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Question

I've decided to give notice and leave my job april 6th. Will the gap on my resume between now and the start of school be something that needs to be justfied or will it be viewed as an acceptable hiatus?

johnnyx9 · Answer

I think it would look bad unless you had a good reason for leaving your job. Why are you leaving your job?

squali83 · Answer

If you have a legit reason it would not reflect poorly, otherwise the average acceptable resume gap is 2-3 months.

3underscore · Answer

With Johnny on this - if you sit around at home till school starts, bad. If you do some travel and charity stuff, go right ahead. It is a tricky window that you have at the start of going back to study - I don't think anyone wopuld begrudge you resigning, so long as you did something. You can sell it as a thing you wouldn't ever get the chance to do after your MBA.

sujith · Answer

general discontentment. Would like to travel for a bit as well.

sujith · Answer

I guess the question becomes, what's an acceptable reason?
honestly, i would like to travel and perhaps prepare a bit for school.

gogetter · Answer

6 months is a LOOONG time, even with extensive travel. 

If it were me, I would try to stick it out 3 more months, but it still depends on your individual situation.

johnnyx9 · Answer

So if you leave the beginning of April, that's five months of no work. Could you stick it out until at least the end of May?

If it's really that intolerable, maybe you should line up some sort of charity work or something that will occupy you for two or three months so it looks like you're not just on a long vacation.

hobbit · Answer

probably a bit naive to ask...
but what's wrong with long vacations? 
I have plenty of those scattered accross my CV and i have never had any problem finding a good job when I needed - but I never looked for a job in the US though... so maybe it is a US thing?

johnnyx9 · Answer

I'm pretty sure it is a US thing. Europeans seem to be more interested in vacationing and travelling than Americans. 

I'm not sure why that is, really seems like Americans in general are happier with a set routine where they work hard and watch TV in the evenings. Obviously this is a sweeping generalization, but a lot of my coworkers think it's weird when someone at work takes a lot of time off to go on a long or exotic vacation.

sujith · Answer

Part of me just feels like im wasting time at work when I could be engaged in so many more personal productive activities.

kidderek · Answer

As long as it is productive, gaining insight into other cultures, prepping for bschool etc. I don't see a great big deal skipping out a few months. If you plan on sitting on the beach for 4 months, that might be a problem.

sujith · Answer

Also, isn't it pretty much assumed I was going to leave my job anyway? Whats another few months?

Nsentra · Answer

I agree that it's not that big of a deal. I wish I was in your situation.

johnnyx9 · Answer

Well if I was hiring someone and they told me that they left their job five months before starting business school, I would certainly think to myself, "Is this person going to be a malcontent? Will they get bored or disgruntled if I hire them? Are they lazy? How could they afford to take that much time off, are they independently wealthy? If so, then does that mean they don't really need this job and they'll quit as soon as they get tired of it?"

I completely agree with you that if I didn't have to go to work every day I could be doing much more interesting, life-enrichening things with my life. I think 99% of people would agree with that.

aaudetat · Answer

When I consider hiring someone with a long-ish gap, I have the same questions as Johnny. I think that if the gap were between two jobs, and not between job and b-school, it would be more of a problem for me. I think it's probably clear to most people that we're all about to experience a major change in our lives -- taking some time off before this is ok.

5 months is a long time, but doing something "productive" is helpful. Also, I think the most important piece is the context: have you been a job-hopper? I have been at my place for almost 5 years. If I had a nice long break in between, no one would wonder about my commitment to my work.

However, if you haven't managed to hold any job for more than a couple years, I would be more likely to hold this break against you.

sujith · Answer

Thanks guys for the imput. aaudetat, Ive been at my current job for about 5.5 years, so hopefully the perception of any future employers would not be a lack of committment or laziness.

lhotseface · Answer

It is a non-issue for you. You worked for you last company for more than 5 years. You are taking some time off before school to travel, recharge etc. No recruiter is going to make a big deal about it or even give it another thought. It is quite common to take 3-4 months before grad school.

kidderek · Answer

Bingo! I think you hit the nail on the head!

johnnyx9 · Answer

I guess I thought a couple months would be reasonable, but five seems excessive.

Also, I'm jealous, wish I could afford to take a lot of time off, think a month will probably be as much as I can swing.

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