[minimal] option for CV

Question

I've been thinking of implementing an option for my CV where it extracts a set of predefined sections (in a minimal form) and typesets that instead of the entire list of everything I've done in my life.

How can I go about implementing this? I just need an example of how my code should look like, e.g.,

for my Talks sections, the minimal option would remove the authors, but would keep only the title of the talk and the venue.

At the same time, it would be nice to modify the margins, to squeeze more info onto pages.

I'm thinking that it will involve some ifthenelse options? If [minimal], \ignore{\authors} or something of the sort.

Can someone give me example code to steer me? I'm OK with messing in LaTeX, but just need guidance with starting this approach.

Answer 1

The easiest way might be with a simple conditional. So your document would look like this:

\newif\ifmaximal
% \maximaltrue % Uncomment to compile big CV.
\ifmaximal
\PassOptionsToClass{article}{10pt}
\else
\PassOptionToClass{article}{12pt}
\fi
\documentclass{article} % Or whatever
\begin{document}
\ifmaximal
\section{This section won't be in the minimal}
Foo
\fi
\section{In the minimal}
Bar
\ifmaximal
Again, not in the maximal...
\fi
\end{document}

So anything you only want in the bigger cv goes between \ifmaximal and \fi. Note this is sort of the opposite of what you want but it should work just as well...

Answer 2

If it were me I would write my full CV in XML or YAML and use a structured datatype (there are XML schemas in this area written by human resources IT professionals, but it might be overkill). This way you can list each talk and indicate the title, author, date, location etc.

Then write scripts to extract the data you want and generate the desired TeX file.

Answer 3

• Your Curriculum in LaTeX
• How to write a LaTeX class file and design your own CV