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Ways To Sell Yourself Back into The Workforce

Some RTW travelers go back to working after their trips, others start their own business, and yet others start planning their next trip!

If you plan to join or rejoin the working masses, following are a few tips for those for handling potential employers or recruiters who seem unreceptive about your time overseas.

Give yourself some time to reacclimate to your home “turf”. Try to have at least a week after returning home without any work obligations. That will give you a chance to informally meet with colleagues and others to find out exactly what may have changed while you were gone and will give you time to react to it.

Evaluate what work or self-employment opportunities interest you, and identify how your travels may have added to your qualifications or skills for actually making them happen.

When talking to prospective employers or recruiters, be candid about why you decided to travel. If you planned a thematic trip, emphasize what the theme meant to you and how the trip added to that meaning. If you traveled out of wanderlust, be up front about that, and have a valid reason for leaving your prior position, if you had one. Being laid off (otherwise known as “made redundant”) is a valid reason for leaving a position. You may then let the recruiter or potential employer know how keen you are, now that you have satisfied the urge to travel the world, on getting back to business!

Ask friends and business associates for referrals to recruiters and specific employers which interest you. Some recruiters or prospective employers may see that you haven’t worked in quite a while which may cause them to prioritize other candidates before you. But, if they receive a call from a mutual acquaintance, they will in all likelihood at least sit down to meet you.

Peruse websites of trade associations for some of the countries you visited. Many will have listings of jobs available through or with their commercial membership. If you do not find any job listings on a particular trade association website, give that association a call and ask if they have listings available at their office or through some other means. Any companies you contact through trade association listings will be receptive to your travels and may even consider them an advantage.

Join a social networking site like LinkedIn. Once you become a member, you can join a variety of groups, some of which specialize in international work or specific industries, companies, or geographic areas.