Turn Your Travel Experience Into a Resume Booster

If you’re taking a gap year or career break, you’ll have the time of your life — until it’s time to return to the “real world.” If you’re nervous about explaining the gap in your resume, don’t be. Here’s how to turn it into an asset.

Sharpen existing skills while on the road … Keep your skills fresh by volunteering, freelancing on the side or even taking an online course. It’ll show potential employers that while you weren’t in a traditional office, you were still becoming a better employee.

… And show off your new ones. Maybe you’ve picked up a new language or have become more confident in haggling. Don’t be afraid to show off the new skills that you bring to the table.

Retell your stories. How did you save money to travel? How did you manage to survive when stepping off a bus in the middle of the night in a new town with no accommodation, friends or language skills? A lot of the misadventures and experiences you had leading up to and during your trip can be retold to emphasize how good you are at making and keeping to a budget, striking up alliances in unlikely places or scoping out unexpected opportunities.