Sabbatical

LegacyUser

Been living abroad and been very stressed with stressful work and being unsettled in general in a new environment without much support.

Coming home in February and despair at the thought of looking for work. I have no dependents so I guess that helps a bit.

I feel I need a few months to work on my physical and mental health. As I feel my burnout would be obvious in an interview situation at the moment anyway.

However I don't want to be admitting this to employer's - makes you look weak. How best to explain a few months not working/sabbatical - I could take up volunteering or similar, or just try and find some menial/low stress work in the interim?

Thanks for any tips or your own Sabbatical stories

Mrs OBumble

Menial work is sometimes as if not more stressful than professional.

If you can afford not to work, then don't. Find a (lightweight!) course you want to do, or volunteer project, and fill in your CV with that.

ja1986

Just say that at the end of the employment you travelled for a bit and then settled at home and now your looking. No big problem.

TheDoc

I never understand the "gap in the CV" stuff. I've had gaps in my CV, and if I'm asked about them I'm very honest in saying I just took time of to myself as I could afford to. And that's the end of it.

You work the majority of your life, for some gaps here and there to be looked on negatively is just weird. when I'm doing interviews I rarely care that much for gaps, unless it was something obvious like someone not working in my area for like, 15 years.

gercoral

you should do some volunteering! i do every summer and it really does help. i work with international volunteers and just seeing different faces and hearing different stories and helping others is a nice feeling (not trying to sound like an egotistical ****e)

volunteering with VSI/SCI is a relatively cheap affair. generally speaking, accommodation and food is included.