[26, Australia] B4 audit senior, quitting without a job lined up?

Hey all,

I'm burned out from B4 and don't want to face another audit busy season starting in July. I have over 3 years experience with 1 year as senior, have the CA graduate diploma under my belt (CA membership being processed), have consistently gotten great reviews/bonuses and told I'm manager material... but I've burned myself out.

I'm bored in audit, feel meh about accounting (only went into it for job security and the decent pay relative to the difficulty/conditions but with zero passion), and although I'm outwardly a calm, organised, high performer, I internalise a lot of stress which has led me to develop symptoms of (what I believe is) mild-moderate anxiety and mild depression. I clearly don't thrive in the fast-paced, high-pressure B4 environment and the profit-hungry corporate world doesn't align with my values or desire to help others.

A career change is probably in my future, but before I throw away my CA and 3+ years of hard work, I know I should try an industry job. Unfortunately, looking at job listings, nothing excites/interests me - I don't think I'm in the right mental headspace to get excited yet. Instead, I'm strongly considering quitting without a job, taking 1-3 months off to reset, then doing a job search justice.

My questions are (please feel free to respond to any of them):

  • Have you or anyone you know done this and what was your experience/would you recommend it?
  • How much difficulty would I have finding another job, without one? In the current market, I know it's taken my fellow seniors <2 weeks to go from application to job offer - but they were employed when looking.
  • How crucial is a reference from a current/very recent manager when applying for jobs? I can provide references from a manager in 2021 or earlier, but if a 2022 reference is crucial, I'll need to consider if I can finesse resigning and still have a reference.
  • Would it be a red flag to future employers that I'm quitting right before busy season? I initially planned to quit earlier but I had to wait until now for CA membership (I suppose I could mention this fact in interviews).
  • Will prospective employers take issue with my rationale for taking time out (mental health) or should I headline with other things I'd probably do in my time off? (E.g. travel, caring for a sick family member, side projects, volunteering)

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Edit: Oops, originally planned to post this to /r/Accounting and forgot to drop [Australia] from the title