More and more graduates are taking a year out : to stop, reflect, and to work out what they want to do with their lvies.
According to Anne-Marie MARTIN, director of the Careers Group, University of London, there can be many benefits to a year out, but it depends on what you do and why.
'If all you do after university is sit around watching TV, there is probably little benefit. But if you go travelling, decide to increase your skills in some way or try your hand at temporary jobs to see what suits you, then it can be hugely valuable'.
When 23-year-old Alice CLARFELT took a year off after uni, she didn't just want to travel - she wanted to immerse herself in another culture.
Alice who has an MA in English from Leeds, spent nine months teaching about sexual health and HIV/ AIDS to young people in the eastern Cape, South Africa, with the charity SPW (Student Partnership Worldwide).
'I was living in a little mud hut in a rural community. I'd get u, go and fetch water from about half an hour away, come back, boil the water in order to wash, prepare for the day, and do a workshop in the school'.
Alice says she has benefited from the global perspective she gained from the trip. 'In my community, they didn't have any running water', she says. So Alice took it upon herself to go to the municipal offices and make a case for a water tap - something she says she'd never have dont at home.
'they actually came, investigated it all, wrote up a report and they're now building a tap and a well in the community. And I was like 'Yeah, I've really achieved something'.
Anne-Marie MARTIN says Alice's experiences will impress future employers.
'Independently travelling around, learning how to stand on your own two feet and understanding how to fit into different cultures gives you a maturity which employers are going to recognise and be interested in.
Thanks a lot Cailey !