5 ms·

and what is/was the response to the 'sabbatical year' on your résumé?

georgieporgie 15y ago
FWIW, I've been "out of work" for ~2.5 years, traveled SE Asia, lived in Japan for six months, and bicycled from Canada to Mexico. When a Google recruiter talked to me, he seemed really impressed, and not put off in the least.
- shorttime 15y ago
  You get it, as long as you have a legitimate story and reason people who you would actually want to work for wouldn't care or even be envious. However, if you just sat around the house, went out drinking with your buddies all the time, and lived off savings - that could look bad to most people (not all, but most).
  - georgieporgie 15y ago
    That's basically exactly what I did for the six months in Japan. It's amazing how people's impressions are changed by one small detail. :-)
- jimbokun 15y ago
  "When a Google recruiter talked to me, he seemed really impressed, and not put off in the least." Did they hire you?
  - georgieporgie 15y ago
    No. I told them I wasn't ready to make the sort of long-term commitment I would want at Google.
Luyt 15y ago
"and what is/was the response to the 'sabbatical year' on your résumé?" I'm not sure. I don't actively mail around my résumé, since I'm employed at the moment and not looking for work. Sometimes recruiters email me, but they have never mentioned the sabbatical. Probably people just ignore it. I haven't updated the details on my résumé since 2004, shame on me ;-)
akronim 15y ago
Had a year off traveling. First lot of interviews after that, everyone was very suspicious - e.g. wondering if the plan was to work for a few months then take off again. Fast forward two years when interviewing again everyone thought it was a "fantastic life experience". Basically employers saw it as a risk first time around, second time around it was proven that my intentions were good. YMMV.
- Luyt 15y ago
  Excellent idea. I'll squeeze in a second 'sabbatical' with some years between the two.

FWIW, I've been "out of work" for ~2.5 years, traveled SE Asia, lived in Japan for six months, and bicycled from Canada to Mexico. When a Google recruiter talked to me, he seemed really impressed, and not put off in the least.

shorttime 15y ago
You get it, as long as you have a legitimate story and reason people who you would actually want to work for wouldn't care or even be envious. However, if you just sat around the house, went out drinking with your buddies all the time, and lived off savings - that could look bad to most people (not all, but most).
- georgieporgie 15y ago
  That's basically exactly what I did for the six months in Japan. It's amazing how people's impressions are changed by one small detail. :-)
jimbokun 15y ago
"When a Google recruiter talked to me, he seemed really impressed, and not put off in the least." Did they hire you?
- georgieporgie 15y ago
  No. I told them I wasn't ready to make the sort of long-term commitment I would want at Google.

Luyt 15y ago

"and what is/was the response to the 'sabbatical year' on your résumé?" I'm not sure. I don't actively mail around my résumé, since I'm employed at the moment and not looking for work. Sometimes recruiters email me, but they have never mentioned the sabbatical. Probably people just ignore it. I haven't updated the details on my résumé since 2004, shame on me ;-)

akronim 15y ago

Had a year off traveling. First lot of interviews after that, everyone was very suspicious - e.g. wondering if the plan was to work for a few months then take off again. Fast forward two years when interviewing again everyone thought it was a "fantastic life experience". Basically employers saw it as a risk first time around, second time around it was proven that my intentions were good. YMMV.

Luyt 15y ago
Excellent idea. I'll squeeze in a second 'sabbatical' with some years between the two.