10 Reasons to Take a Working Holiday Before You Kick Start Your Career

If you’ve just left school or university and are wondering what next steps to take, have you ever thought about taking a working holiday? With this specific visa, you’ll be allowed to work and travel in another country, opening your horizons to new places and learning some skills along the way – the perfect adventure and way to open the doors to many career paths. Here’s our top ten reasons to take the leap and work and play abroad.

1. You’re given a longer period of time in the country

A working holiday visa in Australia lets you travel for up to 12 months, compared to just 3 months on a standard tourist visa. This is a great help when travelling around a country as huge as Australia, as it’ll let you see all the fantastic sights without having to squeeze them all into just a few months.

2. You can try your hand at different roles

A working holiday essentially allows you to test out any kind of job, including ones you might not typically find at home. From working behind a bar to picking crops, there’s loads of unique jobs out there for you to test out and who knows – you might even find your dream career. Being in the country for a whole year also gives you the opportunity to test out several different roles, so if making coffees doesn’t suit you, you can move on to something else.

3. Skill development

With a year of employment comes the enhancement of certain skills, some of which will be unique and make you stand out from the jobs market crowd if you decide to return to England. If working in retail for example, you will have had a great opportunity to develop your interpersonal and communication skills, whilst farm work will show you’re capable of manual labour, all great attributes to put on your CV.

4. Opportunity to travel

One of the main reasons to take a working holiday is of course to travel! Travelling not only lets you learn more about a country and its culture, it also opens your eyes to the world and help give perspective to your life. There’s so much to see; a year of travelling in a country like Australia could mean one minute you’re in a rainforest, the next you’re snorkelling in the great barrier reef, with a trip to the outback in between!

5. Earn money as you go

Taking a working holiday is great for if you want to start travelling ASAP – as long as you have the funds to cover your flight and a few months of living as security in case you can’t find a job immediately, then you can be on your way. This saves you months of working at home to save up the funds whilst dreaming of a live abroad. Working as you travel is particularly sustainable as you’ll be able to continue refilling your travelling fund with casual employment as you go.

6. Make new friends

One of the greatest pleasures of travelling is making new friends. Whether getting to know the locals or making friends with fellow travellers from back home, a year abroad is a brilliant way to open the doors to a whole new friendship circle. How knows, you may even meet the love of your life!

7. You’ll feel like a local

Visiting a country on a tourist visa only really allows you to visit places for up to a week at a time, at most, meaning you’ll definitely feel more like a visitor than a resident. On a working holiday visa, you’ll be able to full integrate with the community and make it feel like home. You’ll be able to explore a city or town more slowly and in depth than a fleeting tourist and find your own favourite hangout spots.

8. Provides a break

Going straight from school or university into employment at home can feel daunting and like its come all too soon. A working holiday lets you take a break away from this structured lifestyle and let you figure out for yourself what you’d like to do, whilst also teaching you more about the world.

9. It gives your period of travelling more structure

If you find long term employment, you may decide to move away from the hostel lifestyle and find a flat share. This also means you’ll move away from the drinking and party culture that often comes with hostels, which can be both expensive and detract from the things you actually came to the country to do. Having a job means you’ll be more focused on earning money and seeing the sights and places you set out to visit.

10. You can assess the country as a potential expat location

Having lived in a different country for a year, you’ll be more informed when deciding whether this is a country you’d like to return to, perhaps on a more permanent basis. This period of time gives you a kind of ‘trial run’ to see if the job market and general lifestyle of the country suit you.

For more useful information on working holidays or to search for a job, visit people2people.com