Dear HR, it’s time to stop looking at career breaks as a taboo

Let us work towards building a culture, wherein each individual is free to speak of their career breaks without the fear of being judged.

Taking a career break or a sabbatical is not a sin. It is disheartening to see how our workforce looks down upon people with career breaks and makes it even more difficult for them to rejoin.

In my opinion, the onus lies on both ends of the workforce spectrum. While recruiters should stress more on a candidate’s skills, expertise and attitude instead of career breaks, candidates should also go that extra mile to stay abreast with latest technologies, trends and skills in the domain.

You can’t expect one to keep working till retirement and chase nothing else in life. It takes great courage to take an uncharted path, to work at an NGO, to act in a theatre, or to live in the wild. Instead of frowning at their choices, we should appreciate the guts of those who follow their dreams.

But at the same time, for those who wish to get back to their careers after a rejuvenating break, it is imperative that they have a plan to help them get successfully hired after a career break.

In this video, I share some powerful insights for anyone who is looking to rejoin the workforce with a bang.

Let us not set a culture where we tell people how to live. Let each individual be free to speak of their career breaks without the fear of being judged. It is time we set a fair process where we focus on skills and capabilities instead of career breaks.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)