Job Board System

Design a job board system (LinkedIn Jobs, Indeed) with job search, filters, applications, and matching.

R - Requirements

Key Questions:

• How many jobs? (thousands, millions)
• Search functionality? (keywords, location, salary)
• Filters? (job type, experience level, company, salary range)
• Applications? (apply directly, save jobs, track status)
• Matching algorithm? (recommend jobs based on profile)
• Company profiles? (company pages, job listings)

Common Answers:

• Thousands to millions of jobs
• Full-text search (keywords, location)
• Multiple filters (type, level, company, salary)
• Application system (apply, save, track)
• Job recommendations (based on profile)
• Company profiles with job listings

A - Architecture

Job Search Flow:

Job Board Architecture:

Architecture Decisions:

• SSR/ISR for job pages (SEO critical) - Pre-render for search engines
• Client-side for search and filters (interactive) - Fast filtering, debounced search
• Real-time for application status updates - WebSocket/SSE for status changes
• Search indexing (server-side, Elasticsearch-like) - Full-text search, faceted search

Relevant Content:

• Pre-rendering - SSR/ISR
• Data Fetching Strategies - Search patterns

D - Data Model

Talking Points:

• Job search and filtering - Keywords, location, filters, pagination
• Application system - Apply, save jobs, track status, resume upload
• Job matching - Recommendations based on profile, skills, experience

State Management:

• Job listings (paginated, filtered)
• Search query (keywords, location, filters)
• Saved jobs (user's saved jobs)
• Applications (applied jobs, status tracking)
• User profile (skills, experience, preferences)

Caching:

• Job cache (normalized, by job ID)
• Search results cache (cache popular searches)
• Saved jobs cache (user's saved jobs)

Relevant Content:

• Autocomplete Search - Job search
• Caching Patterns - Search cache
• File Upload Component - Resume upload

I - Interface

Talking Points:

• Job search interface - Search bar, location autocomplete, filters sidebar
• Job listings - List/grid view, job cards, pagination
• Job detail page - Full description, apply button, save job, company info
• Application tracking - Applied jobs, status, updates

Features:

• Job search (keywords, location autocomplete)
• Filters sidebar (type, level, company, salary)
• Job listings (list/grid view, pagination)
• Job detail page (description, apply, save, company)
• Application tracking (applied jobs, status)
• Saved jobs (bookmarked jobs)
• Company profiles (company info, job listings)

Relevant Content:

• Autocomplete Search - Location search
• Data Table Component - Job listings table
• Pagination Component - Job pagination

O - Optimizations

Performance:

• Search debounce (don't search on every keystroke)
• Virtualized listings (for large result sets)
• Prefetch job details (on hover)
• Image optimization (company logos)

UX:

• Optimistic UI (show saved/applied immediately)
• Filter persistence (remember user preferences)
• Real-time updates (application status changes)

Relevant Content:

• Virtualized List - Job listings
• Optimistic Updates - Instant feedback
• Prefetching Strategies - Job details

Implementation Checklist

• Job search (keywords, location autocomplete)
• Filters sidebar (type, level, company, salary)
• Job listings (list/grid view, pagination)
• Job detail page (description, apply, save)
• Application system (apply, track status)
• Saved jobs (bookmark, manage)
• Company profiles (company info, listings)
• Search debounce (300-500ms)
• Virtualized listings (large result sets)
• Image optimization (company logos)
• Real-time updates (application status)

Common Pitfalls

❌ Search on every keystroke → Too many requests
✅ Debounce search (300-500ms), minimum query length

❌ Rendering all jobs → Performance issues
✅ Virtualize listings, paginate or infinite scroll

❌ No filter persistence → Users lose preferences
✅ Save filters to localStorage, restore on page load

❌ No real-time updates → Stale application status
✅ WebSocket/SSE for status updates, optimistic UI