Gap Year Advice

Why take a Gap Year?

Why take a gap year? CVs, careers and consciences

Parents asking how a gap year on a beach will be beneficial for your future City career? Nagging doubts about bed bugs, sunburn or Delhi belly? Worry no more! Clichés are true for a reason: going on a gap year will be like nothing you have ever done before. Guaranteed. Here’s why you should take one.

Taking a gap year looks fantastic on your CV, and is generally impressive to everyone you meet. There’s an odd gulf between the experience, knowledge and self-assurance of someone who’s spent three months conserving the rainforest in Peru, volunteering with doctors in a medical placement in Ghana or teaching English to primary school kids in Thailand, and the person who just did their A-levels, then went to university a few months later.

And while it’s perfectly fine for you to take part in something extra curricular that you’ve always been interested in, like helping protect endangered species of turtle or working with a human rights organisation, it can be even more valuable career-wise, if you’re then going on to do a marine biology degree or work as a legal secretary.

A well chosen placement will make you stand out from the crowd – whether it’s to an employer or a professor, you’ll appear pro-active and dedicated, and you’ll never be short of great experience to wow them with at interview. Plus, if you’re not minted there’s the chance to gain even more skills earning money for your gap year!

Bridging gaps – where travel, education and work combine!

Think of your gap year as a bridging point between lots of different elements of your life – it’ll mean you’ll be able to travel to somewhere outside Ayia Napa or Bognor Regis – somewhere you might not be able to go on your own just now.

You’ll meet new people who share your passion, travellers and locals alike – a welcome change from hiding from your old teachers in the supermarket, or spending every night in the same pub with the same mates.

Through a structured gap year with a great company, you’ll be able to live with the people of your chosen country, learn their customs, culture and cuisine, and develop the confidence to travel further. Through this, rather than just enjoying a beach or city and then moving on, you’ll make a deep connection with the country of your choice, something that only living and working within a community can foster.

Lastly, your parents will be reassured that you’re with a large, global organisation, with the resources and knowledge to make your gap year safe and make it easy to keep in touch while you’re abroad.

Mind the gap! Worries vs life skills

Sounds brilliant… but maybe you’re not sure how well you’ll cope with all of this? Don’t worry! It’s totally legitimate to feel a little scared or apprehensive – if you didn’t, having a great gap year wouldn’t be such a life-changing experience.

Consider this: kids in the UK are the most tested in Europe and you’re most likely thinking about, doing or just finishing your A-levels, qualifications recognised worldwide as difficult, serious and challenging. You’re about to embark on three, four or more years of university, or on your working career… it’s time for a breather!

You’ll perform better and be more confident if you’ve had a break, plus no matter what gap year you decide on you’ll have learned important life skills like managing your money and budgeting, and how to look after your health and self in an unfamiliar environment. You’ll also have the opportunity to see how other people live their lives on this crazy, tiny, huge planet of ours, allowing you to make up your own mind about life, the universe and everything.

So what are you waiting for? Go for it! Book that gap year now.