Every professional goes through a lot of ups and downs in his life. It can be in the form of wage cuts, transfers, moving out of the organization, and even worse staying away from the job market for a while. There are several factors that make employees leave their profession while they are climbing their ladder toward the success path. If you have been on a career break for more than three months for reasons like travel, illness, having children, caring for your relatives, changing your career path, starting a business, etc. you need to be able to explain the same to your prospective employer when you make the move to be back on the job path.
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You can explain various reasons for your career break to your prospective employer by sharing facts as they are without involving any negative emotions.
1) If you have been traveling during your career break, you can share that “I always dreamt of going to this place and that’s why I went to this place for XYZ period and explored a different culture and learned a new language. This gave me new insights about life in general that I would like to add to my career and be an asset to your company.
2) If you wanted to pursue a different interest, you can mention “Things were not the way I expected in my previous position. So, I decided to take time off from the workplace to pursue my hobby in the field of my choice. I accomplished my personal goal and also learned how I can align my goals with my profession.”
3) If you were going through an illness, you can share “I had decided to take time away from the job market because I understood the importance of a healthy body and mind that is required to succeed in the rapidly changing economy. While I was dealing with this illness, I got myself involved in charity work and also volunteered for an NGO who were working for people who were going through similar health issues.
4) If you were caring for your relative or parent, you can proudly say how the caregiving process improved your bond with them. You can say “I took my time off from my career because I felt caring for my parent is the most important priority of my life. No career opportunity was bigger than the full recovery of my parent.”
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If you have changed your career path completely, you can even mention how the career transition has helped you overcome your life crisis. You can mention how the new career is going to help others or companies deal with real-life problems well. Your new career path can be a way of a new life for you and that has to be stressed to your new employer. Even if you don’t sound convincing to your employer, you can quote some real-life examples of people who have left their earlier professions or careers to achieve success in their lives. All the best!
