VALLEY VIEW UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR

THE BACHELOR OF EDUCATION (BED) IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

TOPIC:

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ONLINE JOB PORTAL

BY

OBENG DERRICK

ID:

219EIT1102480

SUPERVISOR:

MR. SUDHAKAR MURUGESAN

DATE:
DEC 2020
 Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE - Introduction.....................................4

1.1 Subject and field of study ...............................6

1.1.1 Statement of the Problem...............................6

1.2 Study Objective...........................................7

1.2.1 General objective......................................7

1.2.2 Specific Objective....................................8

1. Background of the study ..................................9

1.4 Scope of the study ......................................10

1.5 Justification of the Study ..............................11

1.6 Methodology .............................................12

1.7 Expected Results of the Study............................13

1.8 Presentation of Thesis...................................14

1.9 Study Work Plan .........................................15

1.9.1 Project 1.............................................15

1.9.2 Project 2............................................16

CHAPTER TWO - LITERATURE REVIEW...............................17

2.1 Overview of the online job portal….......................18

2.2 EXISTING SYSTEMS ....................................... 20

2.2.1 Monster ..............................................20

2.2.2 Elevated careers......................................21

2.2.3 Careerbuilder .........................................23

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CHAPTER THRE - CRYSTALLIZATION OF THE STUDY................... 25

3.0 BACKGROUND/HISTORY ..................................... 25

3.1 COMPONENT AND FEATURES OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM............ 26

3.1.0 SYSTEM CONTEXT DIAGRAM OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM ........27

3.1.1 DATA FLOW DIAGRAM OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM .............27

3.1.2 STRENGTH/ADVANTAGES OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM .......... 28

3.1.3 WEAKNESSES/DISADVANTAGES OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM ........... 28

CHAPTER FOUR - ANALYSIS OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM............... 29

4.0 OVERVIEW OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM ....................... 29

4.1 FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENT ................................ 30

4.1.0 NON – FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENT ....................... 32

4.2 MAJOR COMPONENTS/FEATURES OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM ...... 33

4.3 BENEFITS AND ADVANTAGES OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM ........ 33

4.4 ALGORITHM OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM....................... 34

4.4.1 FLOWCHART OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM ....................34

4.5 SYSTEM CONTEXT DIAGRAM OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM...........35

4.5.1 USE CASE OF PROPOSED SYSTEM .........................36

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 CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Unemployment is one of the severe problems for both developed and

developing countries in the world. The increasing rate of

unemployed graduates has become one of the painful issues in

Ghana.

A job portal, also known as a career portal, is a modern name for

an online job board that helps applicants find jobs and aids

employers in their quest to locate ideal candidates[ CITATION Tuc18 \l

1033 ].

Job seekers are unable to get access to job opportunities due to

the ineffective distribution of information on job offers. The

internet has made a massive impact on knowledge management and

information dissemination all over the world. In today's fierce

world, it is difficult for people to get a job efficiently and

also not easy for people to find suitable jobs that match their

skills. It has also become difficult for organizations to find

people who are the best in their fields and intelligent for

hiring.

Usually, when people want to search for a job, they explore the

newspapers, employment agencies, existing employee contacts,

1
listen to the radio or watch television broadcasts that may

advertise job vacancies.

The internet has replaced the way of looking for job vacancies

and searching for the right and qualified applicants through the

development of job portals. The job portal system has made job

searching processes easier. A job portal system provides an

efficient way of exploring the internet for job vacancies

available and looking for suitable candidates. It has reduced

the manual efforts in the job and applicant searching process.

This system is to eliminate, and in some cases, mitigate the

hardships faced by the existing system and also the problems

prevailing in the practising manual system.

This system project is an online web application that can be

opened anywhere only with proper login provided. The system

would be used as an Online Job Portal for job seekers. Job

Seekers must be able to log in and upload their Curriculum Vitae

(CV). Companies and organizations may also log in and access or

search any information uploaded by Job searchers. Overall it

serves as a platform that accommodates to post, assemble and

search for the information required by job seekers and

employers.

2
1.0 SUBJECT AND FIELD OF STUDY

Computer Science, as an educational field, centres on software

development, programming and includes areas such as application

software development, experts' systems, web development and

knowledge from both computer science and computer information

systems (CIS) as a branch of information technology (IT) that was

used in the development of the software.

1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Job portals are now popularly used all over the world, and some

of the problems encountered in the existing systems are;

 No feedback mechanism.

 No use of social media and social networking sites such as

Facebook, Twitter, etc.

 No SMS and e-mail integration.

 No Resume Upload.

 Friendly and interactive graphical user interface.

 Candidates are unable to personalize or customize their

pages or interfaces.

3
1.2 STUDY OBJECTIVE

The study objective is divided into two parts, namely, general

and specific goal.

1.2.0 GENERAL OBJECTIVE

The general aim of this project is to change the manual way of

operation of the job application to an automatic system. This

system will help to reduce the time required during the job

search process. It will help the employees and employers to

address the gap of job hunting and recruitment. The job portal

also provides flexibility to job seekers.

1.2.2 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE

 To develop a platform for job seekers, which will help them

to get a job as per their skills and requirements and upload

their resume.

 To minimize the time consumed in the job searching process

and provide 24/7 accessibility.

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  To develop a system that identifies the needs of the

Recruiters and Job Seekers with the help of numerous

filters.

 To develop a system to help recruiters to manage their

Profile and keep track of all the Job Seekers who are

applying to their companies.

 To provide a video conferencing mechanism to help in the

interview process.

 To provide feedback mechanism, i.e. Automate the system.

 To develop a system that is user friendly and can be

personalized to suit the applicant.

 To provide SMS and E-mail integration/notification.

1.3 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The quality of people hired for a particular job is usually a

critical issue when measuring the effectiveness of employees.

However, in certain situations, the speed of hiring is also an

issue and also contribute to quality hiring. The job recruitment

or hiring employee's process in the past years was based on

advertisements in the newspapers and had a panel on the appointed

day to interview applicants.

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Job search, in simple terms, is the process whereby people look

for a job due to unemployment or unsatisfied with their current

employment. People usually search for job posts or vacancies that

they qualify to apply for.

Job posts, according to [ CITATION Ric03 \l 1033 ], is the practice of

publicizing an open job to job seekers (often by posting it on

bulletin boards) and listing its attributes, such as criteria of

knowledge, qualification, skill and experience.

A job search is a process that aims to match job seekers to

suitable job opportunities.

[ CITATION Gre11 \l 1033 ]points out that job search methods have

traditionally been divided into formal and informal ways.

 Formal methods involve using the services of employment

agencies or answering advertisements published in

newspapers, journals and the internet.

 Informal methods include using one's contacts, contacting

employers directly.

The basis of the hiring process is to give out to potent

employees and bring out certain kind of required skills and

experiences in the field organization. The problem can be solved

by an online job portal system which is set to transform how

companies and other employers recruit their employees. Online job

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portal system is fundamental in the removal of paper works and

the launch of workflow systems that links job seekers and

employers and also stores data in dependable databases.

In this age of technology, the internet has become one of the

critical methods for getting information relating to job

vacancies and suitable candidates. The internet has drastically

changed the face of job search and recruitment. Employers must

now actively market themselves by instituting a well-implemented

e-recruitment program to find better quality candidates and

improve hiring decisions, all in less time and at a lower

cost[ CITATION Smi04 \l 1033 ].

People access the internet from several locations, including

home, work, school, library or community centre, and new wireless

devices that provide access practically anywhere within the

network range [ CITATION Ban14 \l 1033 ].

1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

In this online job portal, there is no payment, therefore free

registration. Anyone can apply through job portals like Twitter,

Jobberman, Facebook, and Instagram, free registration. The online

portal can run on windows and also can be accessed by the use of

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mobile phones. It is supported in the MYSQL database, and data

security is provided.

1.5 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY

It is necessary to develop this system to help solve the problems

that are stated above.

Feedback mechanism: The proposed system will have the means of

taking feedback from all users (employers and job seekers) from

time to time. Also, if a user faces any issue while using the

system, there is an option to report it.

SMS and E-mail integration: The proposed system will send SMS

notifications to job seekers when an update or a job is posted.

Also, reminders will be sent to users to update their profiles to

the current status and an e-mail-based newsletter for awareness.

Friendly and interactive graphical user interface: The proposed

system will allow easy usage and interactivity, meaning there

will be two-way communication between job seekers and recruiters

and job seekers.

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Personalization and Customization: the proposed system will allow

users to change the interface based on their preferences or

behaviour.

Security: For privacy and data protection, the proposed system

will allow users to access data only they must access.

Unauthorized users will not have access to information. And also,

an e-mail alert will be sent to users when logged in.

1.6 METHODOLOGY

Data collection will be done through an interview with company

owners, HR's and jobseekers.

The research model has many methodologies, including the

waterfall model, iterative model, spiral model, V-model, agile

model, Big Bang model, etc.

The iterative process begins with a simple application of a

subset of the software demands and iteratively intensifies

evolving versions until the entire system is implemented. The

main idea is to design a system through repeated cycles.

The spiral model integrates the idea of iterative development

with a systematically controlled aspect of the waterfall model.

9
The V-model is an SDLC model where the execution of processes

happens sequentially in a V-shape, which is also known as the

verification and validation model.

The agile model is the mixture of iterative and incremental

process models focusing on process and customer satisfaction by

swift delivery of working software production.

However, with this project, the waterfall model will be

considered as the methodology to be used. It the linear-

sequential life cycle model and is straightforward to understand

and use.

Works well for smaller projects where demands are very well

understood; each phase must be completed before the next period

begins. There is no overlapping in the stages. The waterfall

model is the initial SDLC approach that was used for software

development.

The leading technologies to be utilized for the project are;

1. Php will be used as the programming language for the

coding.

2. Microsoft SQL Server 2008 is the relational database to

store database resources.

10
1.7 EXPECTED RESULTS OF THE STUDY

The outcome at the end of the research proposal is as follows;

 Paperwork in Human resource offices is reduced.

 A more user-friendly graphical user interface is developed

to help job seekers understand the companies they need.

 A well-developed system that provides tailor-made job

opportunities to job seekers which they want.

 There will be a video mechanism to help in the interviewing

process of job seekers who have been picked to reduce

migration.

1.8 Presentation of Thesis

This project is organized into eight chapters.

Chapter one entails the introduction, Subject and field of study,

general and specific objectives, background to the study, the

scope of the project, justification of the study, methodology,

expected results and organization of the course.

The second chapter deals supportive to the first. The literature

review will improve the research to find additional information

to help build the system to suit its users.

11
Then follows the third chapter, which is the crystallization of

the study. It considers the design and implementation processes

of the research, research instruments and implementation of data

analysis.

Then the overview is provided by chapter four. Thus, the design

processes and other findings are made up of recent results,

research questions and a summary of the chapter.

Chapter 5: This chapter deals with the design of the proposed

system, that is, the functional process, algorithms and

flowcharts, dataflow diagrams and the data dictionary.

Chapter 6: This chapter talks about system implementation and

testing.

Chapter 7: This chapter contains the documentation of the data

dictionary, input and output chart. It deals with the

implementation of the system and installation.

Chapter 8: the last chapter deals with the conclusion and the

recommendation of the system for further research.

1.9 Study Work Plan

The study work plan of the proposed research is in two parts,

thus

12
1.9.1 Project 1

Project one consist of the preliminary investigation, system

analysis and design and is expected to be completed in January

2021.

1.9.2 Project 2

Project two consists of detailed design and implementation of the

proposed system, conclusion and recommendation. It is expected to

be completed in September 2021.

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 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter focuses on the literature review and related to the

analysis of the system. It helps to spot the problems in the

existing systems and provides the best approach to achieve the

objectives. It is focused on the justification and evaluation of

the recruitment process and technology selection.

It will deal with a comparison between the portal and the

existing system. An online job portal system is a type of e-

recruitment system that allows users or job seekers and companies

to apply to jobs and post jobs online, respectively. An online

job portal is a web-based recruitment system that can be defined

as the recruiting process done through web-based tools, such as a

corporate intranet or its public internet.

14
This recruitment process also termed e-recruitment, internet

recruitment,r online recruitment[ CITATION MKe03 \l 1033 ]. Searching for

various websites and applying for jobs is boring because they

require a lot of extra effort. It takes much time to know and

learn about a company, its requirements for a position, and its

qualifications. In most cases, the only way to lookup for

opportunities is through websites/member of staff referrals.

This idea encouraged me to build a system where time and efforts

are saved because the job post will communicate to the job seeker

where the company is located and maybe learn more.

Several systems are related to the online job portal. Some of the

systems are operated manually. The systems are as follows: job

search engines/job websites, social media, newspapers and

advertisement, local employment agencies, social websites, and

promotions.

These systems show the job vacancies available, the

qualifications a candidate needs to apply for the jobs, and how

to apply for the positions. Like the local employment agencies

shows the jobs which are available locally. People who are not

able to access social media and other job websites can access

their local employment agencies easily and at any time. Most of

these systems are traditional systems.

15
2.1 OVERVIEW OF ONLINE JOB PORTAL

The creation of the internet has become a popular advantage for

most organizations and companies. Many companies have designed

websites for advertising their jobs. It came to my awareness that

a portal can be far better to use in job advertisement than

websites because a portal can be a gateway to access website

information, whereas a website displays online content.

A portal improves functionality and flexibility to cater for

diverse classes of users. Many companies have realized the need

to change the employment or recruitment process to cope with the

increasingly changing technology and many job seekers[ CITATION

JJM15 \l 1033 ].

The internet has become a sought after way to recruit people. The

Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is a system that has

been used previously to manage employees. The efficiency and

effectiveness of the Human Resource Information System enable

staff to format their Profile, strengths and weaknesses. When

such a system is used, it is easy to have qualified personnel in

the right place. It is clear that from an HRIS, more advancements

are made so that the recruitment process is done online, and from

there, the user will keep on updating their resumes online even

16
after employment. Companies will be in a position to download the

summaries.

A well-developed web-based portal is a complete cost-reducing

strategy to be applied or used by organizations because

efficiency will be improved within the organization[ CITATION EKe12 \l

1033 ]. With cloud computing, it is easy to maintain data and

applications using remote servers and the Internet[ CITATION Ani13 \l

1033 ].

New technology is currently replacing the way we carry out

business every day, isolate, recruit and hire or employ the best

candidates/applicants. Traditionally, it was all about paper

resumes, newspaper ads, TV or radio ads and traditional sit-down

interviews.

2.2 EXISTING SYSTEMS

The existing systems to be reviewed are as follows;

2.2.1 MONSTER

Monster is an employment website used to help those seeking work

to find job openings for lower to mid-level employment that match

their skills and location.

17
FEATURES OF MONSTER

 It has a highly interactive dashboard.

 Easily customizable.

STRENGTHS

 It is very functional.

 Offers a helpful resource centre.

 Offers advanced filtering options.

WEAKNESS

 There is the presence of spam and redundancy.

18
2.2.2 ELEVATED CAREERS

Elevated Careers is the first-ever all-in-one employee

engagement, employment branding and hiring platform.

FEATURES

 It has a complete job search functionality.

 It is innovative.

STRENGTHS

 It uses predictive algorithms to match job seekers with jobs

based on three different types of compatibility.

19
WEAKNESS

 It requires a lot of input.

 It is not user friendly.

2.2.3 CareerBuilder

CareerBuilder is a global, end-to-end human capital solutions

company focused on helping employers find, hire and manage great

talent. Combining advertising, software and services.

FEATURES

 Able to make unlimited edits and get candidate alerts.

20
  Applicant alerts.

 Applicant tracking system.

STRENGTHS

 It has good functionality.

 Better tracking system for jobs.

WEAKNESS

 It lacks search parameters.

21
 CHAPTER THREE

CRYSTALLIZATION OF THE STUDY

3.0 BACKGROUND/HISTORY

This chapter deals with the careful examination and feasibility

study of the current systems. It entails determining the current

system's capabilities and what should be embedded in the new

system and examines the problems associated with the current

system.

As online job portals keep transforming positively, developers

need to keep up meeting and addressing the challenges and

complexities associated with it.

Automating operations and prompt update, personalization and

customization, friendly and interactive graphical user

interface, SMS and e-mail integration, are all challenges of the

existing system.

22
Developers have, over the years, strived to bring fore

efficiency in the fast-growing job market.

However, the proposed system has taken critical consideration of

most of these to bring a cutting-edge solution into the project.

3.1 COMPONENT AND FEATURES OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM

The job market operates under a system where job seekers need to

present their resumes to a particular company irrespective of

their geographical location. There is no room for job seekers to

be informed of a vacancy in a specific company, the qualification

needed for the job if available and they cannot make changes to

resume electronically.

The primary system in use by recruiters and job seekers is the

traditional system. This system caters for the following

activities:

 Face to Face interview – All interviews are done face-to-

face to test the job seeker's knowledge and see if he/she is

fit for the job.

 Submission of CV's to the front desk – Jobseekers have to

personally go to the company in need of their services to

submit their resume.

23
  Publish jobs in newspapers and social media – job seekers

would have to look for in newspapers and social media for

job opportunities.

3.1.0 SYSTEM CONTEXT DIAGRAM OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM

3.1.1 DATA FLOW DIAGRAM OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM

24
3.1.2 STRENGTH/ADVANTAGES OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM

1. It is cost-effective.

2. Shorter recruiting cycle time.

3. It requires less technical know-how.

4. There is the chance to target a specific audience or niche.

5. A more comprehensive range of applicants is being reached.

3.1.3 WEAKNESSES/DISADVANTAGES OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM

1. There are no mechanisms or modules that can help Job Seekers

to understand the Companies that they need.

25
 2. The existing systems are not self-sufficient to provide the

platform that helps recruiters convey to the Job Seekers

their needs.

3. The existing system is intended to show as many job

opportunities as possible, but not those Job opportunities

that Job Seeker wants.

CHAPTER FOUR

ANALYSIS OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM

3.1 OVERVIEW OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM

This chapter gives a complete account of the proposed system. It

offers a user-friendly working environment. The proposed

approach offers robust security for data falling into

unauthorized hands.

The system requires users to verify their authenticity with a

password and ID. This system processes data at a high-speed

26
rate. Resumes and job posts are processed fast and saved into a

database with high-level security. With this, companies can

retrieve records to facilitate their recruitment processes.

Again, in this chapter, a case diagram is used to show how

entities react to one another.

The core activities expected of this system is categorized into

two.

These are;

1. Functional requirement.

2. Non - functional requirement.

3.2 FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENT

The functional requirements are the requirements that the

system should provide to meet the user needs. The detailed

requirements of the system consist of the input, process,

output, stored data requirement and security measures.

The functional requirement of the system includes;

Job Seekers

• Registration

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• Login

• Forgot password

• Search for job vacancies

• Upload or create a resume

• Apply for a job

• Search company profile.

• Update Profile

• Send and receive messages

• Deactivation of account

• E-mail and SMS notification

• Logout

• Send feedback

• View applied for jobs

Employers

• Registration.

• Login

• Forgot password

• Send and receive messages

• Deactivation of account

• E-mail and SMS notification

• Search resume

28
• View job applications

• Create and view job post

• Search job seekers profile

• Update profile

• Send feedback

• Logout

Administrator

• Login

• View number of job seekers and employers registered in the

• Activate job seekers and employers account

• Delete job seekers and employers account

• View job posts

• Delete job posts

• Generate reports

4.1.0 NON – FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENT

The non-functional requirement specifies the criteria used to

judge the operations of a system rather than specific

29
 behaviours. It includes performance requirements, reliability,

security, scalability, maintainability, and usability.

The following are the non-functional requirements of the

system;

• Ease of use

• Easy to learn

• User-friendliness

• 24/7 availability

• Secured enough to allow only authorized users.

• Jobseekers can access from any platform.

• Efficiency

• Speed

• Maintainability

3.3 MAJOR FEATURES/COMPONENTS OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM

Some features of the system are:

1. Authentication of users

2. Security

3. Advanced job searches by keywords such as region, city,

date, category, status

30
 4. Advanced company search by keywords such as region,

city, category, status

5. Report or send feedback

6. E-mail and SMS notification

7. Site personalization

8. Video Conferencing

9. Resume upload and download

3.4 BENEFITS/ADVANTAGES OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM

 Employers can identify a huge number of eligible job

seekers and get their information quickly. Organizations

or employers can attract a higher number of candidates or

get a pool of job seekers.

 Cost-saving. Companies or organizations using the job

portals spend less to advertise their job vacancies as

compared to the use of the traditional methods such as

the newspaper, etc.

 It is swift and also saves time. When organizations or

employers post or publish their job vacancies on the

portal, job seekers can view them and send in their

resume in the shortest period.

3.5 ALGORITHM OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM.

31
3.5.1 FLOWCHART OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM

4.5 SYSTEM CONTEXT DIAGRAM OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM

32
4.5.1 USE CASE OF PROPOSED SYSTEM

33