Mid-Career or Career Break Professionals
There are many reasons for thinking about a change or break in your profession and perhaps some of the following are yours:
- You've gone as far in your position as you can;
- Your company is cutting back;
- You are ready for a career change;
- Your routine is making you stale;
- You're tired of chasing after that next promotion;
- Work is taking over your life;
- You're exhausted;
- You're bored;
- You realize that you truly dislike your job;
- You've lost your job;
- There's a desire to establish a work/life balance;
- You'd like to spend more time with your family;
- The kids are grown and you have more time;
- You need to recover from an emotional or physical setback;
- You want to take on a new challenge, something stimulating;
- You want to experience adventure and explore the world;
- You want to develop one or more of your interests;
- You want to seek possible meaning beyond material satisfaction;
- You hope to get in touch with what you truly value;
- You see yourself making a difference in the world.
A productive sabbatical or career break is often exactly what is needed to get reinvigorated about work and life. Even though gaining a career advantage is not usually a reason for taking mid-career gap time, consider these career break benefits that could also boost your career:
- Gain experiences outside of your work environment for a fresh outlook;
- Leverage your skills and experience to stay relevant in the modern workplace
- Add new skills to your toolbox (communication, leadership, global perspective);
- Add a valuable area of competency such as learning a language;
- Develop expertise in a specialized area (the classic sabbatical);
- Find a new career;
- Find a new business opportunity.
Post-Career Professionals
For those who have retired, gap time is often a period of reflection and reassessment, a time to consider what later life can hold. We are living longer and healthier lives. Adventures in later life can be pleasing for you and beneficial to the world around you. Many of the reasons that your mid-career compatriots have for looking into a gap year also apply to you. For example:- Your routine is making you stale;
- It's time for a change;
- Leverage your skills and experience
- You're ready for a new challenge, something stimulating;
- You'd like to experience adventure and explore the world;
- You'd like to take the time to develop one or more of your interests;
- It's time to look into life's meaning beyond material satisfaction;
- You can get in touch with what you truly value, become more self-aware;
- You can delve into the spiritual side of life;
- You want to make a difference in the world.
Return to the Mid and Post Career landing page for other useful links.
