Seven moments, in the order they happen.
On the left and right, the same moment from each side. Between them, the thread it all hangs on.
- Mon 12 Oct09:12
It starts with the work, not the CV
Nadia types three words and three filters. What comes back is not a pile of claims: every hour and every commit beside a name was recorded while the work was done. She reads three profiles and stops at the second.
Northwind LabsSearches the directory by skill, availability and time zone, and reads figures that were recorded rather than typed.
Maya OkaforNothing yet. She is in the directory because she chose to be listed, and she chose what a company may read.
The ruleThe directory is opt-in. Nobody is found who did not ask to be.
- Mon 12 Oct09:41
An invitation, not a cold message
The invitation names the company, the role and why her. It lands on her profile, not in a recruiter's mail-merge. Nadia can see the moment it is read. Twenty minutes later Maya accepts, and a candidacy exists.
Northwind LabsSends one invitation with the role and a note, and sees when it has been seen.
Maya OkaforReads who is asking and what for before she answers. Accepting is her decision; declining ends it there.
The ruleNothing begins until the candidate says yes.
- Tue 13 Oct10:05
The chat opens when there is something to say
Maya lands in a conversation she cannot write in yet. Then Nadia opens round one, and the composer unlocks with a line above it saying what this round is for. An inbox that is always open is a support queue; this is a conversation with a subject.
Northwind LabsOpens a round and writes one sentence on what it is for. That sentence is what unlocks the chat.
Maya OkaforSees the lock lift and the purpose of the round, then talks to the people actually running it.
The ruleThe candidate's chat is locked until a round opens it — enforced by the server, not by hiding a text box.
- Tue 13 Oct10:20
A meeting that exists, not a link somebody pastes
Nadia proposes Thursday at 14:30. Maya confirms it — or asks for another time and offers some. The moment it is settled there is a real calendar event with a Meet link, sent to her and to every interviewer, and posted in the chat where she is already looking.
Northwind LabsProposes a slot. The event is created on the company's own Google Calendar, with its own Meet link.
Maya OkaforConfirms the time or proposes others. Her answer is on the meeting itself, where an interviewer can read it an hour before.
The ruleOnly the candidate can confirm a proposed time. A company confirming its own proposal confirms nothing.
- 15 – 27 Octthree rounds
Round by round, with notes that travel
An introduction, a technical round, a final. Northwind decided how many and of what kind. After each one the interviewers write what they saw, and when Maya moves on those notes go with her — so the next person in the room is not starting cold. One note does not move.
Northwind LabsRuns as many rounds as it wants. Each has its own interviewers, its own meeting and its own notes.
Maya OkaforAlways knows which round she is in and what it is for. She is never asked the same first question three times.
The ruleAnything about salary is a separate field, read by whoever runs the offer and by nobody else. A technical interviewer who knows the number is anchored by it.
- Wed 28 Oct13:40
The offer is signed here, by our own signing engine
Nadia uploads the letter. The page finds where signatures are expected and proposes the boxes; she checks them and sends. Maya reads it on a page of its own, consents to sign electronically, and signs. Northwind counter-signs. No signing vendor ever holds the letter — or the salary in it.
Northwind LabsUploads the letter, confirms the signature boxes the system proposes, and counter-signs after the candidate.
Maya OkaforSigns as herself: the signature belongs to her signed-in session, not to whoever opened an emailed link.
The ruleEvery step is appended to a record sealed with a SHA-256 hash chain, with a certificate page for the finished document. Detection proposes; a person commits.
- Mon 02 NovDay one
Hired — and the record does not restart
Passing the offer round is the hire: there is no separate form to fill in. An employee record is filed with the rounds she sat, who interviewed her and the letter both sides signed. On Monday she opens the desktop app, and her first recorded hour joins the profile that got her found.
Northwind LabsGets an employee record that answers, two years on, why this person was hired and who spoke to them.
Maya OkaforBecomes a member of the workspace. The work she does from here is recorded, and adds to her own profile.
The ruleThe employee record outlives the job. When somebody leaves, the membership ends and the record stays.
