How to Move Forward When You're Between Jobs

Share the Adventure

When the pink slip stops at their mailbox, most people seek sympathy and validation from family and friends, so they compose a "good-bye" email under the guise of passing along new contact information. Dlugozima encourages you to resist the temptation. She says that those email messages, which often solicit job leads and suggest financial woes, only succeed in making your loved ones feel guilty about not being able to help.

Instead, wait a month or two, and write an upbeat, newsy email containing exciting information about your planned sabbatical. Make your trip sound meaningful and appealing, but don't rub it in that you'll be learning to hula in Maui while your friends endure yet another PowerPoint presentation at work.

"Keep the email straightforward and businesslike," Dlugozima says. "Above all, trust no one. Even if you're scared to death of embarking on a six-month sabbatical, don't confess those fears to anyone except your closest friend. Keep your outside appearance confident."

Once you've embarked on your sabbatical, keep friends and colleagues engaged in your adventure through periodic correspondence that stresses your personal growth and social contributions. "You want people to live vicariously through you -- and you want potential employers to know that you're out there acquiring the skills they need and becoming a more fascinating person at the same time," Dlugozima writes in Six Months Off. "Cultivate a larger-than-life image."

Keep Hope Alive

The most stressful aspect of taking a sabbatical may be the return to civilization. Dlugozima says that postsabbatical depression plagues the majority of people who return from fantastic voyages to the same old, same old. Her antidote? Begin by planning your next sabbatical immediately.

But assuming that mortgage payments and career aspirations will prevent most people from launching one sabbatical after another, Dlugozima offers more practical advice for combating the real-world blues. First, schedule at least one week of transition time between your return home and your return to career obligations. Use that time to reorganize your life and to acclimate yourself to postsabbatical living. "Treat yourself tenderly," Dlugozima advises.

Next, commemorate the end of your sabbatical with a ceremony of your own design. Host a welcome-back party at your house to share stories and photos. Set aside one evening to reread your travel diary. Treat yourself to that bottle of Merlot you picked up in France. Somehow, achieve a feeling of closure, so you can effectively advance to the next chapter.

Finally, institute personal rituals designed to keep you in touch with the people, places, and adventures that you encountered during your sabbatical. If you worked at a newspaper in Moscow, make contact with the Russian-American organization in your region. If you volunteered with an environmental group in Peru, offer to write an article about your experience for the Greenpeace Web site. The greatest benefits of your sabbatical may emerge from something you do while seeking closure.

"Courage was my greatest sabbatical take-away," Dlugozima says. "Talk of layoffs just doesn't bother me anymore. I became more resourceful during my sabbatical, and as a result, I lost my fear of the unknown. By thinking back to my days in Prague and the risks I took there, I evoke a feeling of fearlessness and confidence that permeates my work and life. My sabbatical will never truly end."

Hope Dlugozima currently works as the creative director for WebMD and as a career-shift coach for iVillage.com, where she contributes expert advice to the career-shifting message board.

Anni Layne (alayne@fastcompany.com) is the Fast Company senior Web editor.

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