PlantsRfood

I really like your perspective, and I think at my stage in life (I don't need to strive as much financially) I can afford to prioritise job satisfaction over money ambition. I do take great pride in my work and enjoy making other people's lives easier by being useful. So whereas in the beginning, I had big ambitions to become a Director, I would be happy to just be in a job (senior or not) where I got to do interesting projects I could sink my teeth into, and have a fair amount of autonomy.

The only reason I would consider a career changes is because of the conditions (lack of flexibility to allow me to manage elder care, or to maintain my own energy levels). But I do enjoy my profession. And I think it's a fairly good fit for me. I did a Bachelors degree and a Masters degree so I could work in this profession, so I'd have to have a pretty watertight reason for changing now. My issue is that I don't have the energy I used to have. And given the lack of promotions over the past 14 years of work, I have become discouraged that I can ever get ahead in this field. Yes, I've been living on savings. I've been living pretty frugally. I haven't been going out drinking or for dinner. My social stuff has not been consumption centred. I could probably afford to study if I wanted to, but I'd have to be serious about it and after a year and a half off, I don't have a clear idea of anything that would be worth it, or better than my current profession.

I think the main value of getting out and meeting more people is just so that I'm a happier person, and that will make me a better person to have in the work environment. (In my last job, people would always ask what I did on the weekend, and I felt like it reflected poorly on me that I always spent it alone). So getting a bit of a social life is good for appearances and also for making me a more balanced person which is good in the workplace, but hard to explain that I needed to take time to achieve this. I brushed up on my graphic design skills, so I think this will be somewhat useful for one of the rare occasions it is needed in my job, but it's not a core part of my profession.

I had zero promotions in the ten years I worked for my first employer. I started out with big ambitions but met with setbacks which I never overcame. When I left that employer, I sort of had to start at the bottom again, as I was in a new State with different legislation, so I did that for a year and then finally got one level up from entry level. I was extremely passionate when I first started out in my career. I have a Bachelors Degree which I did initially, and completed a Masters while I was in my first job. But things have not gone as I'd hoped. Not due to lack passion or hard work. But now I'm middle aged, getting more tired, and more hopeless.

Prior to quitting, I had worked in my field for 14 years. The job I quit I'd been in for 3 years. The job before that was one year (but I only left because my contract was up), and before that I worked for the same employer for ten years.

No, unless you include helping out friends and family. I've been helping my mum, with the goal of keeping her out of aged care and living independently as long as possible. I've been teaching myself new skills (renovation related) which is not related to my job but has been good for building confidence that I have some basic life skills outside of writing Government policy documents. I've also been brushing up on my graphic design skills, which are useful in my field on the odd occasion but certainly not critical. I've been working progressively through a long to do list, and have achived all the big things I set out to achieve in my time off, but none are related to my field. I looked into alternative careers that I hoped would be easier to control my own workload, (e.g. I looked into doing an apprenticeship in a trade) but ultimately decided that I am too old, and would not be able to get an apprenticeship. And also, I still need to be able to occasionally assist my mum if she gets ill.

I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your honesty here. This really shows the beauty of the internet and being able to ask questions anonymously. I will also add that prior to quitting, I had worked in my field for 14 years. The job I quit I'd been in for 3 years. The job before that was one year (but I only left because my contract was up), and before that I worked for the same employer for ten years.

Thank you, however it wasn't leave. I would have taken unpaid leave if it was available, but it wasn't so I quit my job. Do you have any suggestions of what I can call it?

I'm a professional (government / policy) and I am about to start looking for a job after having taken the past year and a half off work. I'm concerned that my reasons for taking the time off are difficult to explain concisely, and also probably confuse or even set off red flags to people I'm trying to make a good first impression on. Some background on me: I'm middle aged, female, single, an introvert, and before I quit my job (which I quite enjoyed), I had only been living in my city for several years. (It's my hometown, but I'd been living in another city for the past 15 years). The true reason I quit my job and took all this time off are: 1. I wanted to get off the merry go round that was my work and slow down. I was so exhausted in my previous job that I was worried I would burn out, and mess up the projects I was responsible for, so I wanted to get out before I did any damage. 2. I was lonely, having not lived in my city for long, and I found that the exhaustion from working full time and spending my free time recovering wasn't leaving time or energy to get out and meet people. This was contributing to my depression. 3. I was curious to see what I was capable if left to my own devices, and if able to prioritise eating well, getting enough exercise, and doing things at my own pace. 4. I was worried about my mum, for whom I'm the only person there is to help her, and I wanted to help make her home more liveable, as it was dysfunctional and a bit of a hoarding situation. 5. I am a creative person, and I wanted to allow that part of myself to come out of its slumber. 6. I've never been the type to want to be busy. I treasure free time like nothing else. So having time to do what I want when I want is the most valuable thing to me. More than travel or adventure. I just love not having to answer to anyone. So I spent this time living the free life, getting out and meeting more people, building up a sense of community, indulging my creative hobbies, eating healthy meals, getting all the exercise and sunshine I wanted each day, renovating my apartment so that it is more functional for when I'm busy again, helping my mum make her home more manageable as she gets older, and that's about it. It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue like 'I spent a year backpacking around Europe' or 'I did the first year of a Masters in a related field. How do I turn this into an elevator pitch that doesn't set off red flags?