colleagues, sponsors, supporters, and friends know that you’re taking a time-out. Staying in touch, says Sandler — no matter how informal — keeps your network active, an approach that helped her learn about the job opening at Johnson & Johnson. “I sent them all an e-mail saying, ‘Hey, I’m starting to look again, can you help me?'”
Use your time wisely. It is easy to get involved in the issues or events that caused you to leave, but do make time for continued professional development. “It’s so easy to think that when you go back [to work] the world will care about all the fundraising and volunteer work [you’ve done],” McGrath warns. “And they [do] care, but not that much.”
AFTER THE BREAK
Be able to talk about it. You must have a strategy for how you will talk about your hiatus with potential employers. Why did you leave? How have you grown professionally? How can that growth be leveraged in this work environment? Overall, the stepping out process should be beneficial in that you gained a different, more valuable perspective on your profession.