The recession could be a great time to take a well earned career break. There is a variety of different projects and volunteer groups that you could become involved in and you can go for a minimum of one week to a maximum of six months.

Finding the courage to take a career break can be quite daunting, but it can look brilliant on your CV if you have become involved in a project that is really worthwhile. Most placements make use of your existing skills and experience to make the trip extremely beneficial to your. There are some many different projects to become involved in you are sure to find the right one to benefit your skills and expertise.

However, if you would rather undertake a working holiday, there are numerous trips and organisations who will happily take on an individual or group of friends. Often for a week or more people wishing to take a working holiday or ethical holiday can join a programme of support and development in local communities all over the world. Projects include helping in the Amazon, assisting with marine conservation and wildlife rescue.

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You’ve been in that daily grind for a few years now. Every morning you join the rat race to work and come home time, you’re stuck in it again. The beeping horns, the traffic fumes and the hours wasted trying to get home is enough to send anyone mad.

And there comes a time when a holiday just doesn’t cut the mustard. It’s time for a career break.
Volunteering abroad is the perfect way to get away from it all. Whilst developing your skills and life experience, you can make a real difference as well as getting to see some incredible parts of the world.

You can choose anything from a one week to six month programme. And you can choose to make a difference to people, animals and the environment. You can apply your existing skills to your volunteer work or you can opt to develop new skills in a completely new challenge.

With more and more people suffering from the stress associated with our hectic lifestyles, a career break can provide the ideal answer. It’s the chance to take some time out of your work life, enjoy a different environment and fulfil a once in a lifetime opportunity.

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Many people who have already entered the world of work take gap years to do a variety of things. Volunteering either within this country or abroad is a popular and beneficial way to spend your gap year for many reasons, not least the great amount of personal satisfaction which this will give you.

For many people however, the biggest issue for them to resolve before they begin their gap year is what are they going to do after it? Are they, for example, going to return to the job which they were in previously or are they going to move on to new challenges?

This is very important to consider and ideally you need to have all of this planned out, at least in your mind, when you leave. Even if you are not planning on returning to your old place of work when you return, it is critical that you leave there on a good note. This is essential for two reasons, first of all you never know where life will take you and one day in the future you may want to return to your old company.

Secondly, you may well need your former employers to provide a reference for you in the future and parting on bad terms is not ideal. Whatever you plan to do after your gap year, make sure that you keep as many options open as possible and ensure that you will have no regrets at all.

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For many people, coming into work every morning is not inspiring and in fact is something which they dread. There are many reasons for this and each case will be different.

However, one of the most common reasons why people do not enjoy their job is because they are not inspired by it. In an ideal world, we would all wake up in the mornings and go to work with a smile on our faces, wondering what challenges the day ahead will bring. For many people of course this is not the case.

However, the good news is that your destiny is in your own hands and more people than ever before are using a gap year or career break in order to consider where the path ahead should lead.

Amongst other things, this is a great way to take stock of your life and think about what you really want to achieve from it. In addition to this, it also means that when you return to the workplace, you are refreshed and focused in achieving your aims, which is beneficial to both yourself and your employer.

Gaining direction in your career is sometimes a very difficult thing to do if you have become slightly lost on your journey. Gap years and career breaks help you to regain that focus and determination to succeed.

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A great many people want to carry out volunteer work abroad. They may want to help out a worthy cause, experience an area of the world they might not otherwise see or they may even want to learn through working independently, organising themselves and others.

However, many people are put off. Either they can’t afford the time to go away for a month, let alone a year, or they can’t afford the expense.

This is where summer mini gaps come in. If you’ve just left school or you’re a student in your summer break, you can take advantage of a summer mini gap to do something worthwhile that lasts a shorter duration.

Summer mini gaps can last anywhere from a week to two months and typically take place in July or August. The timing and length of these programmes mean that you can take part in something challenging for a short period; go and explore the country in question afterwards; and still get back in time to be prepared for whatever you’re doing during the next academic year.

There are a wide variety of different summer mini gap projects available in a number of different countries.

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Peru is a popular destination for tourists, due to its fascinatingly varied landscape and the many sights originating from Incan and even pre-Incan times. A great way of seeing these sights and of experiencing the culture of Peru is by signing up to do some volunteer work.

Voluntary work is often seen as something you’ll do for an extended period of time; something for students or people taking gap years, but that’s not necessarily the case. With a working holiday, you can contribute for just a week or two. This is ideal if you can’t spare a month or more but still want to do something of value while you are on your holiday.

If you choose to do this in Peru, you can combine the work with some additional travelling and sightseeing. Macchu Picchu is perhaps the best known Incan ruin and is well worth a visit. Macchu Picchu was a major Incan city in the 15th century, but was only inhabited for around 100 years. Its ruins lie in the Andes 2,400m above sea level.

Largely forgotten for centuries and considered ‘lost’, Macchu Picchu is known for its spectacular location as well as the astounding quality of the stonework in its architecture. One of the world’s great tourist attractions, it is well worth visiting as part of a working holiday to Peru.

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When people think of gap years and volunteering abroad, they tend to think that it’s for younger people just before they go to university, or perhaps just afterwards. This is a misconception as there are growing numbers of people taking gap years and career breaks later in life.

Around 90,000 Britons take a career break each year. This could be for a couple of months or even a year or more. This may be done with the blessing of their employer, or perhaps it is a means of changing direction with their career, leaving one job and pondering what to do next. Some people even find inspiration in the volunteer work they carry out while they’re away.

Some businesses even see career breaks as a means for development which allow their workforce to gain new experiences and skills and which also ensure that they remain happy and motivated.

Career breaks aren’t right for everyone and as you get older you will tend to find you have more responsibilities that cannot be sidelined. Nevertheless, if you’re interested in doing something worthwhile and in experiencing a new place at the same time, it’s definitely worth looking into. There are so many countries to visit and any number of different projects in which you can get involved.

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One very common question which is asked by people who are about to conduct a career break is what should I do about planning my return to the workplace? For many, this is a very important area which needs to be resolved before they can fully commit to a gap year or career break at all. You obviously need to have some degree of security and have a future vision of how your career will pan out after your trip. As a result, there are a few tips which we can give you which hopefully your will find beneficial.

First of all, make sure that you leave your current workplace in an amicable and graceful manner. You never know when you may need them for a reference or even a future offer of employment, so it is imperative that you do not burn your bridges here.

The same can be said for clients and suppliers in your current role – a respected name in any industry is worth its weight in gold and therefore you should take some time to talk to these people about your plans and wish them all the best for the future.

Also, inform people of when you will be returning and put tentative ideas across that you may well approach them for a job at the time or ask if they could recommend you to others.

The other way to conduct this of course is to agree a sabbatical. Much of the time these are unpaid but do give you the option of returning at the end of your trip. It is common for these to be offered in larger companies, but this is not to say that smaller companies are opposed to them. It may be worthwhile you enquiring about the possibility of a sabbatical during the planning stages.

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There are many benefits from conducting a career break and we have already explored many of these on this site. One of the main advantages which this brings is the ability to be able to enhance your CV with something unique.

When you return to work after a career break, as long as this was properly planned out from the offset, then you can be sure to return to the workplace invigorated and also ready for any challenge which is put in front of you.

Of course the infinite amount of confidence and knowledge which you have when you return back to your career will also need to be reflected on paper. In this regard, your CV can document this thoroughly and give you a definite cutting edge when it comes to advancements.

When you conclude you gap year, it is useful to jot down some ideas of how you were before the trip and the differences which this has made. Be sure not to sell yourself short and be proud of the advances which you have made. If you are unsure of the direction which this should go in, then ask people within the workplace how they think you have changed following your career break. Also it is important that you do not dismiss any compliments which you are paid and do yourself justice in your assessment.

It is advisable that you write a short and succinct paragraph on your CV documenting all the skills and experiences which were carried out during your trip. Make sure that you keep this in the same style as the rest of your CV and if you need to take advice in terms of targeting the document to your own field then this is definitely advisable.

A career break can provide many benefits both to yourself and your working environment – do not sell yourself short and be proud of your achievements.

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Over the past few years there have been numerous initiatives to promote a healthy work – life balance. Many of these have come from the government, but many companies are now implementing schemes of their own to ensure that the wellbeing of their employees is of paramount importance.

As part of this, we have seen a growing number of people take career breaks and there are many advantages in offering this at company level. Firstly and most importantly offering the potential for gap years should increase staff retention – obviously reducing recruitment costs and resulting in a happier and therefore more productive workforce. These long term advantages are much sought after especially in the current economic climate.

In terms of the employee, you raise the chances of staff keeping loyal to the company and therefore can build on their expertise for the foreseeable future. You will also notice an enhancement of their skills following the gap year, such as an increased sense of leadership and developed methods of communication. Many people return to work with a greater degree of efficiency and confidence which could otherwise have taken years to build up.

Further to this, the employee will return to work happier and with a great deal of self fulfilment which can only be a positive thing in terms of productivity.

Finally, companies offering career breaks will be well renowned throughout the local and national community as being employee focused which would undoubtedly raise their profile. In addition to this, offering this would almost certainly be a wise business decision in terms of long term financial benefits.

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