[Fredslist] Inter-Generational Relations - Travel as a Career Move - April

Mon Apr 17 12:24:44 EDT 2006

Welcome to

Phyllis Weiss Haserot's

 INTER-GENERATIONAL RELATIONS e-TIP

April  2006

TRAVEL AS A CAREER MOVE

I recently spent five days of my two-week (a lot of time for me to manage to take) vacation to Chile/Patagonia on a cruise around Tierra del Fuego with a number of interesting and travel-focused young couples, four of whom where assigned to the same table as I was for meals. We got a lot of time to talk there and on our twice daily treks. One of the couples, an Israeli under 30 who had run a technology company and a biology grad student and researcher from Vancouver, was in the early stages of a six month trip through South America and other continents, having met in India on previous travels which they fit in between and after their university studies and first few jobs. Another set of tablemates was a young German Swiss couple who were at the start of a three and a half month trip. There were others, and the first couple told me that extended travel early in their careers, mostly back-packing, was common among people of their generation, especially outside the U.S. 

It seems the wanderlust and desire to experience diverse cultures and geographies have bitten young Americans as well. My colleague, who as a partner previously chaired the Legal Personnel Committee of a large international law firm, talks about how the entry-level associates frequently delay starting work for a few months to fit in exotic travel. (I say they know it will be a long, long time before they have the time to do that again - so why not if you can.)

Many of the Americans are working and volunteering abroad as well as traveling directly after college or graduate school - an estimate of about 35,000 of them (by the International Center of the University of Michigan) - a number that has been growing rapidly. From teaching to bartending to picking grapes to large corporation low-paying internships, how they are paying for their travel and living expenses varies. Sometimes they are motivated by the opportunity to "do good," helping cultures and individuals who are far less fortunate than they are. Since community service has been a part of the education of Generation Y since the early grades, it is one of the characteristics attributed to that generation and one reason the desire to do pro bono work is so strong.

International experience is valued not only by the young traveler/workers, but also by employers. At first blush it may not seem like a career booster, as the money is meager and many of the jobs are below the level of competency and expectation Generation X and Y university graduates would seek and command in the U.S. However, the traveling experimenters often conclude it is a "career move," not just a fun thing to do. Some even get to work for internationally known companies.

Employers are enthusiastic about young people with international work experience. It demonstrates open-mindedness, a sense of adventure, and an expanded world view. Surmounting the challenges to working and living abroad (often in third-world and rural areas) builds courage and confidence. And after traveling and working in areas they know would not be a permanent choice, the young college and post-college graduates are ready to settle down. They tend to be more mature and may be more loyal employees.

Rosalind Clay Carter, a senior vice president for human resources at the A & E Television Networks believes people who work and support themselves overseas have demonstrated resourcefulness, independence and entrepreneurship. They tend to be flexible, adaptive and inquisitive - clearly valuable attributes for any professional services workplace.

The experiences abroad, or working in disaster or poverty areas in their own countries, provide an education in foreign languages, other cultures and religions while working on challenging problems. The experiences are likely to have a significant impact, in some cases, to be life-changing. The young traveler/workers may develop the initiative and independent thinking their generation is said to lack and change their expectation that they can make demands and simply get their way.

Savvy professional firms will factor this added value into their recruiting equations and look favorably on those undergraduate and graduate school alumni who choose not to jump from school into a demanding career. The skills and maturity they can acquire from travel and work in different environments can go a long way toward building the interpersonal and leadership skills not taught in most schools and firms.

Next time, a contradictory view of Generation Y - the Millennials.

I welcome your comments.

Phyllis

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Phyllis Weiss Haserot
Practice Development Counsel
Consulting/Coach to the Next Generation
Creator of *Next Generation, Next Destination* and *The Flexible Firm*

Voice: 212-593-1549
Fax: 212-980-7940
pwhaserot at pdcounsel.com 
please visit: www.pdcounsel.com 

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