Alright, this may seem a little silly, but it is a topic that has been on my mind with the coming of the 2013 hurricane season (June 1st). Many people stock up on a few essentials food, water, and flashlights but few think about preparing their extremely important and sometimes sensitive documents. It can be hard to pack passports or social security cards when things with much more emotional value won’t fit in the car, but remembering to have back-ups of resumes often isn’t even on the list!
These are just a few things I try to do to be prepared, especially when hurricane season rolls around:
1. If you have a multiple versions of resumes and cover letters, or even electronic copies of your transcripts, maintain backup copies on a USB drive or, preferably, on a cloud-based storage system. They make all those copies portable and, in the case of cloud storage, impervious to weather.
2. If you already keep such a system of storage (good for you!) try to update them a certain number of times per year. It’s great to have back ups, but they won’t be as useful if they’re out of date.
3. Keep multiple paper and/or electronic copies of your references’ contact information. Just like the resumes, keep those copies somewhere safe! You don’t want your contact list wiped out, especially if they’re harder to track or difficult to reach people.
These are things that should be lower on the end of your disaster preparedness list, but that should definitely be looked into. Be aware and stay safe!