Practicalities of job packets in the academic job search

Now that I'm getting ready to send out job packets, I have some additional useful tips.

1. Get a laser printer. This is so worth the investment, and I was surprised to see how much prices have come down so much compared to the last time that I looked. I got my HP on sale for under $100, and ordered an ink cartridge at the same time. Of course, I'll keep my old multi-function inkjet because of the utility of having color at times, or being able to scan. (Alas, I possibly should have gone for another brand because when I added the new printer it totally messed up the HP all in one utility, but that's a whole other story...) Why is the laser printer necessary? Not only does it look nicer, but you can print almost two 50 page articles in less time than it would take to do just print your CV on an inkjet. Plus it works out cheaper per page in the long run, although $65 for a toner cartridge does hurt.
   
   
2. Possibly at the same time as when you get your printer, but at least before the major job packet push, you should also get the essential items for job packets: paper, envelopes, paper clips and those little binder clips. Also an extra ink cartridge for the printer would be a good idea, as you want to avoid having to chase down materials when you are on a tight deadline. (Staples had a buy two toners, get a free case of paper deal when last I looked.) I should also point out that this is no time to worry about saving trees- you need to get a job! I wish I hadn't had to send 3 lbs of paper to Denmark for my first job application, but hey, if that's what they want, that's what they get.
   
   
3. And if you don't have one already, for heaven's sake, buy a backup drive and software! If you have a mac, you are in luck, because the time machine program is so easy to use, as my partner keeps pointing out. (He really wants to convert me to mac, but as a GIS user, that's not the best idea...) But I digress. For those of us with PCs, having the automatic sync is a little harder. I wanted something similar that I could just plug in and forget, without having to bother with setting backup times, clicking a box or any of that. Not that I couldn't do that--I can be technically skilled if necessary--but I wanted to make it so simple to back up my laptop that it would actually happen every week or few days.
   
   So far, I have been using the effective, if a bit slow, SyncToy 2.0, which is free from microsoft, and quite easy to use. The problem is that it just isn't as idiot proof as I want. With SyncToy you set up a the folders and options to sync, and then when ready, you plug in your external hard drive and select the backup sync you want. Which was pretty easy, but not as easy as say, just plugging in a hard drive and having things sync automatically like the time machine software. So the other day I ordered the Rebit backup software, (cheaper if you order from Amazon), and am waiting to see whether I like it. They claim to do the autosync that I'm looking for, so I have high hopes.