Online CV for son? [No hosting recommendations]

54and56

Hi all,

I registered my sons .com domain name (e.g. www.johnsmith.com) with Go Daddy when he was born 15 years ago and he now wants to use it to host his CV. He's going into transition year in Sept and has to organise some work experience so in order to differentiate himself from all the other 15 year olds knocking on the same business doors in our area he wants to design a clever business card on http://www.vistaprint.ie which succinctly asks the recipient to consider him for some work experience (preferably in marketing or IT) and invites them to check out his CV on www.hisname.com.

I was thinking he should design a one page website using WordPress and host it on one of the entry level hosting packages sites but maybe he'd just be better off using the CV template provided by http://www.wix.com/cv-resume/website and then connect the Wix generated website to www.hisname.com which looks like it would cost €4 a month.

Any suggestions? Am I on the right track?

I just want to point him in the right direction and then let him figure it all out himself from there as that's how he'll learn. I hope!!

Cheers.

Stheno

Why not just use Linkedin?

Cherry Blossom

He gives potential work placemements a business card which has a link to a website which has his CV is that right?

It's a lot of hassle for the employers. I can foresee most filing the business card in the bin to be honest.

54and56

Stheno wrote: »

Why not just use Linkedin?

Good thinking, I hadn't thought of that but as he really wants to do something different I don't think loading his Cv onto a platform with 433m other CV's will achieve his goal. I know not too many 15 year olds will have LinkedIn pages so it's a good idea but I don't think it's what he wants and I'd also like the project to be a little be more challenging for him than just filling out the LinkedIn new member form.

54and56

Cherry Blossom wrote: »

He gives potential work placemements a business card which has a link to a website which has his CV is that right?

It's a lot of hassle for the employers. I can foresee most filing the business card in the bin to be honest.

Yes and the website name will be hisname.com. No doubt most cards will be quickly binned but his card is more likely to pique the interest than yet another 2 page CV and cover letter on plain A4 paper from a TY student looking for interesting work experience. At least he thinks it will. Even if it doesn't he'll have learned a few things about creating a (very small) website and organising hosting etc which will be a good by product and not something he'd get if he just followed the herd and created a Word Doc to be printed and dropped into local businesses.

Stheno

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Even if it doesn't he'll have learned a few things about creating a (very small) website and organising hosting etc which will be a good by product and not something he'd get if he just followed the herd and created a Word Doc to be printed and dropped into local businesses.

Which do you think a small local business is more likely to action?

A boring word c.v. printed out that they just open up and read, or a website link on a card that they have to go on line and access?

Dravokivich

Eh... you want him to publish his personally details out in the open?

54and56

Stheno wrote: »

Which do you think a small local business is more likely to action?

A boring word c.v. printed out that they just open up and read, or a website link on a card that they have to go on line and access?

Well he's looking for work experience with interesting people so you're probably right that most people will prefer to flick through the paper CV's and have zero curiosity about a young lad approaching them in a different and creative manner but the ones who are curious may be the type of people/businesses he'd have a better work experience with.

Who knows? I think it's positive to try something innovative. If it works great. If it doesn't he can print off some CV's and re-issue them without any loss as the business cards he already issued will have been binned.

54and56

Dravokivich wrote: »

Eh... you want him to publish his personally details out in the open?

I don't think there will be anything on his CV that isn't already published on various social media or sports club websites etc.

This is the sort of "CV" he'd be publishing - http://www.wix.com/website-template/view/html/1676?originUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wix.com%2Fwebsite%2Ftemplates%2Fhtml%2Fportfolio-cv%2F1&bookName=&galleryDocIndex=1&category=portfolio-cv

Trojan

I don't know about him getting a job out of it right now, but I applaud what you're doing and teaching him. I gave a talk on this topic at UL a couple of years back, and on the train on the way down I built a CV site based on a HTML template.

Unfortunately, we cannot recommend specific hosting providers on boards, it's caused a lot of hassle in the past and just isn't allowed at all.

54and56

Trojan wrote: »

I don't know about him getting a job out of it right now, but I applaud what you're doing and teaching him. I gave a talk on this topic at UL a couple of years back, and on the train on the way down I built a CV site based on a HTML template.

Unfortunately, we cannot recommend specific hosting providers on boards, it's caused a lot of hassle in the past and just isn't allowed at all.

Thanks for the positive feedback Trojan. He's only looking for a bit of work experience so no big deal but what I really want him to learn and appreciate is that you shouldn't just follow the herd and blindly do the same as everyone else. Sometimes it pays to be a contrarian. Maybe this is one of those occasions, maybe not but IMO it's worth trying.

biko

Hosting discussion not allowed on boards so we can't recommend nor discuss any particular company.

Your general idea seems good, online CVs are great and particularly at his age it will seem very "on the ball".

IRE60

I think his own site is a good idea. Don't be tempted to link it to anything where he could (metaphorically naturally) get caught with the trousers down like a stupid facebook account!

If the name is easily remembered then the web address would be a simple step. If he's getting business cards - use both sides! For pig iron - stick a QR code to his web address on the back with some salient information about him as well.

54and56

IRE60 wrote: »

I think his own site is a good idea. Don't be tempted to link it to anything where he could (metaphorically naturally) get caught with the trousers down like a stupid facebook account!

If the name is easily remembered then the web address would be a simple step. If he's getting business cards - use both sides! For pig iron - stick a QR code to his web address on the back with some salient information about him as well.

Thanks IRE60, good advice. I've always been a fan of using both sides of the business card, one for the normal details and one as a mini billboard with a strapline summarising what the business does or some kind of offer for the bearer of the card etc.

The name of the website will be easily remember as it's literally his first and surname .com.

Mrs OBumble

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

I was thinking he should design a one page website using WordPress and host it on one of the entry level hosting packages sites but maybe he'd just be better off using the CV template provided by http://www.wix.com/cv-resume/website and then connect the Wix generated website to www.hisname.com which looks like it would cost €4 a month.

It's an interesting project. Even if it's not the most likely way to get a job photocopying for a local office.

If he used Blogger instead of Wix or Wordpress, he could do it for free.

endacl

What's the difference between an online cv, and emailing your cv?

What am I missing?

biko

An online CV actually is a webpage with the info instead.
This allows you to spice it up better.

AnCatDubh

A nice approach. You could pick a blogging platform that will accept custom domains. There's at least one really popular service that does this (and for free). I've used it before for a number of different projects (pm if you can't find any and need details). So www.sonsname.com will get its content delivered by the blogging platform. Looks like a website, feels like a website. Looks personal. Costs nothing more than what you have currently invested in the domain and some of your/his time. Also, there is an opportunity to learn some IT stuff - as someone mentioned above, perhaps learn a bit of html, web design, social media integration, etc...

I've also seen a friend create a CV site using such blogging platforms to showcase her work. It worked for her and she used it to get the job (creative/art sector so they were receptive to the idea of immersing themselves in her work via the web).

54and56

AnCatDubh wrote: »

A nice approach. You could pick a blogging platform that will accept custom domains. There's at least one really popular service that does this (and for free). I've used it before for a number of different projects (pm if you can't find any and need details). So www.sonsname.com will get its content delivered by the blogging platform. Looks like a website, feels like a website. Looks personal. Costs nothing more than what you have currently invested in the domain and some of your/his time. Also, there is an opportunity to learn some IT stuff - as someone mentioned above, perhaps learn a bit of html, web design, social media integration, etc...

I've also seen a friend create a CV site using such blogging platforms to showcase her work. It worked for her and she used it to get the job (creative/art sector so they were receptive to the idea of immersing themselves in her work via the web).

Thanks ACD, that's great to know. My son has a draft of his CV website done up on a WIX template but he's keen to learn and might replicate it on that blogging platform if you don't mind PM'ing me the details. We're away on holiday ATM so he won't be making the CV site live until we get home and he can start knocking on doors in earnest.

Bergmann

That's an interesting idea, not something I'd ever thought of to be honest! Would be interested to hear how it works out.

uck51js9zml2yt

I built a website a few years ago which just had a blurb/ bio about me and then used the logos of companies and certifications I had.
I then linked my linked in profile to it and had a link on my CV.
For various reasons my hosting died so I need to start again.

54and56

Bergmann wrote: »

That's an interesting idea, not something I'd ever thought of to be honest! Would be interested to hear how it works out.

Well we're just back from holiday and the CV website has been drafted using the Wix template I referred to earlier. It'll be finalised and published in a few days once the business cards he's designed on Vistaprint are delivered and he starts dropping into businesses asking for work experience opportunities.

FYI the business cards will have a heading with his name, a statement saying he's a TY student looking for work experience, a photo and a link to his CV on www.firstnamelastname.com.

Maybe it'll make no difference whatsoever to the standard printed out CV with cover letter but maybe it will. Either way it's been an interesting little project for him so far and has hopefully taught him a number of things about how to communicate clearly and how to market yourself.

I'll revert with an update when he has completed his search.