Mini-review: CV Sampler UWP

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CV Sampler is a UWP application and it gets kudos for that, though a) most of the hard work is done by Microsoft Word, and b) the latter requirement means that it's far more at home on a desktop or laptop PC, with larger screen. After all, CV Sampler is all about creating a CV from scratch and are you really going to do this on a phone screen (minus Wordflow keyboard and ribbon real estate)? Still, worth a look, you can certainly get ideas for your next CV while mobile.

From the minimalist (and dodgy English, ironically, given the app's purpose) Store description:

If you look for an application, that will help you to receive a dream job, CV Sampler - is what you need! It contains a lot of templates that will allocate you from others potential employees. 

CV Sampler - suggest wide choose of templates for any taste and professional level, that will definitely interest your employer. 

Essentially then, CV Sampler is a UWP browser that gives you access to a hundred or so (mostly) well designed one-page Curriculum Vitae documents, all stored online. It's not clear who created them all, by the way. If it was the developer then I'd have expected some way of monetising this currently free application. Update: this application is now £2.29 in the UK Store, so it seems that being 'free' was a limited time offer.

Here's CV Sampler in action, with my comments and caveats (and no, I don't know why this application screenshots with a blank status bar at the top!):

CV Sampler screenshotCV Sampler screenshot

Note that CV Sampler is best used with OneDrive, since you can then save back to this 'in the cloud' and thus easily access the new document on any other signed-in device...

CV Sampler screenshotCV Sampler screenshot

You're then into a vertical carousel of CV thumbnails, tap on the 'view' icon to see any full-screen and/or on the download icon to grab the CV template to either a local disk or to your OneDrive.

CV Sampler screenshotCV Sampler screenshot

Once grabbed, Word is automatically launched. An important pop-up appears offering to convert the template into a more modern Office format - without this, the document is read-only. And because of this, you're then working on an upgraded copy; (right) the language and suggestions in the templates assumes (in places) a full copy of Office on the desktop, with mouse, etc. ('sample entries', 'click the plus sign', etc.) but this isn't a total showstopper.

CV Sampler screenshotCV Sampler screenshot

More and more CV templates - you're certainly spoiled for choice - impressively designed and presented here in CV Sampler.

The insistence, on Mobile of having to (effectively) work on a copy of each template is a little confusing. I can only think that the CV templates date from a few years ago, which is why they're in an older Office format? I can understand using an older Word format for standalone templates, to be compatible with a wider range of editing applications, but, given that this is coded to work with Word, I'd have expected a little more currency.

Good to see another potentially useful UWP anyway, even if it's more at home on the PC form factor.

Source / Credit: Store