There's a soothing smell of eucalyptus in the air. The music is soft and relaxing. The only other sound you hear is the rippling of water as you relax in your mineral bath. Is this any way to start a job search?

Some professionals think so. Wanting more from their careers, they're starting their searches by looking on the inside before looking on the outside. This often means getting away from it all to a retreat, spa or just somewhere quiet where they can be alone with their thoughts.

When Craig Solt was laid off after 19 years as a physical therapist in Stroudsburg, Pa., he attended a free retreat for the unemployed at the suggestion of his minister. Instead of focusing on resumes and networking, he and other participants reflected on their talents and asked such questions as, "What's my deepest calling?"

Run by Rev. Beth Haynes, an Episcopal priest, and held twice a year at the Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center in Bangor, Pa., the retreat has a spiritual focus, but is open to all denominations. Often participants will arrive with one profession and leave with another.

Mr. Solt is no different. He's considering a career in the ministry. "It was good to do this exploration in a retreat setting with no newspapers or TV," he says.

David Secan had a similar experience when he attended a retreat at Creative Energy Options, a retreat center in Springhouse, Pa., after being laid off from a position in corporate-facilities planning and design. He says the retreat helped him look at both his gifts and his challenges in a nonjudgmental way. "Once you understand your challenges, you can understand your choices," he says.

He chose to go into business for himself. That was five years ago. He now leads Secan Associates, a workplace-development consulting firm near Philadelphia.

A number of getaway destinations offer workshops on career and work-life issues with a variety of methods, amenities and prices.

Creative Energy Options hosts a monthly weekend retreat called "Worklife and Health." It takes an approach called sankofa, a Nigerian word meaning to "heal the past to free the present," says Syliva Lafair, a psychotherapist who employs the technique. The workshop costs $450 and includes room and board.

Esalen, a retreat center in Big Sur, Calif., known for its pounding surf and bathing-suit optional pools and minerals baths, offers a five-day retreat twice a year called "Soul at Work." It’s conducted by Carlos Warter, author of "Who Do You Think You Are?" (Bantam, Doubleday, Dell, 1999) and "Pathways to the Soul: 101 Ways to Open Your Heart" (Hay House, 2000). People from a variety of different professions and countries attend.

The retreat explores participants’ relationship to their work using creative visualization, lectures, meditation and interaction with other participants. The workshop looks "at [work] from heart and head [and] the inner versus the outer reality," says Dr. Warter. The program with a standard shared room costs $885. Less-expensive accommodations, such as bunk beds or space for sleeping bags are available.

Professionals sometimes find that getaway retreats devoted to other personal issues can lead to significant career changes.

Lynn Ralston was a customer-unit director in the pharmaceutical industry when she and her husband, a full-time pharmacist, attended a retreat called "Power Couples" at Creative Energy Options. Work issues quickly arose. They realized that many of their problems stemmed from their work lives and decided to make some changes. They moved from Davis, Calif., and bought an almond farm in Esparto, Calif., near Sacramento. While they develop the farm, Ms. Ralston started a consulting business and her husband works part-time as a pharmacist.

Patty Nuovo left her career as a stockbroker after attending a program at the Wholistic Life Center, a nonprofit retreat in Washburn, Mo. She eventually became its administrator. The center, which also has spa services, offers a "Discovery" workshop that’s designed to help individuals "cleanse in body, mind and spirit." While it doesn’t focus on job transition, career issues sometime take center stage.

"It’s about life change," says Ms. Nuovo. " It might be changing a relationship or changing a job that you aren’t happy with. You remove toxicity in ways of negative beliefs about [your]self." The workshop can be tailored to an individual’s needs and can last from three days to two weeks.

A getaway doesn’t have to be an organized program to provide an environment for inner reflection. For some professionals, the perfect destination for quiet introspection may be a spa.

"Give yourself a day when nobody cares if you’re unemployed. Nobody wears a business suit at the spa," says John Gray, chief executive officer of Glen Ivy Hot Springs in Corona, Calif. Known as "Club Mud," Glen Ivy is a day spa with mineral springs. With a $25 entrance fee, it’s often recommended by outplacement professionals to job seekers.

One of the main reasons for visiting spas is "to go away to listen to your inner self," says Carole Coombs, co-owner of Green Valley Spa in St. George, Utah, a destination spa that can cost about $3,000 per week. "You aren’t interrupted by a traditional social life."

Ms. Coombs says the relaxation allows people to explore such questions as "What is it that I need to feel satisfied and contented? What is it that I do well? What is it that’s keeping me from what I do well? What’s keeping me from what I love?"

Jack Burton, owner of the spa at Chateau on the Lake, a four-star hotel with spa services in Branson, Mo., says treating yourself to a spa visit can help build self-confidence and self-esteem when preparing for a job search. Of course, it can get pricey. "You have to perceive the win," he says.

Taking a break for reflection and introspection can benefit any job search, no matter how urgent. "Just as though you wouldn’t work 24 hours a day on a regular job, you shouldn’t work 24 hours a day on a search," says Marlene Cain, a recruiter and the owner of Marcain Communications, a recruitment and careers consulting firm in Simi Valley, Calif.

"You want to be creative, flexible and positive when you confront the beginning of a job search," says David Rapkin, a clinical psychologist in Santa Monica, Calif.

Job seekers don’t have to go anywhere to have a retreat or spa experience. What’s important is that you’re undisturbed for long periods of time and that you’re open to whatever answers come to you.

A bubble bath or jacuzzi can be healing, even with your own rubber ducky along for the ride. Self-exploration can come thorough meditation or yoga. Dr. Rapkin encourages professionals in transition to keep a journal to record their thoughts.

Any activity that you find relaxing can be therapeutic, Ms. Cain says. "Gardening is wonderful for the job seeker because it’s physical, recreational and focusing. In gardening, you’re thinking," she says.