How to Handle Taking a Career Break

How to Handle Taking a Career BreakHow to Handle Taking a Career BreakThinking of taking a career break? Whether youre staying home to care for children or traveling around the world on a year-long sabbatical, the prospect of taking extended time off from work can be equal parts exciting and terrifying. How will you survive financially while youre away from the office? And how can you make sure that your career will still be there when you get back? The key is to do as much planning ahead of taking a career break, so that youll be able to devote your energies to other things plus, minimize stress when you return. Before You Take a Career Break Save Money If youre reading this article, chances are that youre already biting your nails about the financial aspect of taking a break. Dont let your fear and trepidation scare you away from making practical plans. The first step is to make a budget. How much money will you need while youre away? Think of your financial needs on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Most people wont be able to bank a year or more of salary ahead of time. How much money might you realistically save? What other methods do you have for filling in the shortfall? Depending on your situation, a spouse or family member might change jobs or take on more hours, for example. Or you might decide to do some part-time work to make ends meet. Refresh Your Network Making the leap from a fairly stable job that youve had for a long time? Chances are that youve let your network dwindle somewhat as you gained comfort in your position. Even if you change jobs fairly frequently, its easy to fall out of touch with former colleagues and friends. Before you head off into the unknown, reconnect with old contacts. Plan some networking coffee dates or just a fun outing with old friends. When was the belastung time you went to a concert or a movie or a play? Use this as an opportunity to get motivated to make some plans. Itll be fun, plus youll be refreshing you r connections. Have a Re-Entry Plan Unless youre independently wealthy, you probably have an idea of when your career break will come to an end. Dont wait until then to think about how youll get back into the swing of things professionally. For instance, lets say youre in an industry where freelancing is common. If youre on good terms with your current employer, you might ask them if you can get in touch to pick up some contract work once youre ready. Or perhaps youre volunteering a few hours a week during your time off. You might let it be known that youre going back to work on such-and-such a date and that youll be looking for opportunities. Regardless of your plans, you should keep your resume up-to-date and be ready to change your LinkedIn and other social media accounts to reflect your availability. When Youre Planning to Return to Work, Do These Things Take Stock of Your Situation Plans are one thing. Reality is often quite different. Perhaps you planned to be away for a y ear, but now five have gone by. Maybe you thought you wouldnt work at all during your time away, but you wound up taking on a part-time job. Or perhaps you left one industry only to find that for various reasons, youd prefer to do something else when you return. The goal now is to figure out where you are, so that you can make the transition back to work as smooth as possible. Cope With Resume Gaps Dealing with resume gaps can be as simple as changing resume formats or as complex as refocusing your entire CV to reflect new skills and interests. A functional resume, for example, puts the focus on your skills and achievements, rather than on your linear work history (as with chronological resume). You can also take exact dates off your CV this is especially helpful if youre heading back to work within a year or so of your last job ending. Theres no need to volunteer that you have an employment gap, especially if your resume does a good job of emphasizing your skills and not your chro nological work history. However, you should be prepared to talk about your employment gap in a job interview, just in case an intrepid hiring manager figures out that youve been out of work. Just remember that its always a mistake to lie on your resume. In the first place, youre likely to get caught and sooner, rather than later. Even if you get away with it, think of how stressful it would be to spend the rest of your career hoping that the truth doesnt come to light. Use Your Experience to Boost Your Professional Profile OK, so maybe you dont want to update your resume to say Lead Domestic Engineer (for stay-at-home parents) or Ski Bum (for sabbatical-takers who enjoy winter sports). But you can mine your experience outside of the workforce to improve your chances of getting a better job once youre back. How? First of all, by giving yourself credit. Sit down and think about everything you did for the past year. Write it down in the form of a bulleted list, for easy review. Now, t ease out any and all job-related skills you acquired or developed during your time away. Did you learn a new job role at a volunteer gig? Brush up on your language or coding skills? Gain experience managing a budget? Put it in a list and then add it to your resume. Finally, dont forget about the friends you made along the way. Networking doesnt have to mean attending conferences or going to tedious networking events. Every person who will write you a recommendation or refer you for a job is a contact who might help you find your next big career move. Youve just spent time doing something thats so important to you, it was worth pressing pause on your career. That passion is worth something, professionally as well as personally.