Collecting resumes or CVs is the first step in recruiting new employees. Moodle can be used to collect resumes from potential new candidates for an open position. In this example, we will use the Upload a single file Assignment type in our Moodle Course to enable users to submit applications.
- Log into Moodle as the Moodle admin and create a course on your test Moodle site by following the course creation instructions in Chapter 1, Getting Started with Moodle. For our example, I've entitled the course, Available Position. When you create the course, select the Topics format from the course settings.
- Go into the course created for the new position and turn editing on.
- We'll start by creating a label for section 1, so the user knows what they are supposed to do in each area of the course. Click the edit button at the top of the section.
- Uncheck the Use default section name checkbox at the top of the Summary of Topic 1 screen.
- Type the name of the section in the Section Name field. For this example, we'll call this section Resume Submittal. The section name will appear in bold at the top of the section.
- The Section Description field enables you to add text under the section label to provide more context. We will leave this blank for the purpose of this example.
- We will create the Assignment under the first Topic section so it appears at the top of the page. To do this, at the bottom of section 1, click the Add an activity... menu, and then select Upload a single file.
- The next screen, entitled Adding a new Assignment to Topic 1, shown in the following image, will then open. In this screen, under the General section, enter the name of the Assignment, for example, "Please submit your resume for the available position here".
- Then in the Description box enter instructions for the applicant explaining how to upload their resume and any due dates applicants should know.
- After the Description box, you will see the Available from and Due date. Here you can enter the time period you will be accepting applications for the open position.
- At the bottom of the General section, you will see Prevent late submissions. Select Yes here so applicants will not be able to submit resumes after the due date.
- In the same screen, the Grade section follows the General section. We will be using 'grades' to evaluate the applications. The scores will also enable us to create conditions for the next activities in this course. Here you can enter what scale you want to use for grading. The default is 100 and is what we will use for the example in this chapter.
- After the Grade section, in the Upload a single file section, you can decide if you will allow resubmitting. For this example, we will not allow resubmitting. This means that once the resumes have been reviewed and scored to determine if they will move on to the next stage in the hiring process, they will not be able to resubmit a different resume.
- Under Email alerts to teachers, select Yes so when a new resume/CV is submitted you will receive an e-mail.
- Once you have entered all the settings for the assignment, scroll down to the bottom of the screen and select Save and display.
- When a new applicant selects the assignment they will see the following screen:
You have just created an activity where applicants can now upload their resume/CV for consideration for the open position. Once a new applicant has logged on and submitted their resume/CV, you will receive an e-mail notification and can begin your initial screening process.
How could we use the Assignment module to allow an applicant to upload an application form created by your company instead of their own resume?
This is an easy addition. You can still use the Upload a file Assignment module, however you will need to create a link to the Application Form. To do this you could create a link to download the application form in the Description box. It is easy to create a link using the tool available in the Description box, as shown in the following screenshot:
- Highlight the text you want linked to the downloadable form and then select the Insert/edit link icon from the tool bar. In the previous screenshot, it is the icon that looks like a chain link.
- The Insert/edit link window will then open. Select the browse icon to the right of the first empty field, Link URL, then browse and select the application form file that the applicants will need to download. Once you have selected the file, click the Insert button found at the bottom of the window.
- You will then be back in the Updating the Assignment file window. Select Save and Display at the bottom of the window. You should then see the assignment you created and test the link to the application form.
Many companies find it is good practice to require applicants to submit both a resume and an application form to make sure they receive all the information they feel is necessary to make a good hiring decision. Is there a way to create an assignment where the applicant can upload two files? Yes, there is. Moodle also provides an assignment type that allows the uploading of multiple files. To create an assignment to allow multiple file uploads, follow these steps:
- When you create the activity, under the Add an activity... drop-down menu, simply select Advanced uploading of files rather than Upload a single file.
- Then it is very similar to the Upload a single file setup, except this assignment type allows you to select the maximum number of files to be uploaded by the applicant. In this case it would be two their completed application form and their resume/CV.
- Don't forget if you get stuck you can always get help by clicking on the yellow question mark icons next to each setting. If you need more information try clicking on the yellow information icon at the bottom of the page, which will take you directly to the Moodle documentation for this activity.