DH currently on a sabbatical, but about to start applying for jobs. What does he put on his CV?

[CrumbsInBed]

Dh is coming to the end of a six month sabbatical, and has started to update his CV.

What is the best way of wording in regards to his sabbatical, in relation to “present employment”?

He doesn’t want to say he is currently unemployed. He left his last employment as he was deeply unhappy there, and decided to take six month off to recharge. Also, some of the time off was also in relation to his 50th birthday present.

He’s not the type to leave employment without another job to go to, and had a fantastic work record, but he is anxious that his sabbatical will be seen as shirking, or go against him somehow.
Can anybody advise, or help to put this into words on his CV?
Thank you 🙏 in advance xx

What kind of jobs is he going to start to apply for? Same industry as before or is he looking for a change? If a change, I would say he took time off to refocus on new career. If the same, I think it will be difficult to put a good sheen on the fact that he couldn't cope anymore and quit. I do sympathise though as I'm currently in a job I hate but don't want to quit in case it deters future employers.

Is he on LinkedIn? Check out Jenny Foss on LinkedIn learning. She has a weekend resume masterclass which is great and it deals with career gaps.

@leghairdontcare, yes he is on LinkedIn. I’ll mention Jenny Foss to him, thank you.

I think he wants to stay doing the same thing (engineering), but he has also mentioned on his CV other things he has done in case nothing engineering wise comes up. He is happy to go on an agency also.

He had a pretty bad experience in his last post, bullying manager, but that is the first time he has left a job without a new one lined up.
Before that (he was there 4 years) he has had long employment with other firms.
We hope that gets taken into consideration, surely it would?

I don't think it's a huge barrier to finding a new role but he needs to be prepared for that question and be able to put a positive spin on it.

I wouldn't say 'sabbatical' on any application or in interview, it sounds too much like he's trying to find a fancy word for having a bit of a holiday!

As long as he has a decent work history behind him, a few months off wouldn't worry me at all.

But I would dig into why he left his last job with nothing to go to - was he unhappy because his boss didn't like him? Or because he wasn't progressing? They're potential concerns for me. Nothing insurmountable, but make sure he has decent answers to the obvious questions.

I write cvs. I would keep it simple and say something like, "Planned career break". Then in interview he can explain that he was unhappy and wanted to explore alternatives and reconsider career prospects while also studying/pursuing other intwrests/ spending time with family.

It's not actually that unusual for people to take time off these days to travel, recharge, write a book etc

@Floyella, thank you, ok, we’ve ditched the word sabbatical. I see what you are saying, plus the weather has been great so he has effectively had a bit of a holiday.

He does have a decent working history, so we’re not too mithered about that part. Its the wording on his CV/LinkedIn profile that he wants to get right at the moment.

@BlingLoving, planned career break sounds a lot better, thanks.
Glad that it’s not unusual that people take a career break. He certainly feels recharged so it has worked 🙂.

To me, a sabbatical is someone who takes unpaid leave from their job and then returns to the same job.

Your husband is unemployed. He hasn’t taken a sabbatical. Don’t try and make it something it isn’t.

I would say the same as Greendale, to me a sabbatical is a planned and unpaid break from your contracted post. I've know teachers to take 'career breaks' and then come back to their jobs.

Ok, We changed it to planned career break as per my last post to @BlingLoving
He wasn’t trying to make it something it wasn’t. We chose the wrong word @Greendale17, that’s all.