Did you know traveling helps you develop some important skills? When you travel you have to deal with many people and cultures. You have to handle delays and queues. Budgeting your trip is very important too. Many different problems might come up on the way and you have to find solutions. All of these problems improve skills that might be a very important addition to your CV or your future.
So what are these skills? Maybe you don’t even know you have them. Continue reading to learn more about these skills, how you gain them and how you can use them.
- Time management and patience
When you are using different types of transport, you have to follow certain schedules and timetables. Whether you travel by bus, train or plane you have to show up on time to not miss it. If you are good at following these timetables and you never missed anything, that means you have good time management. You know how long it takes you to arrive at a certain place and you count with delays or waiting times.
It also develops your planning skill. If you want to be on time without rush and stress you have to plan in advance when to leave and which route to take.
Sometimes you arrive on time but an unexpected delay comes up. You have to wait maybe hours for a train or a plane. This grows your patience.
Time management is often a key skill to have and is appreciated in many work positions or by many people. Being on time gains you respect too. Patience and planning skills are also a nice addition to your CV.
- Problem solving and risk management
Quick problem solving is something every traveler has to face. Maybe you don’t realise it but last time when your train was cancelled and you had to find another way to get somewhere or your booking at a hotel was messed up and you had to deal with that – all of these things grow your problem solving skill. No trip or vacation is perfect, always something goes wrong, even if it’s not something major you have to deal with some problems.
Decisions made based on health and safety grow risk awareness. Let’s say you don’t eat a certain dish because it can make you sick or you research vaccines needed and recommended for traveling to a certain destination. You are aware of the risks and you work on avoiding them.
Problem solving is another skill many employers look for. It’s also a good skill to have in life, it allows you to think fast and come up with solutions. Risk management is a nice addition too.
- Financial management
Fellow budget travelers are really good at this one. When you are traveling, especially budget traveling, you have to keep in mind your finances and the cost of everything. You have to make good financial decisions to not ruin your trip or even life. Nobody wants to go completely broke after their trip or vacation. You have to look at prices of the accommodation, tickets and activities. You are aware of the prices and your finances. You make budgets and know how to follow them. Maybe you even learn how to negotiate. That’s another interesting skill to have.
While this skill might be quite important for some job positions, it’s also a very important skill to have for life. If you know how to handle your finances, you can live a more stress free life. Making and following budgets or achieving financial goals is gonna get a lot easier.
- Organization and creativity
Travelers usually organise their own trips. Whether it’s transportation, activities or organizing all of your documents you need. You might come up with your own itineraries, this not only boosts your organization skill but also creativity. You need to know when to leave, where to go and how, plus points if you do it with a group. Organizing a group is more difficult therefore it helps you grow even more.
It also boosts your creativity. When you organize your trips you have to think of places, activities and research. This leads to open mindedness to new ideas or new solutions that normally wouldn’t come to your mind.
Organization skill might be an important part for certain jobs. Creativity is great if you work as an artist or you need some new ideas. Creativity can open many doors for you that you wouldn’t even think of. It’s a great skill to have in life also when you are renovating or building something or organizing something.
- Social skills – communication, networking, language
Traveling improves communication with diverse people. You learn how to talk and handle different personalities. It helps you with better communication, listening and understanding. You meet people from different cultures, with different religions and backgrounds. All of this helps you grow as you learn how to talk to different people.
While you are exploring the world and meeting new people it also helps you with networking. Building new connections is important because you never know who you might meet and how they can help you. If you like to meet people while you’re traveling, you might have a big social network. These contacts might come in hand whether you are looking for friends, work opportunities or just advice.
Traveling also widens your knowledge of languages. It might be general knowledge, you might learn just a few words and phrases or improve your already existing skills. All of this helps you grow as a person.
Social skills are very important in any position and people expect you to communicate well. Good communication and social skills are as important in your career as in your personal life.
- Awareness, resilience and attention to detail
You visit many unfamiliar places when you are traveling. Especially if you travel solo you have to be aware and pay attention to your surroundings. You might travel to a country with many pickpockets or scammers. Awareness and attention to detail helps you to stay safe and avoid losing your belongings.
Traveling helps stay calm under the pressure. When you are running late to your bus because you overslept or you messed up your booking, stress can make the situation a lot worse. When you learn to keep calm you think straight and make better decisions. This leads to emotional resilience. You might be overwhelmed but in an emergency situation you stay calm and solve the problem first.
Attention to detail is another useful and appreciated skill you can add to your CV. Awareness and resilience is a good skill to have to stay safe and calm in any situation.
Think of your last trip. Did you face some problems? How did you solve them? Did you plan it? Did you follow a budget?
Example: On my last trip I came out of the plane and I had no connection. I bought an e-sim but it didn’t work. I had to stay calm, find a kiosk and buy a physical sim card. It was a group trip. I planned the whole trip and activities. I had to communicate with hosts, guides and sellers also practicing a different language. On the way back my plane was delayed by an hour and I had to just sit and wait. I improved most of the skills mentioned above.
These are the main skills almost every traveler has. You can use your travel experiences to your advantage. Did you know you have these skills?