Company Collaboration

Secure, auditable company-to-company collaboration system for establishing business relationships, sharing resources, and managing cross-company permissions.

Core Capabilities

Connection Management -- Formal establishment of business relationships between companies
Partner Onboarding -- Collaborating partner invitations with default role assignment
Invitation Type Discrimination -- Clear distinction between collaborator invitations and connection requests
Bidirectional Relationships -- Company connections visible to both parties
Audit Compliance -- Complete traceability of all resource sharing activities
Communication Control -- Granular notification preferences for collaboration events

For the detailed source-reviewed rulebook, see Collaborators, Partners, and Other Collaborations.

Connection Request Workflow

Connection requests use token-based acceptance for email-based workflows:

Company A sends request  -->  Token generated + email sent to Company B
                                      |
Company B clicks accept link  -->  Token validated  -->  Relationship created
                                      |                   (bidirectional)
                              (or)  Token expired / declined

Admin Approval Required

Only company administrators (Company Admin or Super Admin roles) can accept connection requests. Non-admin users who click the accept link receive a ForbiddenException. This ensures connection approval follows proper authorization channels.

Database Model

model CompanyConnectionRequest {
  id                String                   @id @default(uuid())
  fromCompanyId     String                   @db.Uuid
  toCompanyEmail    String
  toCompanyId       String?                  @db.Uuid
  relationshipType  RelationshipType
  requestedById     String                   @db.Uuid
  approvedById      String?                  @db.Uuid
  token             String                   @unique
  status            ConnectionRequestStatus  @default(PENDING)
  message           String?
  responseMessage   String?
  expiresAt         DateTime
  // ... timestamps

  @@unique([fromCompanyId, toCompanyEmail, relationshipType])
}

info

The @@unique constraint on [fromCompanyId, toCompanyEmail, relationshipType] prevents duplicate requests of the same type to the same recipient.

Key GraphQL Operations

# Send a connection request
mutation CreateConnectionRequest($input: CreateConnectionRequestInput!) {
  createCompanyConnectionRequest(input: $input) {
    id
    status
    token
    expiresAt
    fromCompany { id name }
  }
}

# Accept via token (requires authentication and target-company admin role)
mutation AcceptConnection($token: String!) {
  acceptCompanyConnectionRequest(token: $token) {
    id
    status
    approvedAt
  }
}

# Accept from dashboard (by request ID)
mutation AcceptById($id: ID!) {
  acceptCompanyConnectionRequestById(id: $id) {
    id
    status
    approvedAt
  }
}

Bidirectional Relationships

When a connection request is accepted, CompanyRelationship records are created in both directions (A→B and B→A), ensuring both companies see the relationship in their connections list.

Query Connected Companies

query {
  companyRelationshipsByCompany(
    companyId: "company-uuid"
    filter: { relationshipType: PARTNERSHIP }
  ) {
    id
    fromCompanyId
    toCompanyId
    relationshipType
    fromCompany { id companyName }
    toCompany { id companyName }
    createdAt
  }
}

Collaborating Partner Invitations

When inviting a contact as a collaborating partner, the system:

Creates the collaboration invitation
Defaults the role to "External Sales" if no role is specified
Sends an invitation email to the partner

When the partner accepts the invitation:

A collaborator record is created with the assigned role
A contact record is automatically created in the inviting company's contact directory (via the ContactAutoCreateListener)

Accepting Without a Company

The acceptCollaborationInvitation mutation treats selectedCompanyId as optional — invitees who don't yet have a company on AIQLick (e.g. a brand-new user invited as a Client/Partner contact) can accept without linking a company. The collaborator record is created with selectedCompanyId: null and status: ACTIVE, and the invitee can link a company later from their dashboard once they create one.

input AcceptCollaborationInvitationInput {
  token: String!
  selectedCompanyId: ID  # nullable — omit if the invitee has no company yet
}

The /message/accept page in the frontend shows a friendly note when the invitee has no companies, instead of blocking acceptance:

You don't have a company on AiQlick yet. You can still accept this invitation now and link a company later from your dashboard.

Invitation Type Discrimination

All invitation and connection request outputs include an invitationType field to help the frontend route to the correct UI:

Type	Description
`COLLABORATOR`	Collaborating partner invitation
`CONNECTION_REQUEST`	Company-to-company connection request

This field is also included in notification metadata for invitation events.

When companies share jobs, three permission levels control access:

Permission	View Job	View Candidates	Add Candidates	Manage Pipeline
`READ_ONLY`	Yes	--	--	--
`CANDIDATE_ONLY`	Yes	Yes	Yes	--
`FULL_ACCESS`	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Jobs have three company role fields that define relationships:

ownerCompanyId -- The company that created the job
hiringCompanyId -- The company that is hiring (may differ from owner)
supplierCompanyId -- An external recruiter or staffing agency

Audit Logging

Every share operation is logged through CompanyShareAuditService. The base class pattern ensures all sharing services inherit consistent audit behavior:

abstract class CompanyShareBaseService {
  protected async logShareAction(params: {
    resourceType: ResourceType;      // JOB, TALENT, PIPELINE, etc.
    resourceId: string;
    actionType: ShareActionType;     // SHARED, REVOKED, PERMISSION_CHANGED
    fromCompanyId: string;
    toCompanyId: string;
    performedById: string;
    permissionLevel?: AccessPermission;
    previousPermission?: AccessPermission;
    metadata?: any;
  }) {
    return this.auditService.logShare(params);
  }
}

Querying Audit Logs

query GetShareAuditLogs($filter: CompanyShareAuditFilterInput) {
  companyShareAuditLogs(filter: $filter) {
    id
    resourceType
    actionType
    permissionLevel
    previousPermission
    createdAt
    fromCompany { id name }
    toCompany { id name }
    performedBy { id firstName lastName }
  }
}

query GetAuditStatistics($companyId: ID!) {
  companyShareAuditStatistics(companyId: $companyId) {
    totalShares
    activeShares
    revokedShares
    byResourceType { resourceType count }
  }
}

Collaboration Events

Nine collaboration events trigger notifications via CollaborationNotificationListener:

Event	Trigger	Notification
`talent.shared`	Talent(s) shared with user or company	Recipient notified with sharer name and talent details
`talent.unshared`	Talent share revoked	Affected users notified
`invitation.received`	Company invitation sent	Invitee receives email + in-app notification
`invitation.accepted`	Invitation accepted	Inviter notified; contact auto-created
`invitation.declined`	Invitation declined	Inviter notified
`connection.request.received`	Company connection request sent	Target company admins notified
`connection.request.accepted`	Connection request accepted	Requester company notified
`permission.changed`	User role/permission changed	Affected user notified with old and new role
`resource.shared`	Generic resource shared	Recipients notified

// Example: emitting a connection request event
this.eventEmitter.emit('connection.request.received', {
  requestId: request.id,
  requesterCompanyId: fromCompany.id,
  targetCompanyId: toCompany.id,
  requestMessage: input.message,
});

Security

All collaboration resolvers require authentication via @UseGuards(JwtAuthGuard). Key security measures:

Admin-only acceptance -- Connection request acceptance requires Company Admin or Super Admin role
Token-based acceptance -- Connection requests use cryptographically secure tokens for email-based workflows
Company context validation -- Guards verify the user belongs to the relevant company before allowing operations
Plan limit enforcement -- @CheckPlanLimit('maxCollaborationInvites') restricts invitations based on subscription tier
Bidirectional duplicate checking -- Connection requests check both directions (A→B and B→A) before allowing new requests
Audit trail -- All share and permission change operations are logged with performer identity and timestamps

warning

Connection request tokens have an expiration date. Expired tokens cannot be used to accept requests. The unique constraint [fromCompanyId, toCompanyEmail, relationshipType] prevents duplicate pending requests.

Related entities (fromCompany, toCompany, performedBy) on audit logs and connection requests are loaded via GraphQL field resolvers, keeping queries efficient by only loading relations when explicitly requested by the client.

Job Seeker Profile Invitations

Job seekers can invite employers to view their profile. The flow:

When an employer accepts:

A Talent record is created with source: INVITED
The talent is assigned to the company's Default talent pool (created automatically if it doesn't exist)
The job seeker's active CV is linked to the talent record
A confirmation email is sent to the job seeker

info

Invited talents are immediately visible on the company's talents page. When they become candidates, they receive automatic email notifications for pipeline status changes and interview events — non-invited candidates do not.

Collaborators, Partners, and Other Collaborations -- Detailed rules for collaborator invitations, partner connections, shares, audit logs, and job seeker profile invitations
Contact Management — Contact directory with notes, import, merge, and sharing
Interview Scheduling — Interview prep notifications for candidates
Talent Management — Talent sources and pool management
Candidate Management — Candidate notification rules and manual notifications

Core Capabilities​

Connection Request Workflow​

Database Model​

Key GraphQL Operations​

Bidirectional Relationships​

Query Connected Companies​

Collaborating Partner Invitations​

Accepting Without a Company​

Invitation Type Discrimination​

Job Sharing Permissions​

Audit Logging​

Querying Audit Logs​

Collaboration Events​

Security​

Job Seeker Profile Invitations​

Related​