Travel - whether studying abroad, going on vacation, or traveling for business – can create opportunities for young professionals to showcase acquired skills and boost their marketability to a potential employer. While you might not consider travel to be relevant work experience, there are many different ways to add travel to your job resume or online resume.
Interpersonal Communication
Make sure to highlight how you developed better interpersonal communication skills while traveling or studying abroad. A life experience geared at challenging you – such as overcoming a language barrier or learning a new language, showcases your willingness to learn and communicate effectively in new surroundings.
Adaptive to Change
Employers want to know that you can adapt to change quickly and effectively. For example, if you spent a semester living in Asia, you may have deal with culture shock, learning the local customs and language, and overcoming your own misconceptions about living abroad. Living abroad or traveling to a new destination forces you to get outside your comfort zone and think critically so that you are having the most enjoyable experience.
Problem-Solving
We’d all love to think that the act of traveling is a relaxing experience – but in reality, your travel plans don’t always work out the way you want them to. Whether you’re managing travel for multiple people and their flights get delayed, or your itinerary or travel plans change at the last minute, sharing these anecdotes with your employer about your problem-solving skills will help give you a unique edge over the competition.
Organizational Skills
It may be a short two-week vacation or a three-month study abroad program – but you can showcase your organization skills that stems from your ability to plan trips – skills that are adaptable to event planning and project management. Being able to show examples of how you were able to coordinate and plan your entire travel itinerary – and we don’t mean just booking your hotels and flights.
Budgeting
Being able to manage a budget is a crucial job function as a young professional – and you can add budgeting to your resume. The decision to travel always indicates the need to budget funds from your disposable income and requires a lot of planning and cost-comparing before you come to a final conclusion. This skill also shows how you are willing to seek out tools and resources that will benefit yourself (and ultimately, the company you work for) in the long run.
These are just a few ways to add travel to your resume. Using your travel experience to showcase a life experience beyond the college classroom or entry-level position can make you a memorable candidate.