If you do not know, your gap year experience is a valuable achievement which can help you boost up your curriculum vitae. Gap year volunteering is a piece of decoration for your resume. In a layman’s language, volunteering exhibits a strong character and the will to serve without further compensation. How about that for your company? What would be the employer’s impression if they encounter someone like you who has the vision of changing the world?

Job competition is above normal these days. Of thousands of resumes and CV’s passed on a particular position, only one can grab the spot. And that spot is for you; a good volunteer and an experienced traveler who went to see the realities of the world. According to a survey, 90 percent of the employers put heavy focus on extra curricular activities, academic achievements, and work experience. And definitely, all those mentioned above comes along with your gap year travel. Furthermore, these are the lesson of which a gap year student can learn—which is very helpful in applying for job.

1. Organization – The first lesson learned on a gap year travel. Before anything else, the will of setting what things to bring, securing for travel insurance, going to a trip indecently, and planning for a volunteering project to work with is a act of organizing things which is never far from the character list of most employers.
2. Interpersonal skills – the interaction created by negotiating with program coordinators and to-be-volunteered communities has developed your skills of relating to other people. The cultural experience is far most the proof that you are a person which can carry out their company message to the rest of the world.
3. Public relations and public speaking – perhaps debating and school journalism is the traditional means of developing communication skills, however, the experience of talking to different communities is much more powerful. Explaining the volunteering goal into the people who will be served is yet another tough training for your interpersonal communication skills.
4. Teamwork – varsity players often get a load of teamwork and that is definitely helpful. The same is for your gap year volunteering program wherein you go teaching together with your teammates. The achievement of the team is an achievement for all, which is the essence of volunteering abroad. On the other hand, it is gold for you CV and perfume for you in your job application.
5. Initiative – the word which is needed by every employer in the world. Together comes with initiative is creativity and self act—which is the foundation of volunteering. Just by deciding to go on abroad to help people is a life changing “initiative” you have made.

Every good employer will notice this at the very glance on your CV and will captivate their decisions to hire you in the position because “a life changer” like you deserves to be on their company.

Volunteers become rich—volunteering work is a challenging activity to participate with. Individuals are offering their time, energy, and money to help needy communities. They climb hills and mountains, cross rivers and streams, to bring goods and services for the minorities in deep jungles.

Despite these hardboiled tasks given to them, they don’t expect any wage or salary as payment for hard work. Most of them often contribute financials to their respective non-profit and charitable organizations. Students on gap year volunteering travel from other parts of the world and often sacrifice their university semesters just to experience the thrill of helping people.

How then volunteers become rich? At the first place they are paying for the gap year program and all the traveling expenses. They arrive at the designated country with little money and work for their cost of living. So how then volunteers become rich?

• They become rich deep inside. No money could ever compensate the feeling of helping others and seeing indigenous people smile.

• Their hearts enlarges but not with gluttony and greed. Compared to people who finds joy in owning all they could see, volunteers rejoice when needy people get to embrace, eat, and feel things they haven’t grasp for most of their lives.

• Their eyes are opened to the truth. Volunteers are exposed to the truth that “the world is not equal in terms of social and economic status” that there is a big need for voluntary work in Africa, and other countries eaten by poverty.

• They practice their education and knowledge on real life situations. Compared to traditional trainings, volunteer work abroad develops life skills and independence set on real world environment. Students who are aiming for teaching degrees are educating.

It’s no question how volunteering works wonders for everybody. The once in a lifetime experience of traveling into a foreign land and provide aid will definitely become the greatest achievement for students and adults alike.

The last couple of years, young people who are planning a gap year, are more and more interested in volunteering overseas, but why?

Well Lattitude Global Volunteer conducted a survey and asked over 2000 people aged 15 to 24 years old why they consider volunteering overseas during a gap year. According to the study, many of those young people think that volunteering is the best way to experience a different culture combined with learning new skills.

The company provides volunteering opportunities in 20 different countries from Australia to Canada and Malawi. The volunteers become completely integrated in a culture by living and working with them and becoming an important part of that community.

Other popular reasons to volunteer are that 14% thinks that volunteering during a gap year is a good work experience, another 14% wanted to give something back. Furthermore, 11% wanted to become more independent during the gap year, 10% wanted to improve their CV, 9% wanted to learn something about themselves and 8% thought of the gap year as a way to help them decide upon decisions they had to make concerning their career.

Would you consider to work abroad and what are your reasons? Please let me know.

What’s in the gap year program, why every year there are countless gap year volunteers participated on it? Do you think there is something beneficial that they can get from the program? Yes indeed, it is not all about money but it is all about the emotion that you can gain after you volunteer for the said program. Taking the gap year program is not compulsory. It is your choice; you can choose to do nothing or do something else if you want to. But come to think of it, try to look around your surroundings; did you not realize that there are millions of people who need your help? The world around you needs a lot of help, definitely your help.

Volunteering abroad through the gap year program would have a positive effect not only in the world but most especially to your self. If you think of volunteering, you should be aware of your responsibilities. In the volunteering program, expect to work or volunteer in the community like welfare, education, health care, disaster relief or conservation. If you participate you could help promote human rights, you will develop self determination, peace and dignity. But volunteering doesn’t need for you to go abroad; you can volunteer in your own country if you think your people need your help.

However, if you want to take gap year volunteering abroad ready yourself from two weeks or a year. There are sayings that volunteering abroad is like revitalizing the sense of purpose in life. Volunteering abroad is not easy; because you will be encountering people with different perceptions in life, have different walks of life and culture. Therefore it is necessary for you to ready yourself from this kind of challenges abroad. Besides, volunteering is a lifetime experience that you could never forget in your entire life. This is an experience that you can boast to your friends or love-ones and to yourself.

Today, we are experiencing various disasters bombarded in different countries. In fact, the different disasters that bombarded the countries never choose what country he might strike. Either it is a rich country or poor if the nature calls, no one can thwart.

Aside from the nature, one of the most common problems of one’s country is poverty and education. Most of the people who were experiencing this phenomenon are those people living in the region of Asia. Despite these problems, there are many things this region can boast off. The region of Asia is famous of being rich with their natural environment.

On the other hand, Asia is now been visiting with various volunteers coming from the different parts of the world. Students from the United States, Britain and other wealthy regions are stretching their hands to help these less fortunate people. Bringing with them the skills that they have learned from school and the knowledge that they get from their environment or parents, they try to share it to these people. For students, this project is called Gap year program. Volunteering abroad is for everybody not only for the students itself. As a volunteer, it is a self fulfilling feeling. Aside from the overwhelming feeling, there are many things a volunteer can get out from the program.

A voluntary work could help develop one’s personality. You will be more mature and responsible in everything you do. There’s no question why there are countless volunteers who rushed to volunteer abroad. So if you think you were capable of the said program, you were always welcome with it. As long as you have the skills and knowledge of the nature of your work then there would be nothing for you to worry about. But before deciding to volunteer, it is advice for you to get gap insurance for your own security measure.