Science Says Traveling Actually Makes You More Attractive To Employers

Graduating students, rejoice! A new study from international hostel booking site, Hostelworld, suggests that traveling may actually benefit your career.
Each year, graduating seniors are confronted with the choice of either jumping directly into the workforce or taking a gap year to travel the world. An estimated 37 percent of adults opt to transition from dorm to desk for fear that traveling will deter employers from offering them future job opportunities.
In a new study from Hostelworld, over 1,000 people from eight countries (including Italy, Portugal, Germany, South Korea, England, France and Spain) were surveyed on whether they believe traveling can affect one’s employability.
As part of the online survey, recruiters and hiring managers were questioned on whether a person’s job candidacy can be affected by traveling. Findings prove that an estimated 64 percent of adults in the United Kingdom agree that traveling benefits one’s career prospects, while a whopping 82 percent of employers answered that travel ultimately improves one’s candidacy.

The study found that a candidate who travels is viewed by potential employers as having improved communication skills, financial savvy (by virtue of budgeting for a trip) and—no surprises here—an open, global view of the world when compared to other candidates.
The data gathered from the online survey also revealed that travelers tend to be more independent and entrepreneurial in their respective careers; about 34 percent of people who travel frequently are self-employed versus 14 percent of people who have not.
“We know that for some people employment can be a barrier to travel—whether it be young adults wanting to get on the career ladder, or those further down the line with mortgages to pay—but our research shows that this doesn’t have to be the case.” Feargal Mooney, Chief Executive Officer at Hostelworld, told Business Insider.
With the job market saturated with post-grads looking to break into entry level positions, perhaps travel might be the key to getting one’s resume noticed and impressing future employers.

About the author

Nikki Vargas

Travel Editor

Nikki Vargas was Travel Editor of Culture Trip. Nikki's previous work has appeared on VICE, Roads & Kingdoms, Huffpost, NPR and more. In addition, Nikki is the Founder of The Pin the Map Project, voted a top 100 travel blog of 2015. Nikki was a speaker at the New York Travel Fest, Women's Travel Fest and The New York Times Travel Show. See more of Nikki's work here: http://www.nikkivargas.com