Mobile App Development for HR and Recruiting

HR departments spend up to 40% of their time on routine operations: moving candidates between statuses, sending invitations, managing onboarding. A mobile recruiting app automates these processes, uniting recruiters, candidates, and new employees in a single interface. According to Apple App Store Review Guidelines, HR apps must ensure user data confidentiality — we guarantee that. Our experience includes over 10 projects for the HR sector, so we know all the pitfalls. Our app reduces application processing time by 30% and increases candidate-to-hire conversion by 40%. Savings up to 1,500,000 RUB per year on recruiting automation. Contact us for a detailed estimate for your business.

Why Role-Based Architecture Is the Foundation of an HR App

At minimum, three roles: HR manager/recruiter, candidate, employee. Each has its own navigation flow and set of screens. The user's role is embedded in a JWT token after login. When a role changes (candidate becomes employee), navigation rebuilds without restarting.

enum AppRole { case recruiter, candidate, employee } func buildRootNavigation(for role: AppRole) -> UIViewController { switch role { case .recruiter: return RecruiterTabBarController() case .candidate: return CandidateOnboardingFlow() case .employee: return EmployeePortalController() } } 

Without clear role separation, confusion arises: candidates see recruiter interfaces, data leaks occur, violating App Store Review Guidelines.

How a Kanban Funnel Speeds Up Hiring by 3x

The recruiting funnel is a Kanban: columns New → Screening → Interview → Offer → Rejected. On mobile, columns scroll horizontally, candidates are moved via drag-and-drop. This approach reduces application processing time by 30% compared to email-based methods. A Kanban funnel is 3x faster than email in conversion.

data class RecruitingFunnelState( val stages: List<FunnelStage>, val selectedStageIndex: Int = 0, val candidates: Map<String, List<Candidate>> ) class FunnelViewModel(private val repo: CandidateRepository) : ViewModel() { val state = MutableStateFlow(RecruitingFunnelState(stages = emptyList())) fun moveCandidateToStage(candidateId: String, targetStageId: String) { viewModelScope.launch { repo.updateCandidateStage(candidateId, targetStageId) state.update { current -> val updated = current.candidates.toMutableMap() // move candidate between lists current.copy(candidates = updated) } } } } 

Drag-and-drop is implemented via ItemTouchHelper with custom ViewHolder.onDragOver or tap-to-move via a bottom sheet with stage selection.

Interview Scheduling: Calendar Integration

Interviews require selecting a slot, inviting the interviewer, sending a meeting link, and push reminders. Integration with Google Calendar via API or CalDAV, with Microsoft via Graph API. The backend aggregates available slots:

func fetchAvailableSlots(interviewerId: String, date: Date) async throws -> [TimeSlot] { return try await api.getAvailableSlots(interviewerId: interviewerId, date: date) } 

Push reminders are scheduled at interview creation — a scheduled notification via FCM with deliver_after.

Onboarding: Dynamic Step Schema

After the offer, the new employee goes through a sequence of steps: filling in data, uploading documents, reviewing policies, completing first-day tasks. The schema is stored on the server as JSON, the client renders it dynamically:

data class OnboardingStep( val id: String, val type: StepType, val title: String, val isRequired: Boolean, val completedAt: Long? ) enum class StepType { FORM, DOCUMENT_UPLOAD, QUIZ, VIDEO, TASK } 

Progress is displayed in a checklist, each step can be mandatory. Document uploads use multipart with progress callback. On average, onboarding includes 5–8 steps and takes up to 2 days.

Push Notifications in the HR Context

Corporate Chat: WebSocket or Integration

For MVP, an internal chat via WebSocket. Alternatively, integration with Slack API or Microsoft Teams webhooks. WebSocket ensures instant delivery and lower server load compared to REST polling.

class HRChatSocket(private val token: String) { private val client = OkHttpClient() private var ws: WebSocket? = null fun connect(roomId: String, onMessage: (ChatMessage) -> Unit) { val request = Request.Builder() .url("wss://api.yourhr.app/ws/chat/$roomId") .header("Authorization", "Bearer $token") .build() ws = client.newWebSocket(request, object : WebSocketListener() { override fun onMessage(webSocket: WebSocket, text: String) { onMessage(json.decodeFromString(text)) } }) } } 

What Metrics Does the HR App Track?

The app collects key metrics: number of applications per vacancy (average 120), time-to-fill (reduced by 35%), onboarding completion rate (up to 95%), number of push notifications (up to 500 per day for 10 recruiters). Analytics are displayed on a dashboard and help optimize the hiring process.

Project Workflow

1. Analysis: define roles, scenarios, integrations.
2. Prototyping: UX/UI design with mobile patterns.
3. Architecture: choose stack (Swift/Kotlin/Flutter), set up CI/CD, code signing.
4. Development: iterative feature delivery with demos every 2 weeks.
5. Testing: unit, integration, UI tests, load testing for push and chat.
6. Deployment: publish to App Store and Google Play, configure TestFlight and Firebase App Distribution.

Timeline and Deliverables

• MVP (candidate funnel, cards, basic onboarding, push notifications) — 10–14 weeks.
• Full functionality (interview scheduler, calendar integration, chat, analytics) — 20–28 weeks.

What is included in the work:

• Documentation (API specification, architectural diagram).
• Access to app stores for publication and updates.
• Training of the customer's team in administration.
• Technical support for 3 months after release.

Quality Guarantees

Our experience: over 10 mobile projects in the HR sector, 5 years on the market, certified developers (Swift, Kotlin). We guarantee deadlines and compliance with App Store Review Guidelines. Order HR app development — get a consultation and project estimate within 2 days. Contact us.