Member topic: Have you ever taken a gap between employments?

Have you ever taken a voluntary gap between jobs? If yes, then how difficult/easy was it for you to get another job when you searched for it?

I've not had this experience.

But to anyone that has been through this, few suggestions:

1. Since this is for "voluntary" clearly mention the reason why the gap was chosen. Most are understanding enough.

2. If the gap is still in, till the time you get the job, try to do some online courses with relevant certificates to your field of job. Or attend webinars etc. Make sure you add all this information in your resume. This demonstrates that you are using this time to improve yourself.

Finally don't give up. It may take time, but you'll get what you're looking for eventually!

Best of luck👍🏼

Yes I have, more than once. I had to get some courses and certifications done to get back. It is somewhat of a challenge but not impossible. Of course you should be willing to take a slight pay cut, if need be!

NO but I took a leap year from like May 2010 to May 2011

I really really want to but Covid 😭

It's kind of sad that we have to constantly work, even if we have the means to take a break from it and be ok financially. Because if a break is taken just for rest, we have to explain to our next job why we didn't dedicate our time to being productive 😒

I did, for little more than a year. It was voluntary.

I am an Indian, born and brought up in South Mumbai. I come from well to do family, mentioning the same as it will help to relate with my story.

I started working even before I completed my graduation. I was in my last year, when I applied for a position of graduate trainee in a very reputed and big MNC. Fortunately and I don't know how 😂 I successfully completed all my interviews and written test and was selected for the position. So I was already working when I was 20, Never knew what I wanted to do so just went with the flow in my career. My lady boss though very strict but had those motherly feelings towards me so when internal job posting came she recommended my name to Actuaries as I was sharp and very good in statistics. They urgently wanted someone who can pickup things quickly. So within 2 years I was moved to another department which consisted mostly Non Indian. My boss was British and he suggested me to study and appear for actuarial papers cause it will help me to grow in my career. I contemplated the idea for a year or so. Basically I was just dilly dallying. My boss moved back to his home country and I was stuck with very arrogant person as my boss. I thought of quitting cause I was not enjoying what I was doing though earning good amount of money, that was the only satisfaction in my life. For a 24 year old girl, I was working 12+ hours on weekdays and sleeping through my weekends to recover from long weekdays.

One fine day, I just went to my dad and told him that I am taking break, he was like...good, enjoy 10-15 days vacation and then join back, it will help you to rejuvenate 🤣 I had to explain him that I am taking break indefinitely...he was little taken aback but he understood. He told me to go and stay with my cousin in Glasgow and take up some course. I told him, I don't know what I am going to do but as of now I don't want to work. I completed 5 years in my organisation, got the loyalty award... And next day I put down the papers....the look on my boss face was invaluable.

For a month, I did nothing. This was the first time in my life I was absolutely doing nothing except eating, sleeping and wasting time of mine as well as others. I have never sat idle in my life, so boredom started creeping. I started getting restless. While surfing net came across something called business analytics, it looked interesting to me. This was that time when nobody knew about data science, it was not that popular as it is now. It was small diploma of 3-4 months, which I did. I started enjoying coding so later on learnt SQL,R and Python. During a vacation in France, the French language caught my fancy. So when I came back to India, the first thing I did was enrolled myself in the language class. I completed my A1, side by side I was also working on my coding as I come from non IT background so had to put in an extra effort. After about 9-10 months, I thought of getting back to doing job. I gave few interviews and I was very honest in all of them. I told my exact reason for taking break but like many of us Indians they thought mental fatigue for a 24 year old young rich kid is a very frivolous reason. Most of them thought it was very random, just cause I come from privilege background. The struggle for job continued for another 2-3 months, when I happened to meet my first boss in Canada during family vacation. Luck would have it, she enquired what I was doing. I told her what I did and that I'm looking for a job. She told me to apply back in my previous organisation, there is a vacant position in her team. Her team was working on Cognus Impromptu which was kind of analytical tool. I could not believe my luck. I applied for the position, as I already completed my cooling period of 6 months so there was no hurdle in taking me back. But there was a glitch, I have to work on the same package as earlier when I left the organization. I accepted it as working was priority for me at that time. I worked for another 3 years there and then moved on to another organisation for career progration. Right now, career wise I am doing very well. So the break helped me to know where I want to be in my career, what I love and want to do. But I was lucky enough that I met right people at the right time. Also there was no financial pressure to get back to the job, which helped me to concentrate on other things. Moral of the story is you need to evolve yourself and learn new things even when you are on break. Upgrading yourself not only help you in your professional life but it also helps to develop your personality.

I have worked three jobs so far, and got an MBA in between, and I have never taken a single break, not even for a week. I get FOMO if I am not working, like my peers are moving ahead in their careers and I will fall behind. Yeah I am insecure like that.

With my current employer, I got two promotions in four years, one even during the pandemic. While it is definitely exciting, I feel like I may be giving too much to my job and feel like taking a break. But that FOMO feels is holding me back from taking a break.

I have thought of taking a sabbatical within the organization; they provide us with an option to take 6 months to a year unpaid time off, while it still will not reflect on my CV as a gap. But just when I thought of taking one, I recently got an amazing job offer with double the salary, and if I join that company, I have to forget about sabbatical because it's a startup and they do not have this benefit. Really trying to figure out what to do...

I did. Actually I am still in that "gap" phase.

I am a normal science graduate (with Chemistry hons.) & I landed my first job, before even finishing graduation, at a local medicine manufacturing unit but couldn't sustain there because of the horrible medicinal smell inside which made me feel nauseous. 🤢

After completing graduation I was empty handed for few months but then got job in a quality testing lab & I worked there for almost 2 years. But there was no work satisfaction, the salary was very much under paid considering the workload & I just couldn't get used to the internal politics! At this point I felt frustrated & left my job to prepare for govt. jobs. That was in 2017.

My parents were, still are, very supportive, encouraged me to study hard & to my relief I did well in few of the exam's prelims. Recently SSC CGL 2018 final result was out & I have secured a satisfactory rank there & awaiting document verification & joining letter issuance.

I have also cleared WB Civil Service Mains 2019 (which got super delayed due to covid) & waiting for personality test round, which again got delayed due covid 2nd wave.

It's been almost over 4 years I am jobless, even though my parents are supportive....but I feel very depressed at times. WBCS was my actual target, but it's getting so delayed, I think I will have to take up the SSC CGL post, that's also if the rest of the procedure gets completed anytime soon.

In the meantime I am just trying to earn my pocket money by tutoring three 7th & 8th standard kids & feeling depressed & preparing for the PT round of WBCS with no probable dates in sight 😞 Trust me it doesn't feel good 😔

Originally posted by: bollyqueen0

It's kind of sad that we have to constantly work, even if we have the means to take a break from it and be ok financially. Because if a break is taken just for rest, we have to explain to our next job why we didn't dedicate our time to being productive 😒

So being home and having a great life isn’t productive? Do we work for money to live out best life or do we work just to be seen so called productive even if we are miserable? You know F such employees. That’s why I can never work in such culture for too long or work for someone else.