How to Link a Learning Vacation to Your Job

“In what ways could a learning vacation in [sabbatical travel destination of your choice] be linked to my job?”

It's a brainstorming question worth kicking around with a few friends because the answers can be leveraged into these possible pay-offs:

• approval of your sabbatical leave request
• some paid time off for your professional development
• partially-paid expenses for your professional development training
• tax-deductible portions of the trip (confirm with a qualified tax advisor)

The key is to link the new knowledge from your learning vacation to your future contributions and value on the job. In that sense, your sabbatical leave would be loosely modeled after the academic model.

Start with the learning vacation that meets your heart's desire:

• Cooking school in Southeast Asia or Italy?
• Nature photography workshop in Africa or Australia?
• Architectural tour of Spain or Turkey?
• Writing retreat in Belize?
• Language school in Mexico?

You get the picture.

Find and Weave In the Job-Related Component

Then add the job-related component to your trip. Position your six weeks off as a an “educational sabbatical” instead of a “learning vacation,” highlighting the pieces that relate to your work.

There's no reason to hide the “heart's desire” part of your leave; just describe it in general terms and don't give it star billing.

Where do you find the job-related components of your educational sabbatical?

Contact your profession's trade association. Ask if they sponsor or know of any overseas professional exchange programs, work-study opportunities or other continuing education programs. These may be public institutions or private programs.

Or check with your profession's international association or a country-of-choice counterpart to see what they offer. For example, The International Confederation of Dietetic Associations sponsors a continuing education conference for registered dietitians. It's held every four years in a different country.

And the American Dietetic Association has an affiliate comprised of expatriate members in 70 countries. Their next Biennial Conference is to be held in Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia.

Meeting Your Objective Requires Creativity

If you can't find a formal program that is near enough to where you want to go, try a self-styled component. Make arrangements to shadow or observe your foreign counterpart over a period of days.Your goal might be to broaden your global perspective of the practice of your profession; link it to your value on the job.

Or you could approach this sabbatical travel objective from the other direction; find the overseas formal work-related educational component first, then research nearby learning vacations opportunities.

Are you starting to see the possibilities? Be creative as you craft a way to meet your sabbatical objectives while appealing to your employer with a value-added component. Do the brainstorming session with your friends. Do the digging with your professional associations.

Feeling Stuck?

Feeling stuck as you write your sabbatical proposal's Purpose & Benefits paragraph?

Give it your best shot then send me your first draft using the Contact page. I'll aim to fine tune it for you. Remember to provide details about your work so I have enough context to write something persuasive.

Forget Work for a While

All this talk about linking your sabbatical to your job may have you scratching your head. Isn't the whole point to get a break from work?

Yes. And if total detachment is your preference, go with it! The approach described above was presented as an option that may or may not add merit to your request, with the ultimate goal of getting approval of your sabbatical proposal.