How to track job applications (with a simple spreadsheet)

Why tracking matters more than it seems

Once you pass about a dozen applications, memory stops working. Recruiters call about a role you applied to three weeks ago, and you cannot remember the salary you entered or which version of your résumé they have. You apply twice to the same company by accident. You forget to follow up on the application you cared about most.

A tracker fixes all three. It is not about productivity for its own sake. It means that when someone replies, you can answer within a minute with the right context, and that you can see at a glance which parts of your search are working.

What to record for every application

Record these at the moment you submit, not later. It takes under a minute when the posting is still open in front of you, and it is very hard to reconstruct once the posting is taken down.

1. Company and role title, exactly as the posting wrote it.
2. Link to the posting, plus a saved copy of the description, since postings are often removed once they close.
3. Date applied.
4. Where you applied: the company's careers site, a job board, a referral or a recruiter.
5. Résumé version you used, by file name.
6. Answers that matter later: salary expectation, notice period, sponsorship answer.
7. Contact, if you have one: recruiter name, referrer or hiring manager.
8. Status, from a short fixed list (see below).
9. Next action and its date, such as "follow up on 24 October".
10. Notes: anything that came up in calls or emails.

Salary and sponsorship answers are worth recording every time. If a recruiter later asks about pay, you want to stay consistent with what you entered on the form. See salary expectations on application forms.

A simple spreadsheet layout

Any spreadsheet tool works. Create one row per application and these columns. Freeze the header row, and sort by the follow-up date column when you review.

Resist the urge to add twenty columns. A tracker you keep up to date with ten columns is far more useful than a detailed one you abandon after a week.

Which statuses should you use?

Use a short, fixed list so you can filter and count. Free-text statuses like "waiting, maybe" make the sheet impossible to scan. A list like this covers most searches:

Do not delete rejected or closed rows. They stop you reapplying to the same posting and, over time, show which kinds of roles respond to you.

Setting follow-up dates that you will actually use

The follow-up column is what turns a log into a system. Each time you change a status, set the next date at the same time.

• After applying: a date about one to two weeks out, if you have a contact you could reasonably email.
• After an interview: a thank-you the same or next day, then a check-in date a few working days after the timeline they gave you.
• After a follow-up with no reply: one more date, then mark the row Closed.

Every few days, sort by the date column and work through anything due. For what to actually say in those messages, see how to follow up after applying.

Why keeping what you submitted matters

A row in a spreadsheet tells you that you applied. It does not tell you what you said. That gap matters when a recruiter phones and asks about your answer to "Why do you want to work here?", or when an interviewer refers to a line in the version of your résumé you have since changed.

So keep a receipt for each application: the résumé file you sent, the cover letter if there was one, and the answers you typed into custom questions. A simple way is a folder per company holding those files, plus a screenshot or copy of the free-text answers before you click submit.

What a receipt helps you do

• Prepare for interviews using the exact résumé and answers the panel has seen.
• Stay consistent on salary, notice period and right-to-work answers.
• Spot a submission that went wrong, such as a missing attachment.
• Learn from patterns: which phrasing or résumé version gets replies.

Reviewing your tracker: what the numbers can tell you

Once a week, filter the sheet and ask a few questions. You do not need charts, just counts.

• How many applications this week, and how many got any response?
• Which source (careers sites, referrals, recruiters) produced interviews?
• Which résumé version appears most often in rows that reached Interview?
• Are there roles where you are consistently rejected without a call? That often points at a mismatch in title or seniority.

If responses are low across the board, the usual causes are targeting and tailoring rather than volume alone. Our guides on how many jobs to apply to and how ATS screening works can help you work out which.

When a spreadsheet stops being enough

A spreadsheet works well up to a point. At higher volumes, the manual part (copying links, saving files, recording answers) starts to take as long as the applying. That is usually when people move to a dedicated tracker or to a tool that records applications as they are submitted.

Applysent keeps one tracker for every application it submits, with the statuses Applied, Viewed, Interview and Offer. Each application has a receipt showing where it was sent, every field that was filled in and what was written for free-text questions, so you do not need to save copies by hand. If a submission fails, the receipt says so and that application is refunded to your balance. You can read more in how to apply to 100 jobs a week or see the process in how it works.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best way to track job applications?

One spreadsheet or tracker, updated the moment you apply, with a fixed list of statuses and a follow-up date on every open row. The best system is the one you keep up to date.

What columns should a job application tracker have?

Company, role, link, date applied, source, résumé version, salary entered, status, next action with date, and notes. That covers almost everything you will need later.

How often should I update my job tracker?

Add each application as you submit it, then review the whole sheet once or twice a week to set follow-ups and close stale rows.

Should I keep rejected applications in my tracker?

Yes. They prevent duplicate applications and help you see which kinds of roles are not responding, which is useful for adjusting your targeting.

How long should I wait before marking an application as closed?

If there is no response after your follow-up and a reasonable wait, mark it Closed. You can always reopen the row if the employer gets in touch later.