Upload resume script

zzz

I've received a few inquiries from one of my sites, where members ask if they can upload resume instead of building it line by line, the way I have it setup now.

Now, I am a bit mystified by the whole concept. The resume entries are stored in a db table. How does this work? Is it some sort of collection of regex that match certain parts in text document and push those into db?

dagon

insufficient data.

upload what?
build what?

it does not sound like a simple file upload to me

NogDog

If they want to upload a resume instead of filling out the data on the site, that could end up being a fairly big undertaking if you want to be able to parse the uploaded file into separate data elements. First you need to be able to read the file (e.g., will you allow MS Word files, and if so which versions?). That could be problem enough, but then you need to figure out how to extract the data you want from a text/mark-up structure over which you have no control, then develop some way of parsing it and identifying that data.

What I have seen, however is both: the user fills out the structured data via the web site forms, and then also has the option to upload their own resume in whatever file types you want to accept (.doc, .pdf, or whatever). The resume is stored but not searchable on-line, but prospective employers can download it if desired when their initial searches have given them a narrowed down list of candidates.

zzz

Yes, it sounds quite complicated. The more I think of it the more daunting the task is. I was even considering somehow reading just the text, ignore the formatting and match certain parts of the resume with a collection of regex functions, then drop those into predefined form fields. Once this is done, let user review it, make corrections and then submit. Still, it's quite complicated... I'll can this project for now and fix what I can actually do myself.

sneakyimp

If you want to parse an uploaded resume, you are probably going to have to support a variety of upload formats OR you would need to provide a guide for your visitors which instructs them to build one that you know you can parse.

Another option is to not parse the uploaded documents at all. I think this is what NogDog is suggesting. Maybe give them a warning "you can upload a resume if you like, but it won't be searchable".