Year of Travel and the Resume

by Sheila Curran, printed in Duke Magazine 

Question: 
I took a year after college just to travel.  Should I include that on my resume?

Answer: The short answer is that you don’t want large gaps on your resume. This is true, regardless of whether the reason you’ve been out of the workforce is because you’ve been a homemaker, preparing for the priesthood, or simply taking a break from school.  Unexplained gaps raise red flags. Relax. You can turn your time away into a plus not a minus.Unless you spent your entire time away as a beach bum in the Seychelles, you probably acquired important skills and knowledge through your travels.  Maybe this was unexpected, because all you really wanted to do was retreat from the rat race, but it happened anyway.  Did you, for example, learn valuable lessons about middle eastern culture from sitting in the Pudding Shop in Istanbul?  Did you acquire a taste for Impressionism at the Louvre in Paris?  Did you volunteer in a crocodile nursery in Mexico?  And what did you learn from your actual travel experience?  If you planned a year away, you undoubtedly developed organizational skills.  You probably learned how to stretch a dollar in nine different directions, and possibly acquired culinary skills. The point is, this was not wasted time.
How then does travel relate to applying for a position?  The first hurdle you have to overcome is convincing your potential employer that you have both the skills to be effective in the position for which you’re applying, and the motivation to do the job. They may suspect you’re the kind of person who can’t take pressure, or who has wanderlust and is incapable of settling down. Make it easy for them to see who you really are by addressing these issues subtly in your cover letter.  Tell them what you’ve learned from your time away, but concentrate on the examples that most closely relate to the position for which you are applying.  Employers often observe that those who’ve traveled extensively tend to have a high level of maturity, an ability to solve problems and excellent human relations skills.

There are some positions for which employers won’t consider you unless you apply during your senior year and start work shortly after graduation.  These include many investment banks.  Don’t waste your time on these types of positions.  Instead, concentrate on using your connections to get to the attention of human resources or the hiring manager.  A strong resume with a personal endorsement is invaluable.

Once you’re through the resume stage to the interview, you’ve got it made.  At that point, your interviewer has already decided that you have the basic qualifications.  They’re looking primarily for personal characteristics and “fit”.  Your travels can provide a huge number of stories and examples to bolster your candidacy.  The key is to make sure your stories are both interesting and relevant.   Don’t just make them laugh or cry; make them hire you!  Good luck.