Since I have decided recently that I am finally going to apply to graduate school this fall, I have been faced with the task of making the last 2 years since I graduated from college sound like legitimate career experiences. By the end of this year I will have been traveling and away from the USA over 6 months and a real job for 9!
While talking with professors and recommendations I have been trying to sum up in resume form what I have been doing and how it applies to what I want to become. It is a hard task for me personally, because when I left in March I really had no idea what I wanted to become or do. What I do know is that after traveling I feel like I have grown as a person and these experiences are valuable not only to me personally, but also to schools/companies.
Because traveling is not always this peaceful, just a few hours before we were lost with a bad map and hebrew signs!
I have a growing list of things to put on a resume to fill the "gap". Also, I have discovered the wonders of the "functional" resume which makes those gaps much less obvious.
I am not sure who reads this blog, but I would love to hear other people's suggestions as well.
So far this is what I have come up with:
- Interfaced with people of many cultures, socioeconomic statuses and languages in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America
- Planned and negotiated travel itineraries to stay within time and money budget constraints
- Cultivated communication and language skills in Spanish and English interacting with people in Spanish and Latin American cultures
- Learned to communicate via verbal and non-verbal means to overcome communication and language barriers
- Performed cost-benefit analysis when scheduling conflicts arose to maximize use of time and money in various locations across the globe while traveling
- Adapted to unanticipated problems and situations to improvise new plans due to unexpected events encountered while traveling
- Developed negotiation skills through regular contact with sellers and vendors in markets and stores globally
If only blending in were a marketable skill
Obviously I personally have done some more things like getting certified to teach english as a foreign language, volunteering to teach math in NYC and will be volunteering in Peru. But I am wondering what applies specifically to the trips that I was just there to travel.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
What does traveling add to your resume?
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