FAQ / Other Intriguing Bits

• Why would I want to invite someone to join VisualCV.com?
• Is there an easy way to invite all of my contacts?
• How do I use my VisualCV with other job services?
• I'm all about networking. Can people view my VisualCV from social networking sites?
• Can I link my VisualCV to a social network profile?
• Can you suggest other ways to promote my VisualCV?
• How are you guys different from other resume, job, or networking sites?
• How is a VisualCV different from the video resumes already in use?
• How will VisualCV.com work with OpenSocial?

The main reason to invite someone to join is because you want to share your VisualCV with them. Another reason is, why hog all the fun? If you’ve created a VisualCV and you think it’s neat, chances are your associates will too.

Inviting someone to join is as easy as clicking Invite to VisualCV.com at the top of any page, listing the email addresses of people you would like to invite, and (if you'd like) personalizing a message to them. We’ll send them a welcome message to get them started.

Have more than just a couple of people you would like to invite? (Thanks!) You can import contacts from sources such as Outlook, Mac Address Book, AOL, Yahoo!, Gmail, Plaxo, LinkedIn, and others. Tell me how

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If you want to invite several people without having to type their email addresses separately, you can easily import contacts from sources such as mail and messaging services or social networking sites. Here's how:

1. Click Invite to VisualCV.com at the top of any page.
2. On the Invite Others to VisualCV.com page, click the Add From My Address Book button.
   
   You'll import and select your contacts in the next few steps. The steps will be different depending on where you keep your contacts. In some cases we'll be able to pick them up directly; in other cases you'll need to first export them to a separate file, such as a .csv, .vcf, or .txt file. Step 3 explains how to import contacts from the most common sources.
   
   
3. Import contacts as follows:
   From AOL, Yahoo!, Plaxo, or Gmail: Select your service, sign in to your account, and continue with step 4.
   
   From Outlook/Outlook Express: Select Outlook or Outlook Express, click Next, and continue with step 4.
   
   From Mac Address Book: Select Other and then click Next. Select vCard (.vcf) as the file type. If you have not already exported your address book contacts as a vCard file, click Show detailed instructions for steps. Then, click Browse to locate the .vcf file on your computer. Click Next and continue with step 4.
   
   From LinkedIn: First, export your LinkedIn contacts to an Outlook .csv file on Windows or, if you work on a Macintosh, a Mac OSX Address Book or vCard .vcf file (click Contacts > Connections, click Export Connections at the bottom of the page, and then export your contacts to the appropriate file type). Then, in the wizard, select Other and then click Next. Select the appropriate file type (.csv or .vcf) and click Browse to locate the file on your computer. Click Next and continue with step 4.
   
   
4. Select the people you want to invite to VisualCV.com and then click Next.
5. Personalize a message to your contacts, if you'd like.
6. Select one of your VisualCVs to attach to the invitation, if you'd like.
7. Click Send Invitations. We’ll send your contacts a welcome message to get them started.

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The easiest way to turn someone on to your VisualCV when using a job service is to include your member URL on the resume you upload to the job service. Before you do so, set your public VisualCV to Internet and make sure it is up to date. Tell me more about VisualCV privacy settings

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Absolutely! Most social networks now let their members link to certain pieces of information from other sites. After you set your public VisualCV to the Internet privacy setting, it’s easy to add your VisualCV.com member URL to your LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, or Friendster profile, for example. Here's how:

Tell me more about the Internet privacy setting

LinkedIn:

1. Click My Profile > Edit My Profile.
2. In your profile, click Add Websites and type your VisualCV.com member URL into the Websites box.
3. (optional) Click My Profile > Email Signatures, and then type your VisualCV.com member URL into the Other website address box.

Facebook:

1. Click Profile edit.
2. Click the Contact tab.
3. In the Websites box, type your VisualCV.com member URL.
4. Click Save Changes.

MySpace:

1. On the MySpace home page, click Edit Profile.
2. Click Interests and Personality.
3. In any box (typically in About Me), type your VisualCV.com member URL.
4. Click Save All Changes.

Friendster:

1. On the Friendster home page, click My Profile > Edit Profile.
2. In any box (typically in Companies, Schools, or About Me), type your VisualCV.com member URL.
3. Click Save.

TIP: If your member URL does not work when you view your profile (that is, it is just plain text that doesn't link anywhere), edit your profile again and add the following HTML code before and after the URL:

• Before the URL, add: <a href="http://www.visualcv.com/LoginName"> (be sure to replace LoginName with your actual information)
• After the URL, add: </a>

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Yes, you can link text and images in your VisualCV to your public profile on a social network site.

To link an image to your social network profile:

You can link an image in your VisualCV to your social network profile. (For example, if you have a LinkedIn profile, you can link the button to your LinkedIn public profile.) Here's how:

1. Upload the image to your portfolio.
2. Add a portfolio section to your VisualCV in the narrow column.
3. Choose the image to add it to your portfolio section.
4. Remove the titles from your portfolio section (so the image is the only item showing).
5. Save the portfolio section.
6. Click the Link option beneath the image.
7. In the Link to a website box, type the URL of your social network profile and then click Save.

To link text to your social network profile:

You can also link text (for example, "View my LinkedIn profile") within a text section in your VisualCV to your social network profile. Here's how:

1. Highlight the text you want to link.
2. Click .
3. In the Link to URL box, type the URL of your social network profile and then click Insert.

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Sure! Another great way to get people looking at your new public VisualCV is to promote it with a "My VisualCV" button. You can use this button as part of your email signature, as a bio link on your blog page, as your discussion forum avatar, or anywhere you want to be noticed. Tell me how

Before you use your button in any of the places we suggested, remember to set your public VisualCV to the Internet privacy setting. Tell me more about this setting

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Posting a standard resume on a job board puts professionals in a box where they can quickly become one in millions. Traditional resumes sit indefinitely in a database. They are typically neglected by their authors and they often generate unwanted leads.   

Regarding networking sites, it is widely accepted that social networking sites are great for fun, but they are not what professionals use to distinguish themselves and advance their careers, and they lack privacy controls. Most online professional networks allow you to network but they do not allow professionals to completely represent their qualifications.

Unlike any other site, VisualCV.com offers an online venue for professionals to create an Internet-based, multimedia-rich resume, build and manage an online career portfolio, and securely share professional qualifications with employers, customers, partners, and colleagues—all from the same location. Because a VisualCV is Internet-based, it is easy for VisualCV.com members to update and add to their VisualCVs, ensuring that people see the most recent version. 

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Although a VisualCV incorporates video and other components, it is more than a video resume. The VisualCV is a tailored tool that our members create to best represent themselves professionally. For some, that will include a video component; others may choose not to use a video at all but to include one of the other options—such as photos, audio clips, graphs, or documents—instead. When our members combine their VisualCV with the other services we offer, they are equipped with a powerful tool for managing their professional career.

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OpenSocial is an initiative backed by Google to provide a common set of application programming interfaces (open source APIs, for you tech types) that allow networking sites to play nicely together. VisualCV.com will support these APIs. Watch for exciting new features based on this initiative.

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