Career break

What It Means

A career break is a deliberate period away from paid work, often months or a few years, taken to care for children or a relative, study, recover from illness, travel or rest. It differs from an unplanned job loss mainly in the planning: the money, the health coverageHealth insuranceA plan you pay a premium for that covers part of your medical costs, while you pay your own share through a deductible, copays and coinsurance. See more and the storyUser storyA short description of something a product should do, written from the point of view of the person who needs it, often in the form "As a, I want, so that." See more for the return are worked out ahead. On a resumeResumeA short document that sums up your work history, skills, education and results for an employer, usually sent with a job application. See more it shows as a gap in employmentResume gapA stretch of months or years with no paid job on your work history, often from caregiving, health, study, a layoff or a long job search. See more, which the Department of Labor's career site, CareerOneStop, offers ways to present.

How People Say It at Work

• "I'm taking a career break while the kids are small."
• "I was out of the workforce for three years caring for my mom."
• "How do I explain the gap on my resume?"

The Breakdown

Worked example. Joy plans a 12-month break after her second baby. The household spends $3,000 a month, her partner's pay covers $1,500 of it, and she has $20,000 saved for the break.

What the result means. Joy's savings carry the full year with a little to spare. If the shortfall were larger, the same savings would cover fewer months, so it's worth running the numbers with your real budgetBudgetA plan for a set period, usually a month, that lists the money you expect to receive and how you'll spend or save it. See more, including health insurance, before giving notice.

Coming back, per CareerOneStop and the Department of Labor

• On the resume, CareerOneStop suggests a functional or combination format that opens with your skills when there's a significant gap.
• A cover letterCover letterA short letter sent with a resume that says which job you want, why you fit it and why this employer, in your own voice. See more is a place to explain the gap briefly.
• In interviews, the Department of Labor's guide suggests keeping the explanation short, naming skills you gained, saying why you're returning now, and not oversharing.

Good to Know

Plan health coverage before anything else. If you're leaving a job that provided it, the Department of Labor's COBRA FAQ explains how you may keep the employer's group coverage for a limited time, and HealthCare.gov says losing coverage can open a Special Enrollment Period to buy a Marketplace plan. Without a paycheck, contributions to a workplace retirement plan stop, so ask HR what happens to your account when you leave. If you're leaving after a birth, see what leave your job offers first; an eligible employee can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected FMLA leaveFMLAThe Family and Medical Leave Act, a federal law giving eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave a year for family and medical reasons. See more.

Related Terms and Categories

• Resume gap

  A stretch of months or years with no paid job on your work history, often from caregiving, health, study, a layoff or a long job search.

• Returnship

  A paid, short-term program, often 12 to 16 weeks, that helps an experienced professional return to work after a career break, sometimes called a re-entry internship.

• Emergency fund

  Money set aside only for unplanned costs, like a car repair, a medical bill or a lost paycheck, kept where you can reach it quickly.

• Open enrollment

  The yearly window when you can sign up for, change or drop health insurance and other benefits, set by your employer for job-based plans.

• Sinking fund

  Money set aside in small, regular amounts for a known future cost, so the bill doesn't land on a single paycheck.

Work, career and remote life