break between jobs and employability

s7ryf3925pivug

I'm considering quitting my job before lining something else up, and taking a few weeks' before looking. A big factor in that would be whether it would affect what job I can get next.

I would release a couple of open source things, publish some blog posts, a free app. Stuff I've wanted to do for a while but not had the time. Otherwise I'd have time for my kid and sorting out stuff in the house, and just de-stressing.

I'm a senior developer, high end of payscale, would be looking for more senior role or contract work (turned down more senior role previously). I could absorb the loss of earnings for a few weeks comfortably enough.

Any thoughts/experiences/insights?

Deborah Unsightly Tailspin

Deborah Unsightly Tailspin wrote: »

Any thoughts/experiences/insights?

Thanks for attending interview Deborah Unsightly Tailspin.

I see there's a small gap between your last employment and looking to work for us. Why did you leave your last job?*

*Is what I'd be more interested in. And saying you wanted to de-stress would not be the best answer.

However, it's an employee market out there for sure. You'll definitely get another relevant job, but will you get the exact job you want. That may be trickier.

s7ryf3925pivug

Deleted User wrote: »

Thanks for attending interview blergh.

I see there's a small gap between your last employment and looking to work for us. Why did you leave your last job?*

*Is what I'd be more interested in. And saying you wanted to de-stress would not be the best answer.

However, it's an employee market out there for sure. You'll definitely get another relevant job, but will you get the exact job you want. That may be trickier.

Yeah interview answer would be to do stuff with my house and spend time with my kid, which is true.

Was given wrong job description for current job. Not doing what I signed up for at all. (Not minor inaccuracies or embellishments - they gave me a spec for a role on a different project entirely.) I'm leaving the job very early for that reason so it will be a question they'd have anyway.

Sheeps

I quit my last job more than two years ago with out having another lined up. Save up some money, and do it. It's not as scary as it may seem and there's something refreshing about getting up in the morning and knowing that you can spend your time doing what ever you want. Eventually it will get boring.

Employers wont bat an eyelid at the fact that you're taking time away for yourself. You don't need an excuse. The whole not having leverage argument doesn't really hold water either. When you eventually decide to get back on the horse if you're offered a role at a salary you don't like (and you feel they're trying to hold the fact that you're not earning anything currently against you) you can walk away from the offer. You will more than likely be interviewing for multiple employers at once, and you'll be able to bid them against one another.

That's how it worked for me. I had planned a 6 month sabatacale of sitting on my arse and working on my own stuff, but only lasted 3 months because I was so bored by the end of it.

colm_c

How many weeks are you looking for a break?

To be honest, I would apply for jobs now, as it can take time to find the right position, especially at senior level, where you want to be a bit picky and not take the first thing that comes along.

Once you have an offer you can then add time to your start date to give you a few weeks off.

Obviously if you want to take off 3 months that might not work.

As for interviews won't really be a problem if you decide to have a gap, be somewhat honest 'wanted to spend time with family and refocus'.

John_C

I took six months off before starting my current job. It wasn't an issue at all during the job hunt. Another fella in work did the same.

From the point of view of a new employer, there are up sides to your plan too. You're available to start immediately. If you're confident in your skills you could offer to do some contracting work before signing on permanently, that makes the hire a lot less risky for them.

BTW: If you were just looking for some time off, you could apply for parental leave either.

Berserker

Deborah Unsightly Tailspin wrote: »

I'm leaving the job very early for that reason so it will be a question they'd have anyway.

How early is 'very early'?

s7ryf3925pivug

I'm there two months. I was given the wrong job spec and they tried to blame me when I pointed that out. Dislike the job, not something I would have taken, especially in preference to the counter offer ai received from my previous employer. I have already a thread about that in work problems forum so any further discussion of that should probably be there.

Berserker

Deborah Unsightly Tailspin wrote: »

I'm there two months. I was given the wrong job spec and they tried to blame me when I pointed that out. Dislike the job, not something I would have taken, especially in preference to the counter offer ai received from my previous employer. I have already a thread about that in work problems forum so any further discussion of that should probably be there.

I've responded to your post in that thread. It covers this topic also.

Royale with Cheese

I took 3.5 months off between my current and previous roles. It wasn't an issue but both were contract roles so not sure if it'd be any different for permanent work. I did have some hassle from the rather overzealous onboarding department of my current company (it's a very large UK based company), enquiring what I was doing as it's their policy to seek explanation for any gaps of 3+ month on a CV. When I said I was just taking time off they wanted to talk to my accountant so he could confirm I wasn't working anywhere else in that 3 month gap. I basically just told them to piss off though and they didn't press me on it.

The only other thing I'd mention is that I found the onboarding process much longer than I thought it'd be. As I was available immediately I thought I'd be starting within a week or two. Between my first interview and actually starting the job was nearly 6 weeks. I'd probably have started looking slightly sooner if I'd known that. It was my intention to just take the summer off but I didn't go back to work until mid October.

dazberry

Deborah Unsightly Tailspin wrote: »

I'm there two months. I was given the wrong job spec and they tried to blame me when I pointed that out. Dislike the job, not something I would have taken, especially in preference to the counter offer ai received from my previous employer. I have already a thread about that in work problems forum so any further discussion of that should probably be there.

I've read your other thread and similar has happened to me a number of times throughout my career, ranging from lies and misrepresentations to cancelled projects, but mostly the former.

Anyway the last time it happened was a couple of years ago, I considered quitting quickly and leaving it off the CV, but in the end I stuck it out but ended up leaving after 5 months anyway. While I turned down a few roles before starting back (I absolutely wasn't going to make a similar mistake), it took 5 months to get something that I was happy with.

Now I can't be 100% sure on those applications where I was unsuccessful during that time - but in one particular case my CV was withheld by HR and not passed, which only came to light a few months into the process. In the end I was given the choice to write them a note (I kid you not) detailing why I'd left the previous job so quickly - but the horse had bolted at that stage.

D.

s7ryf3925pivug

I pulled the trigger anyway.

John_C

Deborah Unsightly Tailspin wrote: »

I pulled the trigger anyway.

Congratulations!

14ned

As a former contractor I regularly had multi-month breaks between paid roles. Just make sure that you have a good story about upskilling to tell during those breaks, and it may even aid your job search.

Letting the gap exceed 12 months is unwise though. Most companies take months to hire, so taking three months off is probably safe, but do start proactively searching after that. It may take three months to land a job which suits you, or even more.

Re: lies in job descriptions, always assume the job description is a lie. Because it usually will be, they'll always tell a rosy tale to hire. So ignore the job description, try instead to judge culture, the team, whether working on crap will be tolerable in that specific team, etc.

Niall

moycullen14

I had about 7 years off between paid contracts. I was involved in an IT start-up (failed) and a couple of other non IT related fields.


When the sh*t hit the fan in 2010, I needed to work (money!) badly so off I went applying for contracts......


Happily the core technologies I was using in the early noughties (java, oracle, linux) were still in demand - even if the detailed technology had moved on a fair bit.



I eased my way iback in via mobile development - new at the time so no-one had any experience - a couple of fixed price apps via some old contacts. From there a couple of hops and I was back in the game.



I was just basically honest about what I had done. No-one seemed to have much issue with it.



One thing that caused me some grief was the 'technical' test interviews. Couldn't remember any details at all and I wasn't used to them. After a few howlers, I started to get the hang of what was wanted and, with a bit of study, I was fine.



All the work is contract based so that makes it easier - employers more willing to take a chance. All you need is one gig to get you going again.



I wouldn't sweat it. A lot of companies are desperate for bodies at the moment - especially if you're willing to compromise a bit on location/money.