Career Break or Career Make? Thoughts on Stepping Away from Work
Stepping away from front-office finance carries real and perceived risk. Professionals who took a break share how it was received and what it changed.
In Australia, Randstad’s Gen Z Workplace Blueprint (2025) found that 47% of Gen Z, 39% of Millennials and 25% of Gen X were planning an early career break. Breaks may be more visible than ever, but the professional consequences, both real and perceived, are still rarely discussed openly.
What sparked this piece was a video that depicted a junior investment banker deciding to take a break three years into her career. It made me reflect, as a young professional, about how taking a break early on (or at any point) might affect my future in the corporate world. I was recently fortunate to take three months away with the security of a role to return to - but what about those who quit with nothing else lined up? I spoke to professionals across front-office investment banking and private capital who had taken the leap. What emerged was that the breaks were deliberate, that reception was mixed, and that the people involved came back clearer on what they wanted.
What classifies as a career break? In the East Partnership dictionary (which also formed the criteria for interviewees), a career break is a purposeful step away from a job or an extended period of work to focus on alternate areas of life, e.g. travelling, personal projects and/or passions, caregiving, or health reasons. While caregiving is broad, I chose not to include parental leave as that requires its own deep dive.
The professionals I spoke to were five to ten years into their careers and had taken breaks ranging from three months to two years. These breaks were prompted by everything from burnout and travel to relocation and marriage. Paid time off exists for some of these reasons, but years without an extended break had begun to catch up with several interviewees.
Despite different circumstances, taking that extra time was something none of them regretted. It gave them the space to relax, reset and re-align with their career, whether that meant pursuing an interest like becoming a gym instructor or simply having the time to think about their next career move without feeling overwhelmed.
What became clear, though, was that these weren’t impulsive decisions. Stepping away from a career carries risk, particularly when there is no role waiting for you on the other side, and you can't be sure what market changes will happen in your absence. Asked whether their employer had been supportive, one interviewee replied: “What do you think?” Interestingly, this wasn't a deterrent - the professionals we talked to had thought seriously about why they wanted a break and what they hoped to get from it. For many, the decision had been months in the making, one for as long as 18 months, before they eventually reached the same thought: “if not now, when?”
After all the initial excitement begins to die down, thoughts of work inevitably start creeping back in - what’s next? Even with a job to return to, I still wondered what my role would look like when I came back. It’s easy to understand the anxiety around how a break might affect a return to work, and ultimately a career.
But stepping away doesn't have to mean becoming disconnected. Some kept an eye on the latest market news, while others followed developments in AI as its role in corporate finance grew. Keeping up with work wasn’t entirely driven by worry either. For some, it became a reminder of what they missed: a bit of daily structure, colleagues to bounce ideas off, mentors to lean on, and problems that challenged them. If anything, it showed that taking a break hadn’t changed their interest in their careers or what they were capable of.
When interviewees went back to the job market, reactions to the break ranged from indifference to scepticism. For some, interviews focused on previous experience, with interviewers taking a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach and the break attracting far less questioning than expected. Others encountered hesitation, particularly in traditionally minded finance firms, where stepping away seemed harder to reconcile with expectations of what a 'more typical' career path might look like. One interviewee found that pre-empting anticipated lines of questioning by explaining their reasons for stepping away, supported by references from their previous employer, helped address those concerns. Despite the hesitation, most who had returned to the market went onto find roles they were happy in within reasonable time.
Individual views mattered too. One professional recalled sitting on a panel where a fellow interviewer questioned a senior candidate’s reasons for taking a break and what it said about their capability. The break itself wasn’t the issue, how it was read was: the same break could look like a reset to one interviewer, and like a risk to another.
That hesitancy seems to come with an assumption that someone who has stepped away might return somehow less capable, less committed or less motivated. Yet the experiences I heard suggested almost the opposite. The professionals I spoke to said they wouldn’t be producing the same quality of work today if they hadn’t taken the break. They had come back rested, clearer on what they wanted, and, in many cases, more engaged with their work.
Perhaps, then, the break shouldn’t be viewed as a concern. One professional even heard afterwards that their interviewer had appreciated the career break and felt it had made them a more worldly and rounded candidate. There’s something in that perspective: seeing a career break as something that adds to a person, rather than detracts from them, can open firms up to people they might otherwise overlook.
For anyone considering a break, we’d recommend being clear about why you’re leaving and what you want to achieve. You might not know exactly what the break will look like or how long it will last, but the decision itself should be thoughtful and deliberate, with an understanding that stepping away is not completely without risk. That clarity also helps you recognise the right opportunity if it appears. Several interviewees weren’t looking, but stayed open to a conversation, applying the same “if not now, when?” logic to the way back in. Speaking to a trusted friend, mentor or recruiter can help sense-check that decision and make the uncertainty around taking a break a little lighter. Done thoughtfully, a break can be a positive part of a career, not a departure from one.
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