Free job application tracker spreadsheet (Excel + Google Sheets)

If you’re applying to more than a handful of jobs, you need a job application tracker spreadsheet. Without one, you forget where you applied, which resume you sent, and who you were supposed to follow up with. I made a free job application tracker template you can download below. It’s a normal .xlsx file, so it works as a free job search tracker in Excel and as a Google Sheets job tracker too.

Download the free job application tracker (.xlsx)

No email or sign-up needed. The rest of this post explains what’s in it, what each column is for, when to follow up, and when a spreadsheet stops being enough.

How to open the template in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers

• Excel: open the downloaded file. If Excel shows a “Protected View” bar because the file came from the internet, click Enable Editing.
• Google Sheets: open a blank sheet, go to File > Import > Upload, pick the file, and choose Replace spreadsheet or Insert new sheets. You can also upload it to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets.
• Numbers (Mac): open Numbers, choose File > Open and select the file. Numbers converts it to its own format.

Dropdowns and colour rules are standard spreadsheet features, so they normally survive the import. If something looks off after converting, check the Status column first.

What’s inside the job application tracker template

The workbook has three sheets.

The status dropdown

Every row gets one of eight statuses. Using a fixed list instead of free text is what makes the Summary sheet work, and it lets you filter or sort the Tracker in one click.

• Saved: you found it and plan to apply.
• Applied: submitted, no reply yet.
• Assessment: an online test, take-home or recorded video screen.
• Interview: any live conversation, from a recruiter screen onward.
• Offer: you have an offer.
• Rejected: they said no.
• Ghosted: no reply after you followed up, or after enough time that you’ve stopped expecting one.
• Withdrawn: you pulled out.

What to track in a job search spreadsheet, and why

Every column in the Tracker sheet is there because it answers a question you’ll actually get asked, or one you’ll ask yourself three weeks from now.

The “Red flags checked” column might look odd. It’s there because fake postings and resume-harvesting listings are common enough that a ten-second check is worth building into the habit. I wrote a separate guide on how to spot fake job postings and ghost jobs with the checklist I use.

The “Resume version” column matters most if you change your resume for each role. Name the files so they match the column, for example Resume - Acme - Data Analyst.pdf. If you don’t tailor yet, my guide on how to tailor your resume to a job description explains why it’s worth the effort.

How to use the job application tracker day to day

1. When you find a job worth applying to, add a row and set the status to Saved. Paste the link straight away.
2. When you submit, change it to Applied, fill in the date applied, the resume version and the cover letter column, and set a follow-up date.
3. Every time you hear anything, update the status and the “Last update” date, and write the next step.
4. Once a week, sort by follow-up date. Anything red is overdue: follow up, or move it to Ghosted if you already did.
5. Glance at the Summary sheet. If your response rate is low after a few weeks, the problem is usually the resume or the roles you’re targeting, not the number of applications.

The habit that makes any tracker work is updating it the moment something happens. A tracker you update on Sundays from memory is already wrong by Wednesday.

When should you follow up on a job application?

There’s no official rule, and employers vary a lot. These are reasonable defaults, and the follow-up date column is there so you don’t have to remember them:

• After applying: about one to two weeks, and only if you have a person to contact (a recruiter on LinkedIn, a referral, a name on the posting). Messaging a generic careers inbox rarely does anything.
• After an interview: send a short thank-you within a day. If they gave you a decision date, follow up the day after it passes. If they didn’t, about a week is fine.
• After an assessment: if a week goes by with no news, a short check-in with the recruiter is reasonable.
• After one follow-up with no reply: one more a week or so later at most, then mark it Ghosted and move on.

Keep follow-ups short: the role, when you applied or interviewed, one line on why you’re still interested, and a question they can answer quickly. For Workday applications, the portal status can help you decide whether to bother; see what each Workday application status means.

How the Summary sheet calculates your response rate

The Summary sheet counts how many rows are in each status, the total number of applications, and two rates. Both are worked out from the applications you actually sent, so jobs still marked Saved don’t drag them down:

• Response rate: the share of applications that got any reply at all, good or bad. A rejection still counts as a response, because it means a person or a system looked at it.
• Interview rate: the share of applications that reached an interview or further.

These two numbers tell you different things. A low response rate usually points at the resume, the match between you and the roles, or where you’re applying. A decent response rate but a low interview rate often points at assessments or screening answers. I won’t give you a “normal” benchmark, because it varies hugely by field, seniority and market, and most figures you see online aren’t from reliable data. Compare yourself with your own numbers from last month instead.

Job tracker spreadsheet vs a job application tracker app

A spreadsheet is a great place to start. It’s free, it’s yours, and you can add any column you like. It does have limits once you’re applying at volume.

The main weakness of a spreadsheet is that it stores rows, not applications. The posting disappears, the resume file gets renamed, and the row says “Resume v3” with no way to see what v3 actually said.

Tips for keeping a job hunt tracker useful

• Freeze the header row so the column names stay visible when you scroll. (In Excel and Sheets: View > Freeze.)
• Use a filter on the Status column to hide Rejected and Withdrawn rows when you’re working through follow-ups.
• Don’t delete rejected rows. They’re what makes your response rate honest, and you might apply to that company again.
• Keep one row per application, not per company. Two roles at the same company are two rows.
• Put Workday requisition numbers in Notes. Each Workday employer has its own account, and the requisition number is the fastest way to find your application again. More on that in why every Workday application makes you create an account.
• Back it up. If it lives only in your Downloads folder, put a copy in cloud storage.

Download the free job application tracker spreadsheet

It’s one .xlsx file with the Tracker, Summary and How to use sheets. Open it in Excel, import it into Google Sheets with File > Import, or open it in Numbers.

Download the job application tracker template (.xlsx)