Tango

Job application, reimagined. Turn a tedious task for both parties into a fun and captivating activity. No longer do we judge based on keywords and queue, instead, show off who you are.

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Inspiration

Hinge + Linkedin + Love of the game + No more fear of rejection

What it does

Tango is a matching hiring platform where recruiters and applicants match based on mutual interest, which are more personal than corporate and optimized keywords. Recruiters post roles and browse candidates; applicants swipe on companies — and when both sides like each other, they're connected in a real-time chat. Profile prompts, photos, and expectation transparency replace the cold formality of traditional, and often AI generated job applications.

"Tango is an elegant dance between two collaborators, who care for each other's tomorrow."

How we built it

We built the frontend with Next.js 15 and Tailwind CSS v4, and the backend with FastAPI and PostgreSQL via SQLAlchemy. Auth0 handles authentication, and our REST API powers swiping, matching, and messaging in real time.

Challenges we ran into

Building a bidirectional match system that handles race conditions where both users swipe demanded careful backend logic to ensure matches were only created once. Designing a UI that felt intuitive on future mobile port while remaining fully functional on desktop was also a constant balancing act.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We shipped a fully functional end-to-end hiring product within the hackathon window. The match celebration moment and the profile prompt system make interactions feel human rather than transactional.

What we learned

Practical software engineering experiences which prioritizes shipping a prove of concept. Also, the best product decisions come from asking "does this feel like something a real person would enjoy?" rather than "does this technically work?"

What's next for Tango

Mobile port, filters, algorithm improvements, live deployment, better UIUX.

post scriptum

The project idea came from shower thoughts after hundreds of rounds of job app rejections/ghosts, and was built for educational purposes. Do not let this project become a real product. Job recruitment, and human should never be reduced into data metrics, such as ATS and keywords.

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