The Essential Paperwork for Your Travel Assignment
Once you've decided to take a travel assignment, your recruiter will give you a list of documents you'll need to travel. Maintaining this paperwork may be one of the most challenging parts of traveling. But, when you have a system and stay organized, you may only have to add a few names, dates, and certifications to stay current.
Where Can You Keep The Information You Need?
In this digital age, there are several ways to keep information organized - in the cloud or on your computer - or physical copies in a binder. The reality is that both are great ways to organize and access the information you'll need each time you move assignments. Traveling every 13 weeks can turn your life upside down, so it's essential to get and stay organized. Your compliance documents, bills, mail, taxes, and travel documents are just a few of the things you need to keep track of.
There are a few caveats. As you consider the types of documents, you'll scan for easy access and portability, remember that digital records can be hacked. It is crucial to keep tax documents and licenses safe from prying eyes who may want to steal your identity. Other documents can be scanned by using an app on your smartphone to take a picture that is converted to a pdf document. These can then be stored in an online organizer like Evernote.
While hackers may use a scanned copy of your license, an online organizer is an excellent place to keep track of expiration dates for your licenses, certifications, CEUs, and when bills are due. Consider storing some of your medical information, such as vaccination dates and the date of your last physical - but keep the physical forms in hard copies.
Consider scanning or entering the information you need to keep, such as your work history and references. With each new job, update your resume with the dates, place, location, role, and duties during the assignment. This is a simple task that can easily get overlooked and becomes challenging to recreate as you need to update your paperwork. Record the names and contact information of the people you network with as well. This is a great way to gather a list of potential references, keep up with friends and acquaintances from past assignments, and expand your professional network.
Keep This Information In One Place as You Travel
In addition to your work history and professional network, you'll also need to keep track of your certifications and licenses, including hard copies. Binders or accordion-type organizers are easy to carry and separate information - such as hard copies of your medical records, passport, social security card, and copies of your driver's license, including information to acquire the new real ID due by October 1, 2020.
Keep hard copies of your birth certificate, insurance cards, and prescriptions. Be sure to keep the contact information for your insurance agent in your phone for emergency contact in case of a car accident. It is also helpful to keep a separate section for the documents you'll need at year-end for taxes, including receipts.
Back It All Up!
You can't plan for theft, fire, or a fried computer hard drive, so it's important to back up your digital information and keep your paper copies in a fireproof safe. Consider backing up your computer completely off-site using an automatic program such as Carbonite. If you don't need to back up the entire hard drive, then consider storing your information in a program that isn't only on your computer, such as Evernote or Wunderlist.
Are You Ready to Begin a New Adventure? Call GetMed Staffing!
We love working with travelers. There is excitement and adventure with each new assignment. You never really know who you'll meet or the experiences you'll acquire. Call GetMed Staffing today and begin your next adventure!