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I have done or was part of some mobile projects that are uploaded in their respective markets and currently live, and I am already mentioning status as LIVE for respective projects.

One of my friend -who is actually a web developer- has recently suggested me to put the urls of the application if the project is live. And I am taking this suggestion seriously. But i have found that some urls are really long and they desperately need to be shortened.

So my question is : Is it fair to shorten all the urls of the live application? Or just shorten those which are so long.

In case I shorten all the urls, can any employer take this point negatively?

Thanks

EDIT : After reading your response I think I need to clarify one thing.... The applications I have developed are mobile applications and they are uploaded in their respective markets, like Blackberry App store and android markets. It means a lot for an application accepted to be sold in market. And I want to put the url of these market sites. The links are there for a long time, so there is no threat that the link goes offline in a year or two.....

5 Answers 5

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How many of these sites do you have? I can guarantee that a prospective employer is not going to click on more than 2 or 3.

Rather than listing them all on your CV, I would set up a "portfolio" website, where you can list all of your projects. Include a screenshot, a description of the project, your role, a link, etc etc.

Then put a link to that in your CV. That way, you can have a fairly short portfolio URL (just yourname.com or something) and it doesn't matter how long the links to the other sites are.

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  • 8
    +1 A portfolio site could also hedge against the long term as well if screen shots are included as you don't know what the shelf life a website might be.
    – rjzii
    Jan 21, 2011 at 13:34
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    +1 for the portfolio, and adding onto the comment from @Rob, a website also allows you to keep your project information current, adding new ones and removing old ones as your career progresses. That way if your resume is reconsidered a year later, say, you'll still have your best and newest projects on display. Jan 22, 2011 at 5:44
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I sometimes feel a little nervous clicking a shortened link. Perhaps you could do both, especially in a printed resume where someone will need to type the URL:

Developed and deployed a missile tracking system (http://www.missiletrackingsystem.foo/entrypoint/starthere.abd - bit.ly/1234) which saved my employer 4 billion dollars and averted catastrophe 3 times in the first 6 weeks it was live.

That way, people can see right away "oh, something on CodePlex" or whatever other URL-based conclusions they might draw, but they don't have to type the whole thing in.

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    If you have concerns creating/clicking on shortened links, check out McAfee's Secure URL shortening service - mcaf.ee Jan 22, 2011 at 11:47
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I don't see any reason you can't use shortened URLs or why any prospective employer would see it as a negative. That said, either way you shouldn't just give a list of URLs, each URL should either be in context, i.e. as a reference to a particular role/experience or should be listed with a brief description of your efforts in delivering each site.

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  • What I do in my resume to mention project is Name, Team Size, Technology Used, Description, My Role in the project (I mention this only if the team size is >1), Status : (LIVE, UNDER DEVELOPMENT, WAITING FOR APPROVAL), And only if the project is live i give urls.
    – Prasham
    Jan 21, 2011 at 11:59
  • ADD, I have seen some employers who have a belief that URL shortening systems harm your network, I have even met one who has banned bit.ly and tinyurl. ROFL... but i was just curious that whether this thinking is common for employers or not....
    – Prasham
    Jan 21, 2011 at 12:05
  • I've never encountered that kind of blocking, blocking facebook and twitter, yes, but not bit.ly, etc. That said, may be the approach you take is to create an online portfolio of your web work on a relatively straight forward and short URL which has the descriptions and links to the various projects you've worked on. You could then just include the link to that on your Resume.
    – Lazarus
    Jan 21, 2011 at 12:09
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Don't do it.

  1. Many corporate firewalls prevent shortened URL's because you can't tell what's at the other end, e.g. could be pr0n.

  2. It's unprofessional. If you're worried about space, put the full URL in a 'Portfolio' section at the end of your Resume. Or a portfolio website as already suggested.

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  • #1 doesn't make sense to me. I can't see why you'd block the URL shortener, but not the porn site (or whatever) itself? And if you're blocking the porn site, why block the shortener as well? Jan 21, 2011 at 21:33
  • This may be why: allspammedup.com/2009/07/… Jan 21, 2011 at 22:29
  • I have used some tools, that can say where you are going to be redirected for that short url, in april 2010 they are offering the un-shortening from bit.ly and goo.gl
    – Prasham
    Jan 22, 2011 at 5:05
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I would be very careful about putting any URLs except for personal homepage on a domain you are going to keep for years.

Other URLs and in particular shortened URLs become stale too soon.

For a reason that I have never understood, recruiters and HR personnel tend to hold on and circulate very early resumes for candidates even when they have later versions or when a simple web search can provide the information. They will then also background check you using this older page, and dead URLs are not a good sign.

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