Spinning Travel in a Tough Job Market
Travel Blog • Julia Ross • 05.04.09 | 11:44 AM ET
When I decided to quit a full-time job in Washington, D.C., to take a one-year fellowship in Taiwan, I didn’t know I’d be returning home to economic collapse and the worst U.S. job market in years. I skirted the problem by choosing to work for myself, at least for the immediate future.
For those of us who have lived abroad or have traveled long-term, translating the experience into marketable talking points during a job interview can be a challenge. So I found this list explaining “Why Expat Women Make Great Entrepreneurs,” by Italy-based life coach and blogger Karen Armstrong, helpful and timely. Armstrong offers a number of key words—risk-taking, adaptable, growth-oriented—that I can see myself using in an interview, trying to explain to a doubtful hiring manager why on earth I’d put all my stuff in storage and move to China. (Alas, not everyone gets this.)
With layoffs continuing at a steady clip, a lot of us need to think creatively about how to market ourselves, and expats/long-term travelers have some unique selling points. In fact, a recent study by the American Psychological Association found a strong link between creativity and living abroad. So make that work for you.
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Gregory Hubbs 05.04.09 | 3:18 PM ET
We are all freelancers in this Brave New World where there is so such thing as loyalty on the part of the employer, so the ability to adapt and be creative has never been so important. Those who have spent years working faithfully for a company or who have worked following a specific career path (MBAs, etc.) are at a disadvantage except in a small amount of highly specialized fields or currently bloated fields such as health care (since the U.S. spends 16% of its GDP on health care while failing to cover almost 50 million—except in emergency rooms).
So not only are those who have lived, studied, worked, or traveled abroad at an advantage—there may never have been a better time to extend your trip or to leave the country to develop these skills. Upon returning, you can either create your own business or bring your more diverse background to the table when working for largely downsized, demoralized, and exhausted companies in need of fresh ideas.
Kissing up to corporate bosses will not necessarily get you anywhere in these days of ever-reducing “headcounts” determined by bureaucrats. And even the knife-in-the-back approach favored in what remains of Wall Street and corporate America is no longer the ticket. Which is very good, in a way…
Dru 05.04.09 | 3:25 PM ET
I’ve recently been toying with the idea of just moving abroad and riding out this depression by teaching English in Spain (I also happen to Speak Spanish fluently). I felt like upon my return it’d be easier in these economic times to justify the experience given the general understanding that the current situation is so dire, it’s time to get creative with your “resume.”
Now if only I could work the courage to put all my things in storage and just go!
yaqoub 05.04.09 | 6:32 PM ET
i would like to work and live in usa
Tara 05.06.09 | 4:29 PM ET
As a Life Sabbatical and Long-term Travel Coach, I often give very similar advice to my clients and it is wonderful to see this article about the myriad ways that taking time off and going abroad can actually make you a STRONGER candidate in the workplace when you come home…it’s all about how you spin it. :) Thanks so much for this great reminder!
Lindsay 05.14.09 | 12:57 PM ET
Sending to self for future reference. Thank you :)