Slacker label?

懒惰者标签？

Explaining a year off on your CV doesn’t haveto be a bad thing, said Payne. “Taking the time off can highlight to anorganisation that you want to further your skill set and try new experiences,”he said. “It could also mean that you’ll come back from your break with adifferent perspective, which is likely to aid your job performance.”

解释简历上一年的空窗期未必是件坏事，佩恩说。“休假是向一家公司强调你拓展技能组合和尝试新体验的意愿。”他说，“这还意味着休假回来之后你拥有了不同的视角，这很可能有助于你的工作表现。”

Taking the time off can [show] that youwant to further your skill set and try new experiences.

休假可以表明你拓展技能组合和尝试新体验的意愿。

Of the 500 people interviewed for RebootYour Life — a 2011 book which offers practical advice on career breaks — not one person regrettedthe decision to take a break (which lasted anywhere from one month to two years),according to Jaye Smith, co-founding partner of New York-based careerconsultancy Reboot Partners, LLC, and co-author of the book.

根据纽约职业生涯咨询公司Reboot Partners的联合创始合伙人、《Reboot Your Life》（重启你的人生）一书的共同作者杰伊·史密斯（Jaye Smith）的说法，在接受《Reboot Your Life》——2011年的职业生涯休假实用建议书——采访的500人中，没有一个人对休假的决定感到后悔（休假时长为1个月到2年不等）。

“Everyone reported that their careers were enhanced as they wereenhanced in their attitudes and work ethic,”she said in anemail.

“所有人称他们的职业生涯有了新发展，因为他们的态度和职业道德有了提高，”她在电子邮件中写道。

Try something new

尝试新东西

If you’re thinking of taking a mid-careerbreak that boosts your outlook and skills, consider going abroad, where youcould try undertaking informal paid work or volunteering, either of which couldgive you a fresh perspective on things upon your return, according to Payne.The experience could also improve your basic competencies.

佩恩认为，如果你想通过职业生涯中的长假来拓展眼界，提升技能，你可以考虑出国，尝试非正式的有偿工作或志愿工作。在回来工作时，你会发现这些经历赋予了你新的视角。这份经历还会提高你的基础竞争力。

Be ready to let a job go if an employer isnot at all open to the gap option.

假如雇主对间隔年并不开明，就要准备好离职。

“Who knows what you could learn from working alongside professionalswho’ve been developed and trained in a different way to you,” he said. “In moregeneral terms, taking this sort of break also allows you to develop lifeexperience, which can contribute to building better ‘soft’ skills likecommunication and people management.” Plus, volunteer work can give your moreinsight into how to solve problems differently. By nature, volunteers have tobuy in to what they are doing and work with limited or no resources.

“与成长经历、培训方式不同的专业人士一起工作，说不定会学到很多意想不到的经验，”他说，“在更广泛的意义上，这种休假可以拓展你的人生经验，并有助于提高你的软技能，比如沟通和人员管理。”而且，志愿工作可以提高你用不同方法处理问题的思维能力。当然，志愿者必须相信他们所从事的工作的意义，在有限的资源或没有资源的条件下工作。

Always a risk

风险总是存在

Of course, not all employers will be opento the idea of a gap year – but there are ways to make it more appealing tothem, according to Holly Bull, president of Princeton, New Jersey-based gapyear consultancy Center for Interim Programs, LLC. “Lay out what [you have] inmind to an employer and see how much time away they might agree to if there isa clear commitment to return to the job,” she said in an email. “Enrol theemployer by outlining the benefits of taking this kind of time; most people arereinvigorated by gap time and return with more to offer in their jobs.”

新泽西州普林斯顿的间隔年咨询公司Center for Interim Programs的总裁霍利·布尔（Holly Bull）认为，当然并不是所有的雇主都对间隔年持开明的态度——但是有一些方法能提高间隔年对他们的吸引力。“把你的想法告诉雇主，如果你明确承诺会回来工作，他们可能会同意的休假时间最长是多少。”她在电子邮件中写道，“列出休假时间会带来的好处，以吸引雇主；大多数人能够在这段时间中恢复精力，当他们回到工作时能给企业带来更大的回报。”

Bull recommends being very clear about whatis most important, and only then going to your employer with your intent andrequests. “See what happens,” she said. “I think one has to be ready to let ajob go if an employer is not at all open to the gap option.”

布尔建议把最重要的事想清楚，然后再去和雇主沟通你的打算和请求。“看看结果会怎样。”她说，“我觉得假如雇主对间隔年并不开明，就要准备好离职。”

But don’t be surprised if there is pushbackabout the idea. “Many employers are not so keen to see someone take off for ayear because of the need for business continuity and consistency,” said RebootPartners’ Smith. Have a plan showing how they could cover you in your absence.One of Smith’s clients pointed out to their manager how much money they couldsave in the budget for that year by not having to pay their salary, yet notsacrificing the investment they had made in training them over the years. “It wasa win-win for the company and the employee taking the break,”said Smith.

不过，当你的想法不被接受时，也不必惊讶。“很多雇主不希望看到有人请假一年，因为这会影响业务的连续性和一致性。”Reboot Partners的史密斯说。你要有一个计划，向雇主表明在你不工作的这段时间他们如何填补工作上的空白。史密斯的一个客户向他的雇主指出，因为这一年不用支付他的薪水，所以雇主能够省下一笔预算，同时这些年为了培训他所花费的投资也没有浪费。“休长假对企业和雇员来说是一个双赢。”史密斯说。

Time to move on

是时候换工作了

The year off may prove the stepping stoneto your next job. “I think it's reallyimportant people ask the question about whether their work is fulfilling. Ifit's not, it may be scary to make a change, but it's invariably better to riskit to find something that really does light them up,”said Bull. “Gap optionsprovide landing pads and a way to test the waters without making a fullcommitment to another job.”

休假的一年可能会成为你下一份工作的跳板。“我觉得自省是否对工作满意是一件很重要的事。如果你感到不满，较好的选择是冒险去找能让你心动的工作，尽管作出改变会有点让人害怕，”布尔说，“间隔年给你提供了缓冲，也是一种试水的方式，因为你不需要完全投入到另一份工作中。”

For some people, it can be as short as afew weeks to learn if something suits them or not. For Bull, it took a month ofaquaculture research to realise that she didn't have the patience for that kindof methodical work.

对一些人来说，了解某种工作是否适合他们，只需要几周就够了。但是对布尔来说，在水产业从事了一个月的研究工作之后，她才确定自己没有耐心去做那种按部就班的工作。

Unexpected results

结果出人意料

In Chen’s case, he developedan app just “for fun”during his time away. But it became his new career —and theprecursor to voice-based mobile app company, Voice Dream —when hereturned to Boston a year later.

在温斯顿的案例中，他在休假期间“为了好玩”而开发了一款应用。但是，当他在一年后回到波士顿时，这成为了他的新事业，也成了基于语音的手机应用公司Voice Dream的前身。

“It's not necessary to think of being away as a way to start abusiness or go to a new career,”he said. “The point is: What would you do if, for a while, you don't have tothink about making money?”

“不必把休假视作创业或开启新事业的方式，”他说，“关键是当你一段时间不需要考虑赚钱时，你愿意做什么？”