I am a three years-qualified associate at a City firm. I want to take six months out from my job before the responsibilities of having a family and big financial commitments prevent me from doing so. But I don’t want to damage my chances of making partner.
Any advice on how to successfully negotiate this?
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Present the business case to your employer. Show them what the company will get out of your career break, not just you. It is possible to do something on your career break that will actually enhance your career - for example, honing your negotiation skills in a community development project which teaches business skills to impoverished women. More help and advice can be found on www.thecareerbreaksite.com. Good luck!
Quit your job, take all the time you need and when you're well rested, call a legal recruiter and join a rival firm. Couldn't you have figured this out yourself?
Perhaps you should have done it before you joined you firm, perhaps in your year off before university. I think you will dent your reputation and credibility by requesting 6 months off now, as a seasoned associate! Leave, go and travel, come back, and then talk to a headhunter, well that's fine if you don't mind 3 years' goodwill down the pan. Most people juggle hard work, family commitments, and financial responsibilities all at the same time. You're telling your firm you are a one thing at a time sort of person.
Work on the principle 'don't ask, don't get'! Ask your firm when they can plan around you having a sabbatical. You will be taking this as unpaid leave and you should demonstrate other ways of mitigating the financial and work allocation issues.
I know a chap in the City (MC) who has just been made a partner. This is after having been back at his firm for six months having just returned from a year on sabbatical. This shows that you can take time out and still get on.
Do try to avoid resigning in order to go travelling. At your level, clients are generally keen to grant sabbaticals (albeit grudgingly) rather than go through the aggro of recruiting a replacement. If you do have to resign in order to take time out, consider some form of studying. One of my candidates resigned when her firm could not offer her a sabbatical. She managed to get an LLM in between travelling and I got her a role on her return. However, this course is never easy, so do not go making things harder than they need to be. Good luck!
A career break is so common, taking 6 months out will definitely not damage your future prospects. In terms of recruiters, Rebecca Nash at EJ Group will give you excellent advice if you need it.
I was in a very similar position to you back in the mid-90s and wanted to go off travelling with my wife, who is also a solicitor, when we were around 2/3 years PQE. We both packed in our private practice jobs and went off for a fantastic eight months travelling. Our requests for sabbaticals were met with puzzlement, as they were a novel idea back then and they were worried about setting precedents for other employees. But we worked on the basis that we were marketable at that PQE level and the legal market was buoyant, so it was worth the (low) risk. When we came back, we both found new and better jobs very quickly. Bizarrely, many employers liked the fact that we had gone off. My view is to go for it - you will not regret it. Also, do exactly what you want on your time out - don't do something because it will sound good when you get back.
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