How to Make Your Gap Year Benefit Your Career

While the trend of sixth formers deferring university for a gap year has gradually decreased from 7.9% in 2002 to 5.4% in 2015, post-university or early career gap years are still going strong.

This article is here to stop you having a stereotypical ‘gap yah’ and instead make it the crown jewel of your CV, rather than a costly blot.

“I can’t take time out”

Many employers are aware of the growing trend in youth travel and therefore offer schemes to allow you to do just that. So if you dream of the Jamaican Reggae beats or road tripping Route 66, but don’t want to halt your progress, don’t despair.

If you can fit your travel between June and September then get on that plane the moment graduation is over. If you need to save, grab a fun summer job then take a month as the season starts to wind down. If you want longer look at companies offering January start dates.

If your bank balance desires a summer start date, try for firms with secondment opportunities. Lawyers; many of the leading financial firms allow you take 6 months off between your GDL and training contract. Medics; take your elective by the horns and fly off to somewhere exotic, and get planning for the precious few months before the start of the Junior Doctor Ordeal.

Behind most graduate schemes there is some opportunity to take some time out, so don’t be afraid to look, ask and put it as a requirement in your search.

“I’ve got 12 months, now what do I do?”

Now for those who have made the commitment and have 12 months of pure bliss before the career slog commences, it’s time to get planning. While it can be tempting to spend the next 12 months dilly dallying around the world, it will stand you in a much better state to make these 12 months, rewarding, profitable, and of course fun.

• Work:

20% of parents help contribute to their child’s gap year. That said you have lived away from home, you like to think of yourself as an adult, you think you are mature enough to go to the other side of the world – so you should be mature enough to pay for it. Brutal, but honest.

Employers will not be afraid to ask how you funded your travels so make sure you have an answer that isn’t “daddy paid for it”. To gain invaluable experience for your CV, get a paid internship. This is an opportunity to put a foot in the door of your future career before you’ve even got on the plane. Otherwise, learn transferable skills at a bar or shop in your home town, and don’t be afraid to mention that to prospective employers when you return.

You never know, that bar job in Chelmsford could help you land that job in Sydney when the funds start running low (although remember you’ll need a working holiday visa)!

• Volunteering:

Not big volunteering trips that cost £1000s. If a trip offers you a TV and luxury accommodation, you are there for your experience not the people you are helping, and employers will see straight through that. So make sure any schemes you are applying for are sustainable and actually use the skills you have to offer.

ICS is a government run scheme where you are paired with local volunteers. It provides sustainable initiatives, will ensure personal development and you will only have to fundraise £800.

Other volunteering possibilities can be through small organisations, at home or abroad. Your top priority should be your safety, but beyond this, 6 months with a small organisation will allow you to really make a difference and grow as a person.

• Physical Challenge:

While Macchu Picchu and Mt. Kilimanjaro might have become gap year stereotypes, they can also show a lot about your personality. Determination, tenacity and the ability to overcome challenge are some of the most desirable traits for employers.

Taking on a physical challenge is attractive and pairing this with fundraising for a charity will make the experience less about your gap year, but more about making a positive contribution to the world.

Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. While sharing tales of sunsets and blisters will provide excellent fodder at interviews, doing something out the box will make you stand out of the crowd.

• Don’t fly in and out, live.

While ticking off as many countries and experiences as possible can be desirable, stopping, working and living in one place will be life-changing for you and more beneficial for your CV.

All of the options in this article are possibilities at home or abroad. You can do that internship in America, teach English for the British Council, spend time volunteering in Cusco before you do the Inca Trial, but it is only after months in one place you will start to know it. So don’t be afraid to stop, stare and chat with the locals. Then you will truly start to find your strengths, and also have some language skills to add to the CV too.

Time to get drooling over those wanderlust Instagrams.

Eleanor Booth is a Cambridge Graduate who likes taking on the big issues and players. Check out her personal blog here and her LinkedIn here.

Inspiring Interns is a graduate recruitment agency which specialises in sourcing candidates for internships and giving out graduate careers advice. To hire graduates or browse graduate jobs, visit their website.