Mobile App for a Job Search Portal

Project overview

The application includes the following functionality and feature sets:

• Searching and browsing of all job listings.
• Single sign-on login using existing web portal accounts.
• Viewing of specific job details.
• Applying for jobs directly from the app, using CVs uploaded via the website.
• Favouriting a job listing for future reference.
• Shortlisting a job listing to come back and review or apply for later.
• Viewing and editing the user's account details.
• Feedback on anything, including app bugs.
• A JSON web service syncing data with the main job search website database.

The Hire Programmers solution

Hire Programmers followed a hybrid approach, using an HTML5 / CSS3 / jQuery / PhoneGap technology stack, chosen to support one codebase that could be easily deployed across multiple platforms — iOS, Android and BlackBerry. This method also ensured that development costs matched the client's budget.

PhoneGap is a very popular approach that many clients push for when considering the development of their apps, as in theory it allows us to develop one codebase that can be deployed across multiple platforms. In reality this is not always the case, because when dealing with so many different devices and operating systems — BlackBerry 6 or 7 versus Android versus iOS 4 or 5 — each device and OS has different strengths and weaknesses, and development often needs to consider using different technologies in order to achieve the best result for each.

Our codebase was therefore structured in three branches, and for BlackBerry 6 and 7 we also had to swap jQuery out for a lighter JavaScript library, Zepto.js, as those lower BlackBerry devices did not have the memory to handle it.

• Base codebase — iOS and Android.
• BB07 — BlackBerry 6 and 7.
• BB10 — BlackBerry 10.

Technology

Benefits

• A mobile app on multiple platforms, giving the advantage of tapping into greater market potential.
• Maximum ROI.
• Enhanced end-user experiences.