After 11 years in the business as a professional resume writer, I’ve heard horror stories about just about any you can imagine regarding the job search. However, this one takes the cake: There are candidates with degrees who are not able to verify enrollment. Why? Because the school has either gone belly up, or lost the student’s records.

How can that happen? I don’t know for sure, but it does happen, and that will stop your job search in its tracks when it’s time to do a background check. What to do? For one be proactive. Save everything. Copies of your grades. Copies of your degree. And copies of your transcripts. Even if you don’t need them now, you will someday.

When I went to college, my records were stored on microfiche. At one point, they may have been transferred to a computer, perhaps by an intern or minimum wage part-time worker. Rather than take a chance that my school is keeping close tabs on my records (I hope they are) I got copies of my transcripts years ago. I have paper copies that have also been scanned and also kept on a backup disc. I recommend you do the same. Just in case.