the store method on the candidate controller for saving users to the Employbl database

CandidateController.php

<?php
//...

class CandidateController extends Controller
{
    // ...

    /**
     * @param Request $request
     * @return \Illuminate\Http\JsonResponse
     */
    public function store(Request $request)
    {
        $request->validate([
            'first_name'         => 'required',
            'last_name'          => 'required',
            'email'              => 'email|required|unique:users',
            'linkedin_url'       => 'required|url',
            'phone_number'       => 'numeric|digits:10|nullable',
            'work_authorization' => 'required',
            'city'               => 'required',
            'state'              => 'required'
        ]);

        $candidate         = new User($request->all());
        $candidate->active = false;
        $candidate->save();

        Mail::to($candidate->email)
            ->send(new CandidateRequestAccessConfirmationEmail($candidate));

        Mail::to('[email protected]')
            ->send(new CandidateInfoEmail($candidate));

        // todo: subscribe them to the newsletter
        // https://github.com/spatie/laravel-newsletter

        return response()->json(
            [
                'message'   => self::$CANDIDATE_SUCCESS_MESSAGE,
                'candidate' => $candidate,
            ]
        );
    }
}

Full tutorial on Laravel authentication here: https://employbl.com/blog/user-approval-laravel-artisan-welcome-email