Taking a Gap Year / Year Out
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Around a quarter of a million people take a gap year. This time should not be used as an excuse to take things easy – trying to explain this gap to a potential employer when you weren’t doing anything worthwhile may be hard to explain.
Many people think that only recent students take gap years – this is not true. You can take a gap year at any age!
What could I do during a gap year?
- Travel / work / live abroad – remember to organise any necessary Visas (around £150), vaccinations (around £50) and travel insurance.
- Teach English overseas – gain experience of different cultures.
- Participate in community voluntary projects – meet new people and gain networking contacts.
- Learn a language.
- Gain work experience and test out a potential career.
- Coach sports.
What are the benefits of taking a gap year?
- It has been reported that if you take a gap year, you’re less likely to drop out of University. Students who take a gap year are also looked upon as being more mature. Also, many recruiters prefer candidates who have gained “life skills” through travel, voluntary experience or employment rather than relying solely on their qualifications.
- If you’ve used the year to gain employment experience, make sure you highlight to recruiters the skills you’ve gained from this and how they will assist you in your chosen career. Contact us for further advice with regards to this.
Are there any disadvantages of taking a gap year?
- Gap years can be expensive and you could get into debt through bad planning.
- You may find it hard to get back into a working / studying routine after a year out.
- Not all gap years are spent productively – try and do something original which will stand out and assist you in building your CV.
Contacts / further advice:
- http://www.gapyear.com - the complete guide to taking a year out
- http://www.projecttrust.org.uk - sends school leavers abroad for a year's voluntary work
- http://www.raleigh.org.uk – adventure projects throughout the world
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