10 Ways Travel Can Help You Get a Job

Mike Scanlin, CEO of Born to Sell has been to 70 countries thus far and has plans to hit them all. He says one of the ways his travels have helped boost his resume is by improving his storytelling ability. Business execs like to break the ice in meetings with anecdotes or some kind of personal connection.

"If these stories involve some place faraway that is off the beaten track they immediately think 'this is an interesting guy; the kind of guy I'd want to do business with and hang out with,'" Scanlin says. "Travel stories are great ice breakers, and great credibility establishers." Travel shows you can solve problems on the fly.

Scanlin also says it shows that you are a great problem solver because as you travel, especially in different countries, you're sometimes faced with problems that make the average office issue seem trivial. "What do you do if your vehicle is broken down and you are 200 miles from anywhere or anyone? Totally character building experiences," Scanlin says.

You come across as a curious and creative person.

Scanlin points out that people with an interest in learning about the world are curious and typically creative by nature. "I recently met a husband and wife who had summited Everest," Scanlin says. "It took them four attempts, but in the fourth season they did it. Then they skied to the South Pole and to the North Pole. They're definitely goal-oriented types who work through adversity." You can deal with uneasy situations.

"Travel stretches you outside your comfort zone," says Caroline Ceniza-Levine, co-founder of SixFigureStart. "If your job will require that you are flexible, versatile and open to new experiences, then you can use travel as an example of this."

You are organized.

Ceniza-Levine also points to the planning that goes into a trip as a way to highlight your skills. "If you coordinated multiple countries in one visit, navigating different visa processes, currency exchanges, flight schedules, and budget constraints, this is another good example to highlight of your skill set," she says.

Employers will see you as adventurous.