These little squares full of seemingly random pixels have been around for ages but most people still do not know that they can easily get generate their own QR codes and use them for free.
They really are available for anyone to use for free. There are numerous websites where you can just drop in the URL of your website or a document your CV for example, that you've got stored on a cloud service, I cloud Microsoft, Dropbox, OneDrive etc.
All that's required then is for the person that you want to have access to your CV for example is for them to scan the QR code an low and behold your CV downloads directly onto their device. It really is that simple.
So any crew members that actually have business cards printed out which, which you all should if you are seeking employment, get a QR code generated and put it on your business card. Put on the back if you want we can make it a bit bigger or are short of space on the front. This way you don't even to carry an electronic copy of your CV around on a USB stick.
Lots of people are very wary of this in any case because of viruses, malware etc. I would certainly never plug someone’s random USB drive into my Mac for fear of any kind of contamination.
So you just give them your business card, they scan the QR code, job done.
Give careful consideration to what files you want to give the person access to because obviously if you're going to have business cards printed you want the QR code you are using to be correct and pointing towards a folder that's going to give the relevant documents you want them to access to.
I would create a folder on whichever cloud drive that you're going to share from that contains your CV plus all of your relevant certification and that way they have everything in one place if they need it and you don't need to change the QR code on your cards.
Just make sure that you always leave all the relevant documents in exactly the same folder on your cloud drive and then that link the QR code is going to follow should be valid as long as you do not move that folder.
It's a very simple thing to do in it first of all shows that you're a bit more savvy than the next guy but it's also very convenient coz it saves you having to carry around the USB said stick and eliminates any concern for people who you may be passing your documents onto who don't want to take the risk of using her an unverified USB drive.
Just scan the almighty interweb for QR code generators and you will find plenty of them that you can use.
There are plenty of websites out there offering this service in some format of another for free. Some of them just on a trial will you have to log in to create an account but either way there's plenty of sites you can go to where you'll be able to generate a QR code for free.
If you have your own website you can also use the URL to the website to be generated into QR code. Chefs if you have a brochure with menus in it photographs of your food etc. then again all we have to do is copy the URL and drop it into one of the sites that offer this utility and it will generate the QR code for you.
Very few people seem to be utilising this clever little feature which I find surprising and would expect the younger generation to be a lot more tech savvy.
It's a simple efficient way of making sure that people you can get all of the documents you need them to simply by handing over your business card to them with your QR code printed on it.
About the author
Iain Flockhart, MD, Saor Alba Holdings Ltd, is a highly experienced yacht captain with over 265,000 nautical miles in the role of master since 1996. He bought and completely refitted his first yacht at the age of 20 and went on to buy a larger ocean going yacht a few years later and set sail across the oceans, often with novice crews.
As well as being a Master, Iain provides professional mentoring services to yacht crew and advises on issues relating to hiring, managing and retaining the right crew. He’s an ambassador for the exceptional Rafnar brand of RIBs. through his brand SA Marine.
He enjoys simple pleasures such as using his 7m RIB to go exploring and wild camping in the natural beauty of his native Scotland.
Captain Iain Flockhart, The Yacht Crew Mentor. +44 7958 301 111 tycm@saoralbaholdings.com
Comments