I quit my $200K fintech job to take 6 months off. It was just what I needed — and surprisingly easy to find a new role

• Jeanne Pastrano discontinue her $200,000-a-year occupation successful New York aft emotion burned out.
• After a six-month break, she said she felt rejuvenated and was fresh to get backmost to work.
• She disclosed nan sabbatical connected her LinkedIn floor plan — and recovered she still sewage a caller occupation easily.

This as-told-to effort is based connected a speech pinch Jeanne Pastrano, a 37-year-old mom based successful New Jersey. Pastrano discontinue her job successful April aft emotion burned out. This communicative has been edited for magnitude and clarity. Business Insider has reviewed compensation archiving for her erstwhile occupation and her existent occupation arsenic a strategical relationship head astatine Sardine.

People would ever show me, "You make being a working mom look truthful easy." Maybe I did — but that doesn't mean it was easy.

I'm 37. I person 2 boys, ages 10 and 12, and I was an relationship head astatine Adyen, a financial exertion company, up until April. I liked my occupation and made astir $200,000. We lived successful New Jersey, and I worked successful New York.

As a moving mom, you put up a look of spot because if you don't, a batch of things will autumn apart. The only measurement to support it together is to beryllium very organized and enactment connected apical of things each nan clip — and that is what I did. It doesn't mean astatine nan extremity of nan day, you're not exhausted.

I felt for illustration I was stretching myself excessively thin. When I was astatine home, I was reasoning astir work. When I was astatine work, I was besides reasoning of a cardinal things I had to do for nan location for nan kids. Over time, it decidedly piles up, conscionable that emotion of inadequacy successful some capacities.

And for nan mostly of my career, up until recently, I was nan superior breadwinner, truthful my family depended connected my income. There's that weight of, "Everything is limited connected me," and I wanted to break free of that. Even erstwhile my husband's profession took a turn, and he started taking complete nan mostly of nan things financially, I conscionable wanted to get that break. I besides had a hunger to acquisition being a full-time mom.

Quitting my job wasn't an easy decision. I was astatine a bully spot career-wise astatine a very unchangeable company. It was months and months of readying and preparing financially. But I knew that if I didn't return a break, I would ever person nan emotion of wanting one.

I had a difficult clip slowing down during my sabbatical

The first time not moving really slapped maine successful nan face. In my first 3 months of being unemployed, I was still running. I'd been connected nan hamster instrumentality for excessively long.

I had family projects and unpaid work. I'm very progressive astatine church. I had to return connected much activity astatine location pinch nan kids.

I ne'er really slowed down, and I was still emotion overwhelmed. Chores were still piling up; to-do lists were still piling up. Three months in, I wondered really I was still truthful engaged aft quitting my job. And I realized it was my fault. I didn't cognize really to not work.

Eventually, I was capable to slow down a spot more. I was capable to conscionable beryllium pinch nan kids much successful nan summertime and we were capable to travel. This was nan first clip I traveled without a occupation — wherever there's still that worry to cheque email and accent complete erstwhile you're backmost successful nan office, location will beryllium a cardinal fires you person to put out. So that was very refreshing.

I thought I was leaving for good, but successful those six months, I really appreciated nan 9-to-5. Sometimes, we for illustration something, but we conscionable request a breather.

I ne'er thought I'd beryllium this fresh to spell backmost to activity aliases capable to revive that excitement I had early successful my career, but I consciousness for illustration I'm already location aft six months of my sabbatical.

Some group activity 20, 30 years without that existent break. I can't imagine. Now I tin spot myself moving different 5, 10 years, pinch conscionable vacations present and there.

Getting backmost into nan workforce was easier than I expected

About 5 months successful I started to question and reply and was looking for nan aforesaid type of role. I knew I wanted a afloat distant job.

I cognize nan cognition is that it mightiness beryllium difficult to get backmost into work, but I was truthful pleasingly amazed that that was not nan lawsuit for me. After six weeks of interviewing, I sewage an connection from a fintech startup — making astir nan aforesaid arsenic I was before, pinch much equity opportunities.

I was very transparent astir my profession break connected LinkedIn and successful interviews. Surprisingly, each of nan interviews were truthful affirmative astir it. They wholly understood. I shared precisely why I was taking a break, and that seemed to resonate pinch them. It is almost for illustration everybody knew what I was talking astir because, astatine immoderate constituent successful their careers, they felt it.

If personification is capable to financially, I would perfectly urge a sabbatical if you've gotten to a constituent successful your profession wherever you conscionable request a break. I consciousness for illustration that's why there's an charismatic sabbatical offered astatine immoderate companies.

I'm truthful grateful that I was capable to get that break and refresh myself, and past extremity up pinch fundamentally my dream occupation that I was looking for.