CareerConnect - Recruitment Platform

A comprehensive Python Flask-based recruitment platform that streamlines job searching, application management, and hiring processes.

Features

• User authentication with role-based access (Candidates, Employers, Admins)
• Job posting and management for employers
• Advanced job search and filtering
• Application tracking system
• Profile management for both candidates and employers
• Resume/CV uploads
• Admin dashboard for site management

Tech Stack

• Backend: Python Flask
• Database: PostgreSQL (with SQLite fallback for local development)
• ORM: SQLAlchemy
• Frontend: Bootstrap CSS, Vanilla JavaScript
• Authentication: Flask-Login
• Forms: Flask-WTF
• File Management: Werkzeug

Local Development Setup

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11 or higher
• pip (Python package manager)
• Git (optional, for cloning)

Step 1: Get the Project

Either download the project as a ZIP file or clone the repository:

git clone <repository-url>
cd careerconnect

Step 2: Set Up a Virtual Environment

# Create a virtual environment
python -m venv venv

# Activate the virtual environment
# On Windows:
venv\Scripts\activate
# On macOS/Linux:
source venv/bin/activate

Step 3: Install Dependencies

# Create requirements.txt file
cat > requirements.txt << EOF
flask
flask-login
flask-migrate
flask-sqlalchemy
flask-wtf
email-validator
gunicorn
werkzeug
markupsafe
jinja2
EOF

# Install requirements
pip install -r requirements.txt

Step 4: Run the Application

# Set Flask environment variables (optional)
export FLASK_APP=main.py
export FLASK_ENV=development

# Run the application
python -m flask run
# OR
gunicorn --bind 127.0.0.1:5000 main:app

The application will be accessible at http://127.0.0.1:5000

Database Configuration

By default, the application will use SQLite for local development. The database file (careerconnect.db) will be created automatically in the project root directory.

If you want to use PostgreSQL:

# Set PostgreSQL environment variables
export DATABASE_URL=postgresql://username:password@localhost:5432/dbname

Create an Admin User

After registering a user, you can promote them to admin by directly editing the SQLite database:

sqlite3 careerconnect.db
# In SQLite prompt:
UPDATE user SET role = 'admin' WHERE id = 1;
.exit

Folder Structure

• /forms - Form definitions using Flask-WTF
• /models - SQLAlchemy database models
• /routes - Flask route handlers
• /static - Static assets (CSS, JS, uploads)
• /templates - Jinja2 HTML templates
• /utils - Utility functions and helpers

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.