chance of success.

• UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS: because these benefits are reserved for those who are active in the workforce, you won’t be eligible for them.
• FINANCES: you absolutely need to know how long you can be unemployed so that you know when you have to start planning your return to the active workforce.
• PLAN: before you take the break, if at all possible, examine the reasons you feel you need it, to what you want to return, what you want to achieve during the break.
• SIDELINES: since you are at it, take advantage of examining what bothered you about your role, career or employer. If you often feel burned out, what will you do differently when you return? If you were distant from friends and family, how will you ensure that changes when you return? If your work environment made your irk frequently, is the problem with the work environment or with its poor fit with your values? If you felt you were in a dead-end job, is it because you lacked the qualifications for another role or because the company’s structure makes moving to another role unlikely? Whatever it is, act on it now so you don’t return to the same situation. Just keep in mind that if a separation is the solution, it doesn’t have to be an at-fault kind. Sometimes, we really do simply grow apart.
• FLUIDITY: it is quite possible that you find something about yourself or that new possibilities open which cause the reason for your career break to change. Lucky you! Keep an open mind during this time.

BOTTOM LINE IS, taking a career break can be risky but also rewarding. It requires deep introspection and thorough planning so that your return back to the active workforce is successful.