I’m a senior HR administrator and my partner has just had a baby. I would like to take a career break for three to six months. My employer isn’t keen on the idea, so I’m considering resigning and applying for another role when I feel ready. How will potential employers react to my time out of work and are there any tactics I can employ to ensure my career break isn’t permanent?
Q. I’m a senior HR administrator and my partner has just had a baby. I would like to take a career break for three to six months. My employer isn’t keen on the idea, so I’m considering resigning and applying for another role when I feel ready. How will potential employers react to my time out of work and are there any tactics I can employ to ensure my career break isn’t permanent?
A. First of all, congratulations on the new addition to the family! Hopefully most employers would be sensitive to issues surrounding parental leave, but in some circumstances, this may not be possible. Rather than missing out on the opportunity of spending time with their child, many HR professionals, in view of a buoyant HR recruitment market, are resigning to take a break. Indeed, the incidence of HR practitioners stepping out of the market for a period of time is an increasing trend – some for carers or parental leave, others to travel or to study full-time.
In order to maximise your period of leave, but also ensure that the break doesn’t become permanent, or more lengthy than anticipated, there are a number of things you can do. These include pre-registering with agencies, looking at both contracting and permanent positions and being aware of market trends and traditional times of low movement in the HR market.
The time of year that you choose to take your break should be carefully thought out. Finding yourself back on the market during December/January can result in a longer than anticipated break, given the traditional lull in recruitment levels during this time. Between March and October the market is at its peak, and the number of vacancies tends to be higher, which should allow for a greater chance of success securing a new role. It is prudent to plan your break and subsequent job search to re-enter the market at a time when the numbers of vacancies are predictably higher.
Before taking your break, consider registering with a number of specialist HR recruitment agencies, asking them to consider you for roles that arise during the latter stages of your planned sabbatical. There is nothing more frustrating than deciding that the time has come to look for a new role, only to register with agencies and in the process, find out that the ideal next position has been filled by another applicant only weeks or days previously. Most specialist boutique HR agencies will be open to pre-registering candidates for roles in the future. Keep your agencies up-to-date on your current plans and expectations with regard to re-entering the market, and you can be assured that when the ideal role comes through, you are contacted about the position, even though it may be weeks before you had planned to begin your search.
Be flexible when you re-enter the market – look at contracting and permanent opportunities and give yourself plenty of lead time to source your next role. Being available immediately (or certainly at short notice) can give you a significant advantage, especially in the contracting market. Many temporary or contracting candidates are subsequently made permanent offers within the same organisation, and contracting roles can also greatly enhance your experience, most commonly in allowing you exposure to industry sectors in which you may not have previously worked.
While you are enjoying your time with your baby, also consider signing up for any courses or certificates that will enhance your skill set – keeping your skills honed and your technical knowledge levels high should more than compensate for any perceived negatives for having been out of the workforce for a short period of time. Short courses and certificates through accredited suppliers can also work to iron out any areas of technical weakness that could hamper your search.
In today’s very buoyant HR recruitment market, most potential employers should be flexible on career breaks, be they for travel, study, or carer or parental leave. Some employers are more traditional in their mindset with regard to these types of breaks, but this should not dissuade you from your decision. There are many employers who perceived a career break in a positive light.
Be flexible, be aware of market trends, register with agencies to do the legwork for you, and allow yourself to enjoy your break.
By Claire McNamara, senior consultant, HR Matters
