Have you taken a sabbatical, or stepped out of the workforce for short-term contract or service work? How did you transition back?

Question

There isn't always a clear direct path back to regular full-time employment after a step back or career detour. What are your best tips?

PennyRem · Answer

Yes! I've taken a 7 week sabbatical and it was the best thing I've ever done. I traveled the world for 4 weeks and then took 3 more weeks to decompress, read a LOT and just enjoyed living. I almost felt like I was meditating at times. Enjoy your time without stressing about what's going on at work!

Alice Johnson · Answer

I am actually finishing up a 1 year sabbatical as I'm starting a new job in a new state next Monday.
I took 1 year off to travel the world (16 countries), and I honestly have no regrets at all. It was a bit scary being that I'm so young. I was very comfortable with my last job. I was making good money, I was finally in a place where I felt like I knew enough to contribute, I was getting all types of offers that would have led me down the path to management, but I was not happy. Leaving all of that comfortability behind was TOUGH, but I am so glad I did it.
I was able to refresh my brain, figure out what I actually wanted to do with my life and my career, dig deep and do some 'soul searching'. I listened to a lot of self help books and really focused on the things I needed to do to solve this issues within myself that I would have never had time for had I continued working.

I got home a couple months ago, it took me 3 months to find a job that I now know that I will be a lot happier in. I'm joining a fantastic team in a company that aligns much more with who I am.

Are you thinking about a sabbatical?? If so, for how long?

Alison · Answer

I took at 1 year sabbatical, and I moved to Africa to volunteer and then traveled extensively afterwards.  My company didn't support sabbaticals, so I had to leave my career to do this.

The transition back to the workforce and my regular life was extremely difficult for many reasons, but I recommend taking the time on sabbatical to clear your head and to use it as an opportunity to dream outside of the box...if you are leaving your career to do this and need to start over anyway, then if you could do anything, what would you do?  Resist the urge to fall right back into what is comfortable, and use what you learned and how you grew to propel you to your true next step.  I came back a different person, and my life and career would never be the same, and once I accepted that, new paths started opening up.

To give you my real life example, previous to my sabbatical, I was a Managing Partner at a Fortune 20 tech company, running a global division for them, and throughout most of my career I was the only woman in the room.  During my sabbatical, I developed and led a girls' and women's empowerment program across Africa.  It changed the way I thought about everything - in my career and my life, as well as my purpose in this world.  Now I work at a startup to empower women in the workforce, and to improve the inclusivity of corporate cultures.

Initially when I came back, many F1000 tech companies were trying to interview me, and even though I had many  great reasons for what I did, they couldn't understand someone taking a year out of their career to give back.  Many asked, 'Couldn't you just volunteer building houses for 2 weeks?  Did you have to go for a whole year???'  I immediately removed those companies from my list of places I would ever consider.  It is very important that for the next step you take, that the people you connect with see the value in what you did, and the courage, adaptability, and strength it takes to step away from your career for any length of time and pursue a higher interest, whether for the world or for yourself.  If you'd ever like to talk more about this, please feel free to private message me.

Anonymous · Answer

I took a 4 month sabbatical between jobs, as long as you have a good explanation I found employers to be very understanding of why I took the time!

Anonymous · Answer

I took a 4-week sabbatical. The best tip I can give you is to really step away from work... This is an opportunity most people never receive and taking this time made me a better person at work. I was able to come back with motivation. Now more than ever do I think checking out and taking time for yourself is necessary!

Have you taken a sabbatical, or stepped out of the workforce for short-term contract or service work? How did you transition back?

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