Allison Aiken shares similar sentiments. After graduating from the University of South Carolina in May 2000, she spent three months working and saving money so she could head for Edinburgh, Scotland, in September. There, through a "working holidays" program called BUNAC, Aiken served as a receptionist in a doctor's office before traveling through Europe and the Philippines.
"Most employers have thought it was a great thing for me to do," says Aiken, who now does media relations, event planning, media research and PR strategy/planning for clients as an assistant account executive for Tugboat Communications in Charlotte, North Carolina. "They all have come to me as a sort of international expert in work-related situations, and they've often told me that even though I may still be young, my experiences have proven that I'm wiser than my age."
Manage the Career Risks
A postgraduation hiatus, as Houser calls it, does pose some career-related risks. For starters, you'll have to work hard to reconnect with old contacts on your return, warns Krystal Temple, a 2005 Arizona State University grad who is now an account coordinator for Tempe, Arizona-based advertising and public relations firm Off Madison Ave.
"Many potential employers questioned why I didn't have a job right away after graduating, and some were not that impressed or didn't admire the fact that I was trying to better myself," says Temple, who participated in a postgraduation seven-week study-abroad program in Spain. However, "some did take into consideration that traveling abroad was interesting and worthy and important."
So while there's always that voice telling you to take the conventional career path right after graduation, give equal time to the one saying, "Do something different, and do it now -- while you still can."
"I cannot express the importance of it enough," Dinsmore says. "Some people see me as being a year behind compared to everyone who jumped into the grind straight out of college. But I'm confident that my experience put me leaps ahead."
