Inspiration

Traditional recruitment platforms require candidates to upload complete resumes containing sensitive personal information such as names, phone numbers, email addresses, and home addresses. These resumes are typically stored on centralized servers, making them vulnerable to data breaches and unauthorized access. Recruiters also see personal information before evaluating qualifications, which can introduce unconscious bias.

We wanted to build a recruitment platform where candidates could prove they are qualified without exposing their identity. Midnight's privacy-first blockchain made this possible.

What it does

PrivHire is a privacy-first recruitment platform powered by AI and Midnight.

Candidates upload their resumes, which are processed entirely inside the browser. Our AI extracts qualifications such as skills, experience, and education while removing personally identifiable information.

Instead of sharing the full resume, PrivHire creates a privacy-preserving proof of the candidate's qualifications. Recruiters evaluate anonymous applications based on verified credentials and AI-generated matching scores.

If a recruiter wants to contact a candidate, they submit a contact request. The candidate remains in complete control and can approve or reject the request. Contact details are revealed only after explicit approval.

How we built it

Built the frontend using React, TypeScript, Vite, and Tailwind CSS.
Implemented browser-side AI resume analysis using Transformers.js.
Integrated 1AM Wallet for secure wallet authentication.
Designed a Compact Smart Contract to manage applications, status updates, and contact requests.
Used Zero-Knowledge Proof concepts to enable privacy-preserving qualification verification.
Built recruiter and candidate dashboards with a complete end-to-end workflow.

Challenges we ran into

The biggest challenge was integrating Midnight's ecosystem while maintaining a fully browser-based application.

We also faced challenges designing a privacy-preserving recruitment workflow, synchronizing blockchain state with the frontend, implementing AI resume parsing locally without external APIs, and adapting to the current browser limitations of the Midnight SDK.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Designed and built a privacy-first recruitment workflow using Midnight's ecosystem.
Developed a Compact Smart Contract to model application submission, status updates, and candidate-controlled contact requests.
Integrated the 1AM Wallet into the user workflow.
Built browser-based AI resume analysis to extract qualifications while keeping resumes on the user's device during processing.
Created an anonymous recruitment experience where recruiters evaluate qualifications before accessing personal information.
Demonstrated an end-to-end prototype connecting AI, blockchain concepts, and the recruitment workflow.

What we learned

This hackathon gave us valuable experience exploring Midnight's privacy-first development model, Compact Smart Contracts, wallet integration, and designing applications around Zero-Knowledge principles.

We also learned how to combine browser-based AI with privacy-preserving blockchain concepts, balance user experience with privacy, and design a system where candidates remain in control of when their personal information is shared.

The project also helped us better understand the current capabilities of the Midnight development ecosystem and how to architect our application so it can evolve as the platform matures.

What's next for PrivHire

Our next goal is to integrate directly with the full Midnight runtime as browser support matures, enabling live on-chain interactions without a mock layer.

We also plan to add encrypted resume storage, richer recruiter analytics, support for multiple organizations, and production-ready deployment for real-world hiring.