No idea what 'Bump' is...
This gets to me a bit, so I'll give you a long piece of advice. I have a couple of friends who did this. Much like older generation adults I was (and still am to some degree) extremely cynical about taking a gap year. You have spent your entire life figuring out your crap during uni, army or otherwise - you can figure it out while working, not spending money that you typically don't have. But okay, some people did it anyway - and the reasons they gave for doing so were very half assed. Typically the kind of people that make good friends but not good clients - generally terrible with money, not bursting with responsibility or obligation to family for paying for their education, etc. If that sound pretty judgmental, its because it certainly was. But you never wish bad things for your friends, so I waved them off and hoped it was useful.
Some of them went backpacking, some of them did volunteer work or driving - all sorts of things. Once they came back and we had drinks and stuff - I've noticed two things
1) The ones who took a gap year and did nothing learnt nothing. If anything, they were more lost than before, generally dreading the inevitable process of going back to work or applying for jobs. It would be only much, much later they would get jobs even after the gap year was over.
2) The second group of people, however - were like completely changed people, even if they hadn't left the country. An engineering graduate who visited third world countries became far more passionate after seeing how his skills could mean life and death for others. A humanities graduate who was generally aimless before is putting 70, 80 hours into non profit. They spoke about their stories and experiences like they were much older people than a year from when they had left - they were more appreciative, more alive, generally more prepared to take on and embrace responsibility and contributing to society.
Here's my advice - having taken the gap year, consolidate everything that was meaningful, no matter how little it might have been. Sum it up, as well as set aside exceptional experiences. Reflect on it and make it a part of you before you go for your potential employer interviews. Why did you take the year off? What happened and how has that been overcome? How has the year made you a better person? Was the time well spent? Some people are motiviated by regret of wasting time, while some people are motivated by the experiences they had. Either way, you're in a good spot. Look an employer in the eye and show them what you've learnt and how hiring you this year would have been _better _than hiring you last year. Talk to them as people, not try to up your credentials. If your employer wants further credentials they can read the rest of the CV and look for someone more qualified. But here, you have something jarring that stands out - and you can take something that is seemingly negative to something positive if you're authentic about yourself. Don't stop learning. And look for a good Financial Consultant after you're employed! Luke
No idea what 'Bump' is...
This gets to me a bit, so I'll give you a long piece of advice. I have a couple of friends who did this. Much like older generation adults I was (and still am to some degree) extremely cynical about taking a gap year. You have spent your entire life figuring out your crap during uni, army or otherwise - you can figure it out while working, not spending money that you typically don't have. But okay, some people did it anyway - and the reasons they gave for doing so were very half assed. Typically the kind of people that make good friends but not good clients - generally terrible with money, not bursting with responsibility or obligation to family for paying for their education, etc. If that sound pretty judgmental, its because it certainly was. But you never wish bad things for your friends, so I waved them off and hoped it was useful.
Some of them went backpacking, some of them did volunteer work or driving - all sorts of things. Once they came back and we had drinks and stuff - I've noticed two things
1) The ones who took a gap year and did nothing learnt nothing. If anything, they were more lost than before, generally dreading the inevitable process of going back to work or applying for jobs. It would be only much, much later they would get jobs even after the gap year was over.
2) The second group of people, however - were like completely changed people, even if they hadn't left the country. An engineering graduate who visited third world countries became far more passionate after seeing how his skills could mean life and death for others. A humanities graduate who was generally aimless before is putting 70, 80 hours into non profit. They spoke about their stories and experiences like they were much older people than a year from when they had left - they were more appreciative, more alive, generally more prepared to take on and embrace responsibility and contributing to society.
Here's my advice - having taken the gap year, consolidate everything that was meaningful, no matter how little it might have been. Sum it up, as well as set aside exceptional experiences. Reflect on it and make it a part of you before you go for your potential employer interviews. Why did you take the year off? What happened and how has that been overcome? How has the year made you a better person? Was the time well spent? Some people are motiviated by regret of wasting time, while some people are motivated by the experiences they had. Either way, you're in a good spot. Look an employer in the eye and show them what you've learnt and how hiring you this year would have been _better _than hiring you last year. Talk to them as people, not try to up your credentials. If your employer wants further credentials they can read the rest of the CV and look for someone more qualified. But here, you have something jarring that stands out - and you can take something that is seemingly negative to something positive if you're authentic about yourself. Don't stop learning. And look for a good Financial Consultant after you're employed! Luke