Can Travelling After Graduating Affect Employability?

After graduating from university I was led to believe that you need to get work as soon as possible or employers will wonder why you weren’t employed straight away. Either way, I was willing to risk that to go travelling as I knew I wouldn’t get many chances in life to go away for six months.

Ultimately, as a designer, I don’t think it affects the employer’s opinion of you if you have done something worthwhile with the time between graduating and searching for a job. If what you spend your time doing helps to show you as an open minded, broad person, then it can only enhance you as a person and what you can offer. As a designer (and I’m sure for other professions too) , travelling is great, in my opinion, as it gives you a chance to experience other cultures and build yourself into a stronger and better person. Designers need to understand the needs of others. So who would make a better designer… Someone who has never stepped out of London or someone who took a little longer to start their career but travelled the world and challenged themselves on many different levels along the way?

When I did eventually come back from my trip I was slightly worried about how long it may take to get a job. I plunged myself into the job search and sold the travelling as part of who I am and what I have become. Honestly, no one asked me why I didn’t get a design job straight after graduating and it was a great topic of conversation too, discussing my adventures.

So if you are worried that it may make it harder for you to get a job upon returning, then think more about what travelling will bring to you as a person and angle it to become a positive in broadening your horizons. I ended up getting a job four weeks after returning from my six month trip and had other interviews lined up too! So it’s okay to put your career on hold for a second and do you what you want to do with your life.