Gaps from the treadmill in life are often a welcome moment – Gap years and general time outs can be beneficial in so many ways. Life Coaches often talk about finding your third space and a gap year can be that – Defined in the Oxford Dictionary as: A period, typically an academic year, taken by a student as a break between school and university or college education.
Leonardo Da Vinci once said “There is no room in a busy mind for creativity”. Gap years can be so helpful, post a traumatic two years in HSC study. At Mondo, we have placed more than 2700 Senior Executives in Senior Leadership roles since 1998… so what do we think about gap years on resumes? Not at all a concern as the modern world is realising the benefit of time-outs.
There are two schools of thought when deciding what to do – to Gap or not to Gap. It really depends on what you do with that gap year, your cash flow and if you are someone easily side tracked.
General benefits of taking a gap year: Rejuvenation; new experiences; getting out of your comfort zone and a chance to save money before you head to full-time study.
The benefits of heading straight from school to tertiary studies is not getting side-tracked and out of the groove. Gap years during or after tertiary can be a better stage as you are more street-wise and may have more networks and connections.
There is no right or wrong way, it totally depends on you and your circumstances. A Gap year can be a great year that you will treasure all your years. I certainly enjoyed mine following University.