CandForm

A modern, professional web application for managing job application submissions. CandForm streamlines the candidate experience by providing a clean interface for submitting applications, automatic email confirmations, and secure CV storage.

Features

• Simple Application Form — Collect essential candidate information: name, email, address, and CV upload
• Automatic Email Confirmation — Candidates receive instant email confirmations with their submission details
• Secure CV Storage — PDFs are validated and stored securely on the server (max 10 MB)
• Real-time Validation — Client-side and server-side validation for robust data integrity
• Professional UI — Built with TailwindCSS for a modern, responsive design
• Dark Mode Support — Seamless dark theme for user comfort
• Database Storage — All submissions are persisted in the database for future reference

Tech Stack

• Framework — Laravel 12
• Frontend — Blade templates, TailwindCSS, JavaScript
• Database — MySQL (configurable)
• Email — Laravel Mail with SMTP configuration
• File Storage — Laravel Storage (Public disk for CV uploads)

Installation

Prerequisites

• PHP 8.2+
• Composer
• MySQL or PostgreSQL
• Node.js & npm (for asset compilation)

Steps

1. Clone the repository

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd candform

2. Install dependencies

   composer install
   npm install

3. Environment setup

   cp .env.example .env
   php artisan key:generate

4. Configure database (in .env)

   DB_CONNECTION=mysql
   DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
   DB_PORT=3306
   DB_DATABASE=candform
   DB_USERNAME=root
   DB_PASSWORD=
   

5. Configure email (in .env)

   MAIL_MAILER=smtp
   MAIL_HOST=smtp.mailtrap.io_OR_smtp.gmail.com
   MAIL_PORT=2525_OR_587
   MAIL_USERNAME=your_username
   MAIL_PASSWORD=your_password
   MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS=noreply@candform.local
   

6. Run migrations

   php artisan migrate

7. Create storage symlink

   php artisan storage:link

8. Build assets

   npm run build

9. Start the server

   php artisan serve

   The application will be available at http://localhost:8000

Usage

For Users

1. Visit the home page at /
2. Click "Apply Now" to access the application form
3. Fill in your information: name, email, address, and upload your CV (PDF, max 10 MB)
4. Submit the form
5. You'll receive a confirmation notification and an email with your submission details

For Administrators

• Access submitted applications through the database
• Download candidate CVs from /storage/cvs/
• Customize email templates in resources/emails/confirmation-candidature.blade.php
• Modify form fields in resources/views/form.blade.php

File Uploads

• Accepted format — PDF only
• Maximum size — 10 MB
• Storage location — storage/app/public/cvs/
• Access URL — /storage/cvs/{filename}

API Routes

Method	Route	Description
GET	/	Home page
GET	/form	Application form page
POST	/form	Submit application (validation & email)

Project Structure

candform/
├── app/
│   ├── Http/
│   │   └── Controllers/
│   │       └── CandidatureController.php
│   ├── Mail/
│   │   └── ConfirmationCandidatureMail.php
│   └── Models/
│       └── Candidature.php
├── resources/
│   ├── views/
│   │   ├── form.blade.php
│   │   ├── home.blade.php
│   │   ├── components/
│   │   └── emails/
│   ├── css/
│   └── js/
├── storage/
│   └── app/
│       └── public/
│           └── cvs/
├── routes/
│   └── web.php
└── database/
    └── migrations/

Database Schema

Candidatures Table

CREATE TABLE candidatures (
    id BIGINT UNSIGNED PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
    last_name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    first_name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    email VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
    address TEXT NULLABLE,
    cv_path VARCHAR(255) NULLABLE,
    created_at TIMESTAMP,
    updated_at TIMESTAMP
);

Configuration

Email Notifications

Edit app/Mail/ConfirmationCandidatureMail.php to customize the confirmation email template.

Validation Rules

Modify validation rules in app/Http/Controllers/CandidatureController.php:

$validated = $request->validate([
    'last_name' => 'required|string|max:255',
    'first_name' => 'required|string|max:255',
    'email' => 'required|email|max:255',
    'address' => 'nullable|string|max:255',
    'cv' => 'required|file|mimes:pdf|max:10240', // 10 MB in KB
]);

File Upload Limits

Update php.ini if needed:

upload_max_filesize = 10M
post_max_size = 10M

Security

• ✅ CSRF protection on all forms
• ✅ Server-side file type validation (PDF only)
• ✅ File size limit enforcement (10 MB max)
• ✅ Email validation using Laravel's email rule
• ✅ Automatic cleanup of CVs on submission deletion (via Model observer)
• ✅ Input sanitization & XSS prevention via Blade escaping

Performance

• Static assets are minified and versioned via Laravel Mix
• Database queries are optimized
• Consider adding pagination for large submission lists
• Use a queue driver (Redis, database) for email sending in production

Troubleshooting

Emails not sending

• Verify SMTP credentials in .env
• Check MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS is set
• Test with Laravel Tinker: Mail::raw('test', fn($m) => $m->to('test@example.com'));

File uploads fail

• Run php artisan storage:link if symlink is missing
• Check directory permissions: chmod -R 775 storage bootstrap/cache
• Verify upload_max_filesize and post_max_size in php.ini

Validation messages not showing

• Clear config cache: php artisan config:cache
• Verify locale is set to 'en' or 'fr' in config/app.php

License

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

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these steps:

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

Support

For questions or issues, please open an issue on the repository or contact the development team.

Author

Hermas Francisco — Initial development and maintenance

---

Last Updated: November 2025