Sue Hadden looks at the differences between career breaks and sabbaticals, explaining how they can both positively effect your future career.
The terms ‘career break’ and ‘sabbatical’ are sometimes used interchangeably, as both relate to periods of time taken out of your normal routine to do something completely different. So, what’s the difference?
How Sabbaticals Can Benefit Your Career
A sabbatical is a more formal system whereby a ‘sabbatical policy’ exists within a company and employees are able to take an agreed amount of time off. However, the usual job ‘perks’, such as being paid and your pension contributions, may be suspended for the duration of the sabbatical period, though employees have the security of returning to their job. The period of time allowed will be bespoke to each company and may only be accessible to employees at a certain level in the organisation such as senior managers or full-time staff. This is the option for those who may be planning on returning to the same job or field of work. It can be a useful way to take time out from your job to reassess where your career is heading, and how you would like it to progress when you return.
Debbie Norman, 52, Kent, took a 6-month sabbatical from her job in banking. Debbie had been working for the bank for over 10 years so qualified to apply for a sabbatical. During her time off she sailed the Queen Mary and travelled the West Coast of America before returning home to England. As Debbie’s company provided a formal sabbatical policy her job was held open so she slid straight back in on her return. Ann Sullivan, 39, Gloucester, took a 3-month sabbatical from her job in an insurance company and travelled through South East Asia. On her return to England, she returned to her role working in the Human Resources department.
Employers’ attitudes are changing as they’re realising that in order to retain good employees, they may have to release them for a certain period of time. The organisation may benefit from an employee who returns with new skills, maybe a new language or a professional qualification in addition to a renewed and refreshed attitude towards work.
If you’re thinking about taking a sabbatical, here are a few steps to follow:
Step 1: Find out if your company offers a sabbatical policy and if so, what is the maximum length of time. Are there any forms you have to fill out? Who would you need to inform? What perks and benefits would be suspended for the duration? What perks or benefits would be continued?
Step 2: Be prepared. Before meeting your manager, arm yourself with information on when you want to take your break, how long you want to be away for, what you plan to do and how your work-load could be managed whilst you’re away. Make is easy on your manager and do the thinking for them.
Step 3: Set up a meeting with your manager to discuss your sabbatical. Think about the questions you may be asked, write them down and have the answers ready. It may be that you’ll have to negotiate the timing of your break due to the nature of your role or the industry you work in. There may be a more ‘natural’ time to step away from the organisation that will cause minimal disruption to you and your team. Share with your manager the benefits of you taking a break and how this will impact the organisation in a positive way.
Step 4: Once your sabbatical is agreed, complete the necessary paperwork and return it to the appropriate parties. Ensure you have all the dates confirmed and what perks and benefits are suspended and which ones will continue.
Step 5: Organise your farewell do and start packing :)
How Taking a Career Break Can Help Your Career Change
If you decide to take a career break and your company doesn’t offer a sabbatical policy, you may have to resign in order to do it. By resigning from your job you then have the freedom to take a career break for as long as you like as you have no ties to an organisation. You can use a career break as an opportunity to work on your career change without having the feeling of having to return to your old job after a few months. This strategy worked for Doug Kington, 25, who has taken many career breaks over the last few years. The organisations Doug has worked for haven’t offered sabbatical policies so every time he took a career break he resigned, went travelling, then found new work when he returned to England.
Often career changers leave regular employment to set up their own businesses, go freelance, or to retrain in a different area. If this is not for you, and you wish to return to regular employment after your career break (perhaps in a different sector), you might wonder what do prospective employers think about people who’ve taken a career break?
This depends on the work sector, what you chose to do whilst you were away and how you position your career break to employers when you return. If you take on voluntary work or work on a personal project during your career break these can add to your CV, and perhaps help you move into a different job sector. In 2006 I returned from a 6-month career break. During my second interview with an investment bank my interviewer asked why I returned to the UK. My simple and honest answer was “I ran out of money”. My interviewer laughed and said it was a good a reason as any. I was offered the job a few days later. Taking a career break didn’t seem to have an impact during my job search or during my interviews. I believe as long as you sell the ‘benefits’ of your career break to your potential employer it could be viewed favourably.
Towards the end of your career break, the following tips can help prepare you to use the benefits of your career break in the next stage of your career:
- Up-date your CV to include any courses, qualifications and experiences you’ve had, such as volunteering, which may help you during your search.
- How will you sell the benefits of your career break to a potential employer?
- If you wish to move into another work sector, how can you build on your career break experience to make the move?
- Are there any contacts you made during your career break who you could speak to about work opportunities or collaboration?
So, what’s it for you? Career Break or a Sabbatical? Once you’ve made the decision to take a break, all you need to do is start asking questions and find out which one is a possibility for you.
Leave a comment below: Does the idea of a career break or sabbatical appeal to you? Could you use it to help with your longer-term career change?
Sue Hadden is a career break coach focusing predominately on clients wanting to take a career break and helping career break returners transition back into the workplace. Prior to her coaching, Sue worked in the field of graduate and MBA recruitment, training and development and held positions in some of London’s top financial services organisations. www.careerbreakcoach.co.uk
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