The truth about career breaks: They’re often not holidays. I rarely see someone go to Bali for months and chill. They are: - Taking time off to look after a loved one. - Recovering from a toxic boss/company. - Grieving a divorce/break-up. - Learning a new skill. - Looking for a job. Anyone taking time off without the certainty of a pay check to add balance and equanimity to their life is courageous and should be respected. Who cares if you take 6 months off every 10-15 years? Build a life, not a resume. And if you go to Bali and chill for a year, much respect. You deserve it.
I think we need to normalize it not only because that's just life but also because of how the job market is these days. Staying in one job for a long time may simply be impossible. But first of all, I'm wondering why we seek justification for everything that's not productive time. We feel guilty for resting and ashamed of being out of work. That's where we need collective healing.
This is so true. When backpacking around the world a few years ago, the thing I had in common with other people I met was that there was some kind of trauma that initiated taking that big step to travel. It requires commitment, motivation and courage to do something like that.
So - those breaks on our resumes and LinkedIn profiles? Not a recruiter's business, not a hiring manager's business. Breaks-by-choice are personal. "I took a break/sabbatical". That is all.
Yep, mine wasn't a holiday either. Three years ago, I thought I had severe burnout and spent a year recovering and chilling, but it turned out to be GAD combined with depression 🤷🏼♂️
I’m in Bali and tomorrow will be a year since I quit my full-time job. Am I chilling? Kinda. Once in 15 years after a totally burned out you realize you should change something. I hated the design. Kinda. But after three months I started to read design articles again. I made a personal website, twice. Finished several courses. Do freelance (with passion). And even stand on a surfboard. More or less. But finally, I’m happy. (And looking for a job. Just in case)
This is so true, but sadly companies you work for don't care about it. The truth is I took some time off to take care of my mother, who had a long-term illness and ended up in the worst way and the company dismissed me before I even started that journey. It's not easy to find a job now when you've devoted time, dedication and affection to the most important part of your life and you've been out of work for months. Companies should think more about what makes a good worker stay there: we're human, not machines, and it's sad to see things develop like this for decades.
I couldn't agree more. I didn't necessarily take a break but I did go through a career change. I loved parts of sales, but I felt more hopeless than I did optimistic. I fought through those feelings for years, but finally reached a breaking point. My change of career has included a lot of the points you mentioned, and although it's been difficult, I'm grateful to be going through it now. The pain of a career change feels better than the pain of staying in my past career.
I'm much related to your post because I'm taking my career break! 'Build a life, not a resume' sounds pretty true to me. While I was working, there was always a big question in my head, 'Are I and people living or working?' Life is far more than what we can see and think. When I share about this deep feeling with people around me, they often call me 'a person coming another world'. 😅
This resonates strongly Tom, I can also add another reason why a vacation may not feel like one, in my 20s I worked 7 days a week to make as much money as I could because I was getting paid on hourly basis, so when I went to Bali for 2 weeks I couldn't enjoy it, not because I had to look for a new job or learn a new skill or anything like that, but simply because I was paranoid about how much I would lose by not working those 2 weeks. Messed up, I know, it's in the past now, it was 10 years ago, I'm fine now 🌚
Senior Visual / UI / UX Designer
7moI’ve had several breaks in a freelance career spanning a couple of decades. Backpacking in Asia and South America. A year in Central America, learned Spanish and became a diving instructor. A few years living in Mexico and learning printmaking. I still get work when I need it. I enjoy digital design, but it’s not everything. I need more. After all…we’re here for a good time, not a long time.