Finding a job can be a stressful and difficult task, especially when you have large gaps in your resume due to things like travel. Given the current coronavirus pandemic there is a larger amount of unemployed people, but fewer jobs due to shutdowns. So, needless to say, the current job market is more flooded than usual and this means people have to find ways to make themselves more employable.
For those of you who have spent time traveling and are worried it will negatively impact your chances of being hired there is actually a benefit to traveling. Multiple websites have covered this topic and all agree that being well-traveled is a benefit that can make you more appealing to employers.
According to ZipRecruiter, being well-traveled makes employers see you as curious, worldly, organized, goal-oriented, adventurous, adaptable, and interesting.
Traveling itself shows that you are interested in learning new things which is a good trait for employees to have. Not to mention, the organization and determination it takes to plan a trip and those skills can be transferred to any job.
A study done by Hostelworld found that 64% of recruiters and hiring managers, interviewed from Spain, South Korea, England, and Germany, believe traveling makes people more employable.
Not to mention, the same study found that 82% of employers say traveling improves your chances of getting hired. Hostelworld also listed multiple ways traveling makes you more employable like; it makes you more confident and independent, helps you learn to budget, gives you energy and enthusiasm, teaches you to multitask and work efficiently, makes you more open-minded, etc.
Other websites have listed different reasons for how travel can improve your chances of being hired. Other reasons include learning a new language, improving interpersonal skills, and work on stress-management.
When traveling abroad you can pick up a new language and improve your interpersonal skills by learning how to, not only communicate with those who speak a different language, but communicate with people who come from different backgrounds.
Traveling also helps people work on stress management because anyone who has traveled knows you can often be thrown into stressful situations, especially given the fact that you are in an unknown environment.
While this topic has been discussed on various websites, and each has listed different skills that are attributed with traveling, the consensus is that they are all beneficial talents. So if you want to take a trip after graduation, or you already have and are worried about entering the workforce after a long gap, you shouldn’t be too worried. You can always take that travel experience and spin it into a positive, and there are quite a few employers who may view it as a good quality that separates you from other candidates.
