A resume application. It not only tells my story like a traditional resume, but also shows what I can do as a demonstration application.
My name is Grant Lindsay and I have been working as an application developer for more than 20 years.
So much of the work I do is for the proprietary use of my employers and clients. As a result, in almost all cases, I cannot show those projects as examples of work. I, therefore, realized that I needed a demonstration application. But, what kind of application should I build? What problem would I try to solve?
At the same time, I also wanted a resume that I felt would be a notch or two above the ordinary, printed-on-paper variety. It should be visually interesting (within my abilities) and in some way illustrate my skills. It began to feel like my resume should be an application. This project, the Resume Application, is the result of merging those two needs.
The final result, I feel, delivers several key benefits:
- Always up-to-date. Having an online resume available from the same URL gives me the ability to make sure it is always current. If I e-mail or hand-deliver a resume, it is already stale and can never be updated (without sending a new copy, which is itself stale.) Whereas, the link to the Resume Application always points to the current version. It never goes stale.
- A Demonstration of skills. Just like a traditional resume, my Resume Application tells the reader what I have done, where I have worked, and other important career-related information. In addition and beyond what a paper resume can do, this version also shows my skills, serving as a demonstration application.
- Saves time. Since the source code for the Resume Application is also available on GitHub, a preliminary technical review of my skills is available even before an interview is scheduled, saving everyone time. I said I know JavaScript, but what does my code really say about that?
Unfortunately, old habits are difficult to unseat and more often than not I am expected to provide "a Word version" of my resume, regrdless of any other alternative I offer. As a result, I intend to also provide a link to such a version for those who insist on having it.
However, my goal is to dynamically generate that version from the same source data that drives the web version, so that I don't lose the advantages that I gained with a dynamic, data-driven resume. As a side benefit for me, such a feature will further serve to demonstrate my programming abilities.
Because I believe in sharing what I know, I have licensed this under the Apache License, Version 2.0. This will let you copy and modify what I have created, without cost, provided that you include required notices and give me credit for what I have done.
You can make your own version of this resume application, showing off what you know. That would be awesome!