A record can be simpler than a CV
You do not have to decide on your next job to keep track of what you have done. During a move, work can become fragmented: a project finished remotely, a course completed between appointments, a period spent caring for family, or a role that ends earlier than expected. A private working document helps preserve the dates and details without forcing them into a polished career story.
Start with the most recent six months. Note the work or activity, your role, the dates and one concrete outcome. If an outcome is still developing, say that. Include a link or filename where evidence is stored, such as a certificate, an approved public work sample or a project summary you are permitted to keep. Do not copy an employer's confidential material into a personal folder.
Describe the contribution precisely
“Helped with a project” leaves you little to work with later. Record the part you actually handled: prepared the schedule, translated a customer-facing document, maintained a catalogue, organised an event or checked a set of records. If you have a reliable number that explains the scale, include it. Avoid inventing a measurement simply because a CV guide suggests using figures.
Keep paid work, study, volunteering and caring responsibilities clearly identified. They may involve overlapping skills, but they are not interchangeable job titles. A factual record lets you decide later what is relevant to a particular application without exaggerating the nature of an activity.
Save unfamiliar local terms beside the wording used in your previous working language. A qualification or role title may not translate directly. Record its official name and issuer now; investigate how it should be described in a future application when you know the destination and purpose.
Keep people reachable
If a colleague or supervisor agrees to act as a reference, ask which contact details they prefer you to retain. Note the role and project through which they know your work. Contact information can change during the same period you are moving, so do not rely solely on an old organisational address.
You can also keep brief notes after a useful professional conversation: the subject discussed and any action you agreed to take. This is not a contact-collecting exercise. It is a way to remember a conversation accurately when the next few weeks become crowded with household tasks.
Update after something happens
Choose a small trigger for updating the record: finishing a task, receiving a certificate or ending a role. Five minutes at that point is usually easier than reconstructing a year. Keep a copy somewhere you can access if you change computers, with appropriate protection for personal details.
When you are ready to apply for work or study, select from the record rather than pasting everything into an application. The document's value is that it holds accurate material. It does not need to predict what you will want to do next.
