AplikoJob 2.0 is rolling out

With AplikoJob finally handed in I had some time to develope a few features that did not quite make it into the hand-in (1.2) version. The new version (2.0) is just rolling out and will bring a few design changes and new features to the application.

• New design for the Main Menu 
• Tabbed Browsing in the In App Browser
• CV Explore Feature that allows users to browse all their CV Information rather than having to type
• Improved Search functionality and stability
• Various Bugfixes

Handin-Version Feature Walkthrough

Just getting the hand-in version ready for submission:

The hand-in version is now feature complete

I'm just pushing the version that will bring the OneDrive integration for AplikoJob to production. This makes the program feature complete. What's left to do is lots of testing and bugfixing to ensure that the software works well when I present it at the end of May.

There is also a load of writing left to do. My dissertation is now nearly a 100 pages long (excluding code) and there are still a few sections that I need to fill. :)

Prototype coming along nicely

Just did a video on how far the program is now.

I pushed three incremental releases out today:

• the tab key can now be used in the CV Editor to jump between fields (released)
• Apliko looks better in Portrait mode and when running in a column (released)
• The documents section in the CV Editor is now active and links to document locations on the hard drive can be copied and pasted in the In App Browser (in certification)

As a next step I need to work on the efficiency of the program. The proactive search needs to become faster for instance.

I've also got a bit of academic writing to do as my report is due in a month from now. But there should be enough time. :)

Lastly I would quite like to integrate OneDrive before the deadline. If everything goes to plan there should be enough time for this too.

Test version submitted

The first test version is now in the certification stage and will be available for public testing shortly.

A few known issues:

• Proactive search can sometimes take longer than expected
• Proactive search quality can be bad in some scenarios (reload the page for better results)
• You cannot press tab to jump between entries in CV Editor
• The main menu is still somewhat blank and needs an update

AplikoJob now searches with Bing

AplikoJob will now automatically launch a search with Bing if it notices that a website that you are trying to go to does not exist. This will improve your browsing experience quite significantly.

I know I promised a test version last week. It got delayed by a few search bugs and I also want to do some proper testing first, before I release a beta.

Watch this space for further details.

Typing "jobs" in the address bar...

...prompts Apliko to search Bing for "jobs"

OMG it's working even more!!!

The proactive search feature is now working too.

What's up next is a bit of bugfixing and improving the algorithms, before releasing a first alpha version, for those of you who are interested.

(First Name, Last Name, and e-mail address were autofilled)

Oh god it's working!!!

Just tied the reactive search in with the front end. :)

Back End implementation started

I have now been working on the back end of AplikoJob for a few days.

So far I have created searchable data structures for both the proactive and the reactive search feature. The next step is to tie this together with the front end and to test everything.

After this I should be able to prepare a first version of Apliko for user testing.

Watch this space for details on this.

Design going well

I spent the last few days doing a lot of theory-work on my project and my report is now already over 30 pages long. :)

The next step is to get into developing the back end of the application.
Here is a simplified view of the tasks that the back end needs to perform:

More updates to follow. ;)

CV Editor working :)

So the CV Editor is basically done.

It can now

• Save your data on the fly
• Create forms dynamically based on how much information you want to put in it (unlimited number of previous employers, educational institutions, etc.) 
• Load your data back into the form on the fly

A few smaller things that are coming into the mix later

• The 'Important Documents' page
• More form elements
• e.g. checkboxes, file uploads, etc. 

CV Editor should be ready in the next 7 days (hopefully)

Here is an early screenshot :)

 

The forms are fully dynamic and get loaded on the fly from external files. Now I just have to make them save back and restore, which should not be too hard. 

Survey Results (so far)

This is just a quick post to say thank you to everyone who has taken part in my little survey so far. If you have not taken it yet and want to help me out, please click here. The survey consists of a couple of questions that will help me find out more about what you like and dislike about online application processes.

So far I have had a little more than 20 responses to the survey.

Overall I could see that lots of people now apply for jobs online. Those who apply for jobs online - however - do not seem very happy with how online applications work at the moment.

Most of the people, who took the survey, stated that it was sometimes hard for them to find job adverts for their skill set. The participants also stated that one of the main reasons for discontinuing an online application would be the inability for them to copy information straight from their CV into the form.

Additionally having to repeatedly give the same information, not having access to important documents, and having to look up information that is not readily available to the user were all rated fairly highly on average, meaning that all of these factors contribute to a discontinuation or cancellation of an online application.

Based on the results so far, I will start my development on AplikoJob with an initial focus on the features related to copying information from a candidate's CV swiftly and efficiently (including search) and then move on to the skill-matching feature. If there is additional time, I will consider making adjustment for the other three features. (e.g. allowing the user to store documents within Apliko, learning from information that has already been provided, improving proactive search)

Take the AplikoJob Survey

The survey is now online.


You can find it here: http://aplikojob.danielstocker.net/survey.html

A couple of pictures :)

So I started work on Apliko today and the first version of the UI is kind of half done now, which is a really good step forward. I will have to focus on my exam prep for the rest of the week, but will try and get the first version of the CV UI ready as well.

I have already identified a few problems in the current In App Browser Design. It is not very intuitive yet and lots of buttons and options and context menus will still have to be added before it becomes useable.

As this is not only an app design/implementation-type project but also a research project I will be setting up a survey to gather some user information soon. It would be great if everyone reading this could participate in this, as it will really affect how the program turns out in the end.

Apliko Job - My Project Proposal

This is the project proposal that I had to submit a few days ago:
I am planning to build the UI for AplikoJob in the next 7 days, so screenshots should be up soon.

AplikoJob

Apliko is Esperanto for ‘Application’

Platform: Windows and Windows Phone
Distribution: Windows App Store

Applying for jobs has become a longwinded process with many companies now requiring applicants to fill out several pages of online forms for each job they are applying to.
A single job application can easily take up an hour or more, and although the same questions are being asked in most forms, they usually end up having a slightly different format.
This combined with an increasingly competitive job market makes it hard for recent graduates, students, and other job seekers to keep up the momentum in their job search.

This is where AplikoJob comes in. AplikoJob allows job seekers to digitalise their CV and use text snippets of it in online job applications. The software allows people applying for jobs to complete each application quickly and efficiently. This – in turn – allows them to apply for more jobs faster, improving their chances of finding employment.

AplikoJob uses two different search features to help job seekers with their applications:

Proactive Search is used while the user browses a job site or views an application form. AplikoJob analyses the contents of the web site and suggests text snippets that the applicant might want to use in the current section of the application form.

Reactive Search allows the applicant to further improve AplikoJob’s results by typing into search box. AplikoJob will use the information entered by the user to find the part of their CV that they want to use and give them the option to copy the information into the form straightaway.

Additionally AplikoJob remembers what sites it has been used on, making it easier for job seekers to track their previous applications.

Wait... Is this?! I'm confused...

You may have noticed that this blog kind of died a couple of years ago, when I started working in my internship role, and was unable to keep up the development of Tales of Hymna as a result.

Unfortunately not much has changed since then. Whenever I get a chance to work on it, other critical work seems to come up.

However TOH is still a project that is very close to my heart, and if I ever do have some spare time (most likely this summer) I will try and redevelop it in a more modern format, as I really think that it has potential.

In the meanwhile, however, I will use this space for another project, namely my final year project at university.

The name of the project is 'AplikoJob' - Apliko is Esperanto and means 'application' as in 'job application'; job is 'laboro' in Esperanto btw and job application is 'apliko laboro', but that just sounds weird, so I decided to go for a mixed term to make it sound all artsy and interesting.

Watch this space for more information and details on its development. Also: This time I have to finish it by the hand in deadline, so there shouldn't be any delays past June 2015.