DEV Community: Isme Kastrati

IT Connect – Our Final Year Project is Now LIVE!

Isme Kastrati — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:32:08 +0000

After months of hard work, learning, and collaboration, we’re proud to announce that our final year project – IT Connect – is now live and fully functional!

💡 What is IT Connect?
IT Connect is a web-based platform that bridges the gap between job-seeking tech professionals and companies looking to hire.
It simplifies job applications, offers real-time interview scheduling, and provides a personalized experience for every user.

🔍 Key Features
🔐 User authentication with roles: workers & companies

📄 Job creation and application system

📊 Custom dashboards for each user type

📅 Live interview scheduling with Zoom links

💬 Testimonial slider and structured worker profiles

📰 Latest job feeds, filters, and more!

🌐 Live Website
👉 https://itconnect.it.com

🎥 Demo Video
▶️ https://youtu.be/V9GtNAaLjAg

🧰 Tech Stack
Frontend: HTML, CSS, JavaScript

Backend: PHP

Database: MySQL (phpMyAdmin)

Hosting: Live server with database integration

Other: Role-based access, CRUD, session management

🤝 Team Collaboration
This project was a group effort, and every team member played a vital role:

Homepage & worker panel

Job filters and application logic

Backend APIs and database structure

Frontend design and responsiveness

Bug fixing and deployment

Working as a team helped us improve communication, delegate responsibilities, and learn from each other throughout the entire process.

📚 What We Learned
Through this project, we:

Strengthened our frontend and backend development skills

Applied database normalization and foreign key constraints

Practiced teamwork and agile-style task division

Faced and overcame real-world debugging and integration challenges

Built a complete full-stack project from idea to deployment

🙏 Final Thoughts
We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve built together.
IT Connect is more than just a school project – it’s a full-featured platform with real-world use.
Thanks to everyone who supported and encouraged us along the way!

Why We Decided to Simplify ITConnect — and How It Paid Off

Isme Kastrati — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:29:14 +0000

While building ITConnect, we hit a turning point — not technical, but strategic.

We asked ourselves:

“Should we keep adding new features, or should we stop and improve what we already have?”

It’s tempting to chase every idea.
More tools, more sections, more things to click.

But we paused. Looked at our platform honestly.
And decided to do less — but do it better.

🛠️ What we focused on instead:

A clean and clear homepage with guided role selection
A smooth registration for job seekers and companies
Dashboards with core actions: post a job, apply to one
Online interview management — with invite links and real-time status
File upload system for CVs and profiles
Search filters that actually work and help both sides
We removed distractions.
Rewrote flows.
Made actions feel faster and clearer.

✅ The result?

Job seekers apply in seconds

Companies find and invite candidates without confusion

Interviews are easier to manage, all inside the dashboard

And the platform feels more focused

🎯 What we learned:
You don’t need 50 features to create value.
You need a few — that actually work, and work well.

Sometimes cutting is improving.
And for us, that decision changed everything.

– Erzana, Sumea & Isme

Testing ITConnect Before Launch: Making Sure Everything Works Smoothly

Isme Kastrati — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:26:50 +0000

After weeks of planning, coding, designing, and building, we’ve finally reached a major milestone in our journey with ITConnect: testing the platform before going live.

This is the part where we take a step back from development and put ourselves in the users’ shoes — to make sure everything behaves as expected and feels smooth, secure, and ready for the real world.

What We're Testing
We’re currently running end-to-end tests across all the main features of the platform, including:

✅ Login & Registration for both job seekers and companies

✅ Worker Dashboard: CV uploads, profile editing, and job applications

✅ Company Dashboard: job posting, editing, and applicant review

✅ Role-based access control: making sure each user sees only what they’re supposed to

✅ Form validation and proper handling of incorrect/missing input

✅ CV file handling: upload security, file format support, and safe access

✅ Database integrity: checking relationships between users, jobs, and applications

✅ Responsive design: testing on different devices and screen sizes

Our Testing Approach

Manual testing across multiple user flows

Simulating real scenarios (e.g. applying to the same job twice, unauthorized page access)

Checking console logs and API responses

Reviewing database entries in MongoDB to confirm data is stored correctly

Testing on different browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari)

We’re also noting bugs, inconsistencies, or UX issues and creating GitHub issues to fix them before launch.

What’s Next?
Once internal testing is complete and the core functionality is confirmed stable, we plan to:

Deploy the project publicly (most likely on Vercel + MongoDB Atlas)

Share the platform with a small group of beta testers

Collect feedback and make final improvements

Launch officially! 🚀

We're incredibly excited to be this close to the finish line — and we’ll be sharing more soon once ITConnect is live.

Why We Decided to Simplify ITConnect — and How It Paid Off

Isme Kastrati — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:23:57 +0000

While building ITConnect, we hit a turning point — not technical, but strategic.

We asked ourselves:

“Should we keep adding new features, or should we stop and improve what we already have?”

It’s tempting to chase every idea.
More tools, more sections, more things to click.

But we paused. Looked at our platform honestly.
And decided to do less — but do it better.

🛠️ What we focused on instead:

✅ The result?

Job seekers apply in seconds

Companies find and invite candidates without confusion

Interviews are easier to manage, all inside the dashboard

And the platform feels more focused

🎯 What we learned:
You don’t need 50 features to create value.
You need a few — that actually work, and work well.

Sometimes cutting is improving.
And for us, that decision changed everything.

– Erzana, Sumea & Isme

What We’re Learning as a Team While Building IT Conect (spoiler: it’s not just about tech)

Isme Kastrati — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:21:16 +0000

When we started working on ITConnect, we thought the biggest challenges would be technical:
→ APIs, databases, late-night bugs…

But what we’re learning goes far beyond the code.

💬 Lessons that are shaping us:

Not every good idea is clear to the user

Team communication = as important as clean code

Simple design is surprisingly hard

Feedback can sting… but it makes the product real

And yes — we’ve seriously considered giving up sometimes

Deadlines slipped. Features broke.
Some feedback wasn’t fun to hear.
But still — we showed up. We kept building. We kept learning.

❤️ What this project is really teaching us:
How to collaborate
How to listen
How to push through
How to grow — not just as coders, but as teammates and future professionals.

– Erzana, Sumea & Isme

How We Designed the Interview Flow to Be Stress-Free (for Both Sides)

Isme Kastrati — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:18:45 +0000

At IT Conect, we put a lot of thought into designing the interview process. Why?

Because interviews often feel unclear and stressful — both for candidates and companies.

Here’s how it works on our platform:

The company selects a candidate and sends an invite directly from their dashboard, including date and time.

The invite includes an online meeting link (e.g., Zoom, Google Meet).

The candidate gets a notification and can manage the invite with one click: Accept | Decline.

The interview status is automatically updated in real time for both parties.

Our approach: Simplicity + Transparency + Automation
And most importantly: flexibility for remote interviews, without the back-and-forth.

Building the Company Dashboard — Making Hiring Smoother, Not Harder

Isme Kastrati — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:16:05 +0000

As we kept building ITConnect, we asked ourselves a key question:
If I were hiring someone today… what would I want to see in 10 seconds?

Because companies are busy.
They don’t want to scroll, click, or guess.
They want answers — fast.

So we built a dashboard that focuses on clarity and control.

🛠️ What We Included
Here’s what a company sees after logging in:

A clean list of applicants per position

Filters by tech stack, experience, location

Profile previews: name, skills, city, and a quick "View Profile" button

One-click actions: invite, reject, or message

Interview management — date, status, and meeting links

And yes... the ability to post a job in under a minute

Everything is designed so they can go from “found” to “invited” in seconds.

🧠 Why It Matters
This isn’t just about good UI.
It’s about building trust and efficiency into the hiring process.

When a company uses our platform, we want them to feel like they’re saving time, not wasting it.

And if that happens —
→ They’ll come back.
→ They’ll find better talent.
→ And our platform becomes part of their actual workflow.

That’s the goal.

– Erzana, Sumea & Isme

Building the Company Dashboard — Making Hiring Smoother, Not Harder

Isme Kastrati — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:10:10 +0000

As we kept building ITConnect, we asked ourselves a key question:
If I were hiring someone today… what would I want to see in 10 seconds?

Because companies are busy.
They don’t want to scroll, click, or guess.
They want answers — fast.

So we built a dashboard that focuses on clarity and control.

🛠️ What We Included
Here’s what a company sees after logging in:

A clean list of applicants per position

Filters by tech stack, experience, location

Profile previews: name, skills, city, and a quick "View Profile" button

One-click actions: invite, reject, or message

Interview management — date, status, and meeting links

And yes... the ability to post a job in under a minute

Everything is designed so they can go from “found” to “invited” in seconds.

🧠 Why It Matters
This isn’t just about good UI.
It’s about building trust and efficiency into the hiring process.

When a company uses our platform, we want them to feel like they’re saving time, not wasting it.

And if that happens —
→ They’ll come back.
→ They’ll find better talent.
→ And our platform becomes part of their actual workflow.

That’s the goal.

– Erzana, Sumea & Isme

When Things Start Working — The First Signs of Real Progress

Isme Kastrati — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:05:59 +0000

Up to a certain point, our work on ITConnect felt… invisible.

Yes, we had code.
Yes, the database was working.
Yes, the designs were ready.
But it still didn’t feel like a real product.

Until something small happened —
A job seeker signed up… and got routed to the correct dashboard.
A company registered… and saw their space to post positions.

That’s when it hit us:
It’s working. For real.

🧱 Bringing the Pieces Together
We had built login, role separation, the database, and layouts in isolation.
But now they were talking to each other.
One click here. Data appears there.
Dashboard logic. Profile previews. Form validation. Tiny things — that felt huge.

It’s in these moments where a project starts to move from “we’re building something” to “someone else can actually use this.”

💭 A Quick Lesson We Learned
The "aha!" moments don’t come from finishing big features.
They come from connecting them —
from that first real interaction where everything just... clicks.

And honestly, those are the moments that keep us going.
– Erzana, Sumea & Isme

One Platform, Two Entry Points — Designing the Right Registration Flow

Isme Kastrati — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:04:29 +0000

As our platform started coming to life, we reached a key moment:
Registration.

It sounds simple — but we knew this would shape the entire user experience.
We’re building ITConnect for two different people:
job seekers and companies.

So we needed two paths. Two forms. One goal:
Make it easy to join — and make every click feel like it belongs.

👨‍💻 Job Seeker Registration
We designed this flow with one thing in mind:
“How can we help companies find the right talent — fast?”

Here’s what job seekers fill in:

Basic info: name, city, contact

Their position of interest and skillset

A short description of who they are

Upload CV (to support their profile)

Every field is there for a reason — just enough to get started, without overwhelming.

🧑‍💼 Company Registration
For companies, the form is built around credibility and transparency:

Official email, company name & domain

Business number (for verification)

Short company description

Website (optional, but helpful)

The goal? Attract the right talent by showing that you're real and reliable.

💡 Why Two Forms?
We could’ve used one generic form… but we didn’t.
Instead, we built two distinct experiences to:

✅ Keep the user journeys clean and focused
✅ Validate the right type of input for each role
✅ Guide everyone to the correct dashboard after login
✅ Keep our backend structured from the start

This decision also made it easier to start building role-based dashboards, which are already in progress.

We’re learning that every click matters.
Even something as “simple” as registration needs thought, structure, and care.

And this was a small win that made a big difference in how our platform feels.
– Erzana, Sumea & Isme

From Setup to Role-Based Access — Building a Platform for Two Worlds

Isme Kastrati — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 12:57:05 +0000

Right after finishing our Figma designs, we jumped into development with a goal in mind:
Create two clear experiences — one for companies, one for job seekers — right from the start.

Sounds simple. But honestly, this part was more complex than we expected.

👥 One Platform, Two Roles
From the beginning, we knew ITConnect would serve two very different groups:

Companies, looking for talent

Job seekers, looking for opportunities

So our first challenge was to separate those experiences — without making the app feel split in two.

What We Focused on First
To build a solid base, we spent our first development sprint working on:

✅ A clean, scalable project structure
✅ A secure login & registration system
✅ Role-based access that feels natural

When someone signs up, they choose their role — and from there, they’re sent to the experience that fits them:

🧑‍💼 Companies → post jobs, browse candidates, manage listings

👨‍💻 Workers → see job/project offers, apply, manage their profile

Why It Mattered to Us
We wanted people to feel oriented and confident from the very first click.
If you’re a worker, you shouldn’t land in a dashboard made for companies — and vice versa.

By thinking about user roles from the beginning, we avoided confusion later and created a flow that makes sense as our platform grows.

This wasn’t just about logic and routing.
It was about respecting the purpose of each person who joins the platform.

And honestly? Seeing the first login flow work — felt like magic
– Erzana, Sumea & Isme

From Design to Code — How We Started Building ITConnect

Isme Kastrati — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 12:53:50 +0000

After weeks of planning, sketching, and changing our minds more than once — we finally did it:
We started building ITConnect.

It’s one thing to design your idea in Figma.
It’s something completely different to bring that design to life with real code.
That’s where the real learning began for us.

Week 1: Laying the Groundwork
Our first goal was clear:
-Build a solid foundation for everything that would come later.

So we focused on:

Creating the basic project layout

Designing the homepage, navigation, and footer

Setting up login for both job seekers and companies

Building the database structure

Uploading CVs and profile images securely

It was a lot. But also... very exciting.

What We Used (Our Stack)
We switched from modern JS frameworks and chose a simpler, solid approach using:

Frontend: HTML, CSS, JavaScript

Backend: PHP

Database: MySQL (via phpMyAdmin)

We wanted our codebase to be clear, functional, and future-friendly.

👩‍💻 Our Team of Three
We’re proud to say we split responsibilities clearly:

Sumea → backend logic & database

Erzana → frontend & layout from Figma

Isme → authentication & security

We work together every day using GitHub (code), Discord (chat), and MongoDB Atlas (data).

⚠️ What Challenged Us
Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

Some of the problems we faced:

Managing two user types in one login system

Protecting routes so only the right person sees the right dashboard

Validating inputs (and catching mistakes)

Handling file uploads securely

These weren’t just bugs to fix — they were moments where we had to slow down and think like real developers.

🔜 What’s Next?
This week, we’re diving into:

Creating a dashboard for companies (job listings, candidates)

A dashboard for workers (profile, applications, CV updates)

Freelance project functionality

There’s a long way to go.
But we’re proud of how far we’ve come — and we’re learning so much every step of the way.

Thanks for following our journey!
– Erzana, Sumea & Isme