Digital Nomad Or Travel Sabbatical: Can You Take Extended Time Off Without Derailing Your Career?

I recently caught up with a friend who left his job in the spring and has been traveling for almost six months, including to Tamarindo, Costa Rica for surfing camp!

His expertise is in eCommerce, so his skills and experience would match perfectly with a digital nomad career that blends travel and work. Yet, he elected a travel sabbatical – all play, no work.

A travel sabbatical isn’t something just anyone can do. You need money to fund your travels. You need flexibility to incorporate your plans into other responsibilities. You need some level of confidence that you can take extended time off without derailing your career.

In my friend’s case, he received a severance package as his employer was acquired. His spouse has a flexible job so was able to travel some of the time with him without too much disruption on her end. Regarding the impact of extended time off on his career prospects, he was willing to take the risk.

But can you take extended time off without derailing your career?

Employers do notice when you have a gap in your work history. The shorter the gap, the less impact it has. However, if you end up taking off six months or more, which isn’t difficult if you love to travel, employers might see you as less competitive to other candidates who have been working continuously.

Still, a travel sabbatical doesn’t have to derail your career if you can address the main issues prospective employers worry about:

You really did leave to take a travel sabbatical

I have a list of over 100 travel destinations already picked out, and anyone who knows me well knows that Scott and I have been planning significant travel starting in summer 2019, when our youngest goes off to college.

It will not be hard for me to appear genuine about taking extended time off. However, if you were not doing well in your job and hastily put together a couple of trips to market your story as a travel sabbatical, you will not be as convincing.

Have specific reasons for taking a travel sabbatical – a goal you’re moving to — not just running away from something else.

You really do want to come back

Just like you need to convince employers that you left for good reason, you also need to convince employers that you really want to come back.

A new hire takes time to be trained before getting fully productive, so employers may be wary that you’re coming back just long enough to save more money to leave again.

You prove that your travel sabbatical is genuine by having passionate reasons for wanting to travel. Similarly, you prove that you really want to come back by having passionate reasons for wanting back in your career.

Your skills are still marketable

Ideally the time away developed you as a person. Perhaps you’re more organized, more resourceful, or more knowledgeable about different cultures. Perhaps your time away included classes abroad, or you blogged about your travels and developed technical or creative skills from that.

If your travel is completely unrelated to the career you left behind, you’ll need to show that you’re still current with what you’ll need for the job you’re returning to –i.e., if your travels didn’t enhance your skills, at the very least show that your skills haven’t atrophied.

Your expertise is up-to-date

Similarly, show that your time away didn’t make your expertise outdated by getting back up to speed on issues in your career field when you return.

If you have friends in your same line of work, get in touch a few weeks before you start your job search to find out what has happened since you left. If you keep tabs on industry news while you’re away, you’ll have less catching up to do.

You can do the work

The bottom line is that employers hire people when they need to solve a problem – e.g., a receptionist because visitors need to be welcomed, a sales assistant so the salesperson can focus on customers and not paperwork, a project manager to coordinate a team.

If you can show that you’re the perfect solution to a pressing problem, then your travel sabbatical will be an interesting aside – look how well-rounded this candidate is!

What they will hire you for is doing the work.

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So don’t put off a travel sabbatical because you’re worried that it will be hard to find a job upon your return. If you can calm your prospective employer’s anxiety about the above issues, your travel sabbatical won’t slow you down and will even make a more interesting and unique candidate.