How to Boost Your Career with a Career Break
By Eileen Cunningham – Career Consultant
You set out on your career break with good intentions of understanding global cultures and finding the meaning of life… but how do you convince future employers that you haven’t just been lazing on a beach in Sydney?
A career break can change your outlook on life and develop you as a person. It can also enhance your employability. This will depend upon how you spend your time and the skills you develop. It will also depend upon your ability to present your experience to future employers when you get back.
Keep a journal – this will help you to capture the experiences, reflect upon what you have learnt from them and allow you to compose your stories for interview.
Develop your global business network – the fellow traveller you meet on a bus in Outer Mongolia may be a useful contact for you when you go back to your ‘normal job’.
Challenge yourself – the things you will most remember will probably be those that were outside of your comfort zone!
Don’t burn your bridges – even if you’re not sure whether you will return to the same employer always leave on good terms and perhaps even keep in touch by email while you are away.
Learn transferable skills – many of the skills you develop will be valued and useful in the working world and enhance your CV. Budgeting, planning and communication are skills you will almost certainly hone during your career break.
Make it ‘employer-friendly’ - instead of starting every sentence with ‘When I was travelling…’ it’s important to present the information so the employer sees the relevance begin by telling them about the skill or quality you have and then backing it up with an example of when and where you developed it.
So what…? – OK, so you had a great time and feel it’s made you a better person… now how is that actually going to benefit the employer? In marketing terms what is the USP (unique selling point) that gives your CV the edge over the rest of the pile?
