Job Application Tracker – MERN Stack

A full-stack Job Application Tracking System built using the MERN stack (MongoDB, Express, React, Node.js).
This application helps users track their job applications, manage statuses, and stay organized during their job search.

Built with clean architecture, scalable folder structure, and professional Git practices.

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Table of Contents

• Project Overview
• Key Features
• Tech Stack
• Project Architecture
• Folder Structure
• API Overview
• Environment Variables
• Setup & Installation
• Running the Application
• Git Workflow & Commit Convention
• Future Enhancements
• Learning Outcomes
• License

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Project Overview

The Job Application Tracker is a real-world MERN application designed to simulate how production-grade applications are built.

Users can:

• Register and log in securely
• Create and manage job applications
• Track application status (Applied, Interview, Offer, Rejected)
• View everything in a clean dashboard

This project is built end-to-end, focusing on:

• Clean backend APIs
• Secure authentication
• Scalable frontend architecture
• Professional Git usage

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Key Features

Authentication

• User Registration & Login
• Password hashing using bcrypt
• JWT-based authentication
• Protected routes using middleware

Job Management

• Create job applications
• Update job status
• Delete applications
• Filter and search jobs

User Profile

• View and update profile
• Secure user-specific data access

Engineering Best Practices

• Modular backend architecture
• Separation of concerns
• Clean commit history
• Environment-based configuration

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Tech Stack

Frontend

• React (Vite)
• React Router
• Axios
• Context API
• TailwindCSS

Backend

• Node.js
• Express.js
• MongoDB
• Mongoose
• JWT
• bcrypt
• dotenv
• cors

Dev Tools

• Git & GitHub
• Nodemon
• Postman

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Project Architecture

Client (React)
↓ Axios
REST API (Express + Node)
↓ Mongoose
MongoDB Database

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Folder Structure

job-tracker-mern/
│
├── backend/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── config/         # DB & app configuration
│   │   ├── controllers/    # Request handlers
│   │   ├── models/         # Mongoose schemas
│   │   ├── routes/         # API routes
│   │   ├── middlewares/    # Auth & error handling
│   │   ├── utils/          # Helper functions
│   │   └── server.js       # App entry point
│   ├── .env
│   └── package.json
│
├── frontend/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/     # Reusable UI components
│   │   ├── pages/          # Page-level components
│   │   ├── context/        # Global state management
│   │   ├── services/       # API calls
│   │   ├── hooks/          # Custom hooks
│   │   └── App.jsx
│   └── package.json
│
└── README.md

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API Overview

Auth Routes

POST   /api/auth/register
POST   /api/auth/login

Job Routes (Protected)

GET    /api/jobs
POST   /api/jobs
PUT    /api/jobs/:id
DELETE /api/jobs/:id

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Environment Variables

Create a .env file inside the backend folder:

PORT=5000
MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string
JWT_SECRET=your_jwt_secret

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Setup & Installation

Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/your-username/job-tracker-mern.git
cd job-tracker-mern

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Backend Setup

cd backend
npm install
npm run dev

Backend runs on:

http://localhost:5000

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Frontend Setup

cd frontend
npm install
npm run dev

Frontend runs on:

http://localhost:5173

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Running the Application

Service	URL
Frontend	http://localhost:5173
Backend	http://localhost:5000

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Git Workflow & Commit Convention

We follow Conventional Commits:

feat: add new feature
fix: fix a bug
chore: setup or configuration
refactor: code improvement
docs: documentation changes

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Future Enhancements

• Resume upload (Cloudinary)
• Job analytics dashboard
• Pagination & sorting
• Email notifications
• Role-based access control
• Deployment (Render / Vercel)

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Learning Outcomes

By building this project, you will learn:

• Full-stack MERN development
• Secure authentication flows
• REST API design
• MongoDB data modeling
• Frontend–backend integration
• Professional Git practices
• Interview-ready explanation of concepts

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. You are free to use, modify, and distribute it.

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