Are you feeling burned out at your current job? If so, take a vacation. If you think that by taking some extended time off and contributing to your personal development while benefiting your employer, consider taking a sabbatical. But consider it VERY carefully and take Eilene Zimmerman's advice in her Career Couch column in the New York Times.

In the article titled The Gainful Way to Use a Sabbatical, several tips are covered:

• Take a sabbatical at your own risk. Out of sight, out of mind?
• Don't even ask unless you're considered a high potential employee with long-term value to the company.
• Make sure what you'll do during the sabbatical will eventually make a difference to your employer.
• Develop a plan for who will do your work while you're away.

Article by Melanie Holmes, Vice President of World of Work Solutions for Manpower, and courtesy of Manpower's Contemporary Working blog. Melanie shares Manpower's extensive knowledge while building strategic partnerships with government, universities and other leadership organizations across the country. She is also responsible for social responsibility at Manpower, which includes diversity, volunteerism, community involvement, community relations, philanthropy and workforce development.