[HN Gopher] Show HN: CVservant: CV Creator for Academic Types
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       Show HN: CVservant: CV Creator for Academic Types
        
       Author : leephillips
       Score  : 7 points
       Date   : 2021-01-24 18:37 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (cvservant.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (cvservant.com)
        
       | leephillips wrote:
       | This is a CV (resume) creator aimed at academic types with
       | publication lists. I wrote it to scratch my own itch, because
       | it's a bit of a pain keeping this stuff organized so that I can
       | pop out an updated CV when I need one.
       | 
       | You can maintain a collection of CVs with different information,
       | in different styles, for different purposes.
       | 
       | You can enter your publications one at a time, or upload a BibTeX
       | file if you have one. You can export all your data, including
       | your pubs translated into BibTeX, whenever you want. You can
       | control what publications are listed on what CVs, and how.
       | 
       | You can share the PDF of your CV using a URL with a hash, that
       | you can "revoke" if needed, or update while keeping the same URL.
       | 
       | It's a bit complicated, because the job that it does is
       | complicated. But I tried to guide the user with help tips where
       | needed.
       | 
       | Right now it looks like crap on small screens, but it works.
       | 
       | Designed to load fast, with very small downloads. Works without
       | JavaScript, but I use a little to smooth over the interactions.
       | 
       | It uses Django, Postgresql, and XeLaTeX, and a little htmx.
       | 
       | All criticisms or advice welcome!
        
         | cowsandmilk wrote:
         | For me, the reason I would have more than one format of CV is
         | for grant applications. Every so often, I need an NIH or NSF
         | biosketch, list my current support, etc. I see nothing here
         | indicating this supports those agencies, just a set of
         | templates without any indication of why I need a lot of
         | different templates.
         | 
         | ven though I say it would be useful for grant applications if
         | you had those templates, you will be competing with the
         | government for that use case, NIH created SciENCv, which will
         | generate your NIH and NSF biosketches from a single source of
         | data.
         | 
         | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK154494/
        
         | ktpsns wrote:
         | You really should work impressive examples! If I right-click
         | the mini thumbnails to read them, my browser guides me to
         | https://cvservant.com/static/cvtemplates/thumbs/cyber.png which
         | is anything but a good academic CV.
         | 
         | Furthermore, the overall website looks a bit like 1995, but
         | that's of course a matter of taste. The fees are hidden
         | somewhere in the lengthy text https://cvservant.com/cv/more/ --
         | this is almost a "dark pattern" and definetly not transparent.
         | 
         | Furthermore, sharing CVs is advertised at
         | https://cvservant.com/cv/sharing/ but again, I don't see any
         | examples of CVs shared on this site.
        
           | amelius wrote:
           | What do you think of this fellow's resume:
           | 
           | https://pjreddie.com/static/Redmon%20Resume.pdf
        
           | dr_kiszonka wrote:
           | (Disclaimer: I only used the mobile site and haven't
           | registered.)
           | 
           | I second the opinion that these CVs don't look like the
           | academic ones used in the US and most parts of the EU.
           | Perhaps this service is tailored more towards some other part
           | of the world.
           | 
           | I would focus on the UI, examples, and building a strong user
           | base before charging for the service. You could also add
           | biosketches (as required by different funding agencies). If
           | you do an excellent job at it, you might get acquired by
           | services like Researchgate, Mendeley or maybe Overleaf, if
           | you allowed people to import and edit their documents in
           | LaTex.
           | 
           | On the bright side, I would pay for a well-executed SaaS for
           | academic / grant documents management.
           | 
           | Good luck with your project!
        
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       (page generated 2021-01-24 23:01 UTC)