SABBATICAL
Don’t assume you have to
resign — many companies
may be open to you taking
a sabbatical. Check your
workplace’s policy with the HR
department and you might be
pleasantly surprised. Even if
not, book a meeting with your
boss and explain your plans,
how you’d see your work being
covered while you’re away, and
what you could bring to the
table upon your return.
COVER
Travel insurance is a must,
and it’s worth plumping for
the most comprehensive
cover available. Check your
policy carefully, as many have
exclusions for activities as
anodyne as riding a bike.
FUNDS
Save not just enough money
for the break itself, but to
cover you for up to six months
on your return, in case it’s
tricky inding a job. A fund
to get through three months
post-return is a must — both
inancially and mentally.
TICKETS
Plans can change while you’re
on the road, so it’s worth
looking into lexible lights,
or round-the-world tickets.
Many long-haul lights are
nonrefundable, but can be
changed for a fee. Of course,
you can also lock in the main
lights, and take the train in
between. Prices for last-
minute train travel tend to be
rather more reasonable, too.
ACCLIMATISE
Think you might be nervous?
Ease yourself in with a longer
stay in your irst destination, or
consider booking a group tour
for a couple of weeks to start
of. Many people, especially
irst-time solo travellers, ind
this helps them acclimatise,
gain conidence and meet
potential travel mates.
YOUR GAP YEAR
TRAVEL TICK LIST
A third of people who travel with
Raleigh International, which matches
volunteers with placements, are between
30-49, and 62% of those are female. Almost
half describe themselves as taking a career
break, or taking time out to consider their
options. “They’re oten at a turning point in
their careers or lives, and we form part of that
journey,” says Raleigh International’s Lucy
Burrows-Smith. “One of the biggest driving
factors we see is people actively wanting
to remove themselves from a corporate
environment to immerse themselves
somewhere they’ll be able to make a greater
positive impact.”The long-term implications
The desire to go travelling is by no means all
work-related, though. For many, recovering
from illness, the loss of a loved one or
something like divorce can be the trigger. And
some simply have an ambition to see a certain
place — or places — by a certain age.
“As I was approaching the last year of my
20s, I thought to myself, ‘Do I want to spend
this year sitting behind a desk, or do I want to
have a big adventure?’” says Emily-Ann Elliott.
“I’d been saving for years to go travelling some
day, so I made a list of 30 things I’d always
wanted to do around the world, and called it
my ‘30 Before 30’ trip.”
She quit her job as a reporter on a local
newspaper and took nine months of for a
solo round-the-world trip. The trip, she says,
gave her the “time and space to think about
my career”. She went back to her career, but
set up a blog on her return, The Grown-Up
Gap Year, to help others in her position plan
their travels.
“Taking a gap year when you’re older means
that you have diferent things to consider,
from how to save for a trip like this to what
to do with property you rent or own, and
whether you should quit your job or ask for a
sabbatical.” On her blog, she discusses these
issues in depth, as well as how to readjust on
your return. “Nowadays lots of companies see
travelling as a positive thing,” she says.
Two employers we spoke to agree. Inspired
by her own recent 10-month travels, Lise
Thorne has just introduced a policy for the
65 employees at her IT consultancy, allowing
them to take one month’s unpaid leave a year,
on top of their annual leave. “I’d have had a
diferent opinion ive years ago, but now I
think we all grow from travel,” she says.
Meanwhile, investment banker Toby
Norfolk-Thompson recently rehired a member
of staf who’d returned from a grown-up gap
year. “I was very positive about it, because
she chose to return to a role she really wanted
instead of carrying on travelling. She was
generally much better at coping with stress
than before, too,” he says.Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, though.
Emily Bain admits that some employers’
instinct is to turn their noses up at someone
who’s had a break. “If there’s a gap on a CV,
people can make assumptions,” she says.
“The old school approach has always been for
that picture perfect CV. But our culture has
changed and companies have to accept it.”
However, she says, the onus is on the
traveller to sell their experience as something
that will beneit future employers. For her
clients, that’s where she comes in — as a
recruiter, she becomes a lobbyist, writing
detailed proiles to send to the employers. But
those of us without a recruiter on hand can
do what she does. “You have to explain the
whole picture,” she says. “Making your CV gap
accountable actually brings your proile to
life.” So, don’t hide it — make a big deal of it.
Bain reckons that although gap years are
acceptable, whatever you do (or don’t do) on
them, learning some kind of skill is important
— though it doesn’t have to be academic.
“I had a client who learned a special kind
of weaving in India, and that to me is really
interesting. It became a real talking point.”
The most obvious skill to take from travel,
of course, is a language. Matt Horsburgh of
language-learning app Babbel reckons it’s
crucial — not just to give you something to
come back with, but also to have a better time
while away. “Travelling at 35 is diferent to
travelling at 21,” he says. “Back then, I never
felt any pressure to learn a language — people
didn’t seem to mind me speaking English. But
now, I want to make more of an efort. Maybe
I’m just more culturally sensitive, but locals
are much friendlier if you can speak to them
in their own language, and it opens you up to
more opportunities.”
He remembers turning up in a remote hilltop
town in Spain, where his Spanish language skills
won him and his group an invitation to a local
iesta. “We spent the evening with the B&B
owner eating and drinking. It was an amazing
experience that only came about because I was
able to communicate with the locals.”
Learning a language will help you on
your return, too — and it’s not just about
cynical CV points. “Even if you don’t need
languages for your career, learning one builds
your conidence, skills, and takes time and
motivation,” says Horsburgh — who landed
his current job during a travel stint, living in
Germany and working in a bar to learn the
language. “A potential employer sees that as
a beneit — they recognise the drive. Being
exposed to other cultures helps too — even
down to diferent countries’ ways of greeting
people. That’s important in the workplace.”How to volunteer responsibly
Giving something back is an important
part of travel, and many people on a career IMAGE: GETTY196 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel
GROWN-UP GAP YEARS