Career Break – Getting back with a Bang!
Author: Sudha Sundaram
It used to be considered taboo having a gap/break in your resume. Good thing is, it is not a blemish on your profile any more! It is becoming more acceptable by Corporates & professionals to take a career break to pursue their educational dream, or to care for self or a loved one, or to travel, or to nurture your kids as a new parent. These are as important as career in everyone’s lives. Career break can happen to any woman or man. It can even be an opportunity to explore a new career path or up-skill ourselves. So, remember it is perfectly fine to take a break from work when you need it.
The Millennial Career 2020 vision – Manpower report, reveals that eighty-four percent foresee significant breaks along the way, reinforcing that Career Waves are replacing the Career Ladder of earlier generations.
Do you worry about taking a break wondering if you will be able to restart? I want to tell you that it is definitely possible to get up & running when we want to – if we invest our time & energy to skill-up & continue our learning journey through our life.
Here is my story!
Like many of you reading this, health & family are my topmost priority. I have had to take breaks from work for family reasons. I would be lying if I said it did not scare me the first time, I took a break. Like most of us, I was worried if I will get a job back, if I will be paid low because I took a break, and most importantly, if I would lose the confidence & knowledge I had in my technology space.
The primary reason for our fear when we think of taking a career break is that we will lose touch with our daily job – be it consulting or developing or managing a project implementation. We are worried that we may lose the knowledge we have gained so far in our career – especially in a technology space like Salesforce, where there are constant innovations & updated offerings!
I can vouch from my personal experience that one can resume their career without compromising on role or pay, as long as we set some time aside to continue our learning & up-skill ourselves.
So, how do we keep up with the trend? Well, here is my seven-point mantra for this:
- Health is key! Keep both mind and body calm; and at peace through exercising/yoga/meditation/any other relaxation methods you follow. Mostly when we are at career break, we are actually dealing with lot more stress. We need to ensure our energies are uplifted and our enthusiasm to get back does not fade.
- Keep learning & skill-up! There is absolutely no short cut to success! I kept learning through Trailhead, Salesforce help documentations, and tried whatever I learnt hands-on in my trial dev org which immensely helped me gain confidence on the topic. What better source for learning than what Salesforce already blessed us with – Go TrailheadGo!
- Pick up a routine! If possible, block an hour or two every day for reading/learning. Soft skills are equally essential as your technical skills. There are plenty of great resources Salesforce Ohana gives us – Blogs, articles, video series! Make the best use of them at your convenient time. I continue to feel blessed countless times being part of this amazing Ohana.
- Be confident! Once we are aware that we haven’t lost touch with Salesforce, we feel more confident to apply for jobs/attend interviews. Knowledge is the key!
- Do not compromise! It is important to not underestimate your power/ability when you decide to resume work. Do not undersell yourselves or your skillset. If you have the right knowledge needed for the job you apply, you have nothing to fear!
- It is absolutely fine to say ‘No’! If someone does not understand that taking work break for family or health is acceptable, may be that is not where you want to work! Trust me, many Companies understand & welcome with open arms, when they know you are skilled and have the right attitude!
- Stay connected! Keep in touch with your ex-colleagues/ friends over phone/chat/social media. You will be surprised by the number of people from Salesforce Ohana, who will happily lend their hands to help in your journey, even though they were strangers at some point to you. Make friends and mentors through your journey! Again, I cannot emphasize the power of the Salesforce Ohana!!
Let the world know how you are skilling up! You never know, you will be inspiring someone like you elsewhere. The power of social media is amazing! Let us lift someone up, as we rise!! #BeAMultiplier
“Never ever give up!”
Oh!! Did I tell you that I have taken 2 short breaks in the last 12+ years and now, I am writing this while on a work break, after giving up a high profile job I had?
I am extremely confident and positive that I will land up in a great job (I will post an update here in the next few months) the moment I am ready for my new adventure!
During this break, I ensured I continued learning Salesforce and I stalked Trailhead every day for something new to learn. I gained 9 new certifications. I actively participate in Trailblazer community and also mentor my lovely Ohana as a Trailblazer Mentor. I have also done an in-depth video series, with 22 sessions on Salesforce CPQ along with Prashant, for the Salesforce Community. Now, I am on to building this website and blog 🙂
Giving back does not always mean giving back to others in the community, it is giving back to yourself too – I constantly kept giving myself knowledge, positivity, happiness & confidence while I was giving back to the community!
If I can, you can!
Update:
In less than 30 days after landing in Canada, I am grateful & humbled to receive a job offer from a top-notch Salesforce Consulting firm! This is after taking a career break for 2 years & 5 months!! When HR reached out to me even before I started my job search, it was reassuring to know learning, skilling-up & experience matters irrespective of break.
This is real, my friends – If it can happen to me, it can definitely happen to you!
Given a chance, I would not change a minute of my career break or have an iota of regret – because we all need time to care for our family and ourselves. This is doable without hurting our career.
Make the best use of breaks, in the best way you can! This is what I believe in & this is what worked for me.
I turned this time a truly phenomenal one by self-learning, becoming a 2X Ranger on Trailhead, gaining 11 new certifications, being part of B2B Solution Architect Credential Council, and by giving back to Community in all ways possible. I had spoken at Dreamin’ events & 8 Salesforce User Groups over the last year & co-instructed the free CPQ video series with 22 videos in Apex Hours – Couldn’t be happier than to see 50+ trailblazers get certified through this! I had mentored many students, and women in career breaks through Trailblazer mentorship program & others on request to help them bring their Salesforce career dream come true. This Salesforce Couple website was also created and launched during my break.
If you are someone who is struggling with career break, and are looking for a mentor, I am glad to help you in your journey completely free of cost– Please reach out to me on my LinkedIn Profile.
I dedicate this blog to all the wonderful women & men out there who take breaks and all those who support us by giving us a chance and not underestimating our power – You all make this world a better place!
You are the world’s Sheroes & Heroes!
Good luck with your adventure!!
“Starting over is an Opportunity to come back Better than Before”
Inspiring article dear Sudha
Thank you, Jananii!
Really a great takeaway master!
– M A
Thank you, M A!
A Great and inspiring story. very well written.
Thank you, Manoj!
Great Article!! More power to you! Where can I find your CPQ tutorials? Thanks in advance!
Thank you, Kavya!
Here is the youtube playlist for CPQ.
Keep an eye on our webiste for more blogs around CPQ as well.
Yes it’s really very confusing . May be same with women/men who want to start their career very late.
I completely agree that such situations can be very confusing. More the reason to channelize our energy towards learning and keeping our skills sharp!
U r always Inspiring Sudha! I have read at right time 🙂
Thank you, Kokila! 🙂
Wow! You are truly inspiring! Way to go, girl!!
Thank you, Karthiga! 🙂
You are amazing, Sudha! You convert any situation into an opportunity with positive attitude and keep going. As always, I see the passion and dedication in what you do! Commendable Sudha 👏👏👏
Thank you, Shalini! 🙂
Wonderful Article that helps to have faith on one’s ability with hope and never give up. What makes it best is the simplicity of words used to make the entire article comprehendible. I can completely relate to it (though with respect to my own situation)…
Thank you, Vishal! Really happy that you are able to connect with the article.
Much needed article for me.
Thank you