Job application tracker template
A free spreadsheet for keeping track of your applications: download the CSV and open it in Google Sheets, Excel or Numbers.
Ghosted editorialPublished 10 min read
On this page
- Download the tracker
- What each column is for
- Four questions the columns answer
- What it looks like filled in
- Six words, one meaning each
- Open it in Google Sheets, Excel or Numbers
- Keep it up to date
- What the sheet tells you after a month
- Mistakes that break a tracker sheet
- When a board is easier
- Questions people ask about the tracker template
The file
Download the tracker
It's a plain CSV file, not an Excel or Google Sheets file, so it opens anywhere. Once it's open, save it in your spreadsheet's own format so the filters and formatting you add are kept.
No sign-up and no email address. The file is yours: keep it on your computer or in your own Google Drive, and change anything you like.
Blank, or with examples
The blank file has the headings only. The example copy has 5 made-up rows, so you can see how each column is filled in. Start your own search in the blank one.
The columns
What each column is for
- Company. As the posting names it.
- Role. The job title from the posting.
- Link. The posting's address. Postings get taken down, so keep a copy of the description too.
- Status. One word from a short list: Saved, Applied, Interviewing, Offer, Rejected, Ghosted.
- Applied date. The day you sent it, year first (2026-10-14). Empty until you apply.
- Next step. What happens next, even if it's "Wait" or "None".
- Next step date. When it's due. Sort by this column to see what needs doing this week.
- Contact. The recruiter or hiring manager, and how to reach them.
- CV sent. Which version of your CV went out, so you can tell later what's working.
- Where you found it. LinkedIn, a referral, the company's site: over time it shows which sources lead to replies.
- Notes. Salary range, who referred you, what they said on a call.
11 columns can look like a lot. Company, Role, Status, Next step and Next step date are the ones to fill in on every row, and Applied date once you've applied. The rest are there for when you need them.
Delete what you won't use
If you'll never fill a column in, delete it. A short sheet you keep up beats a long one you don't. Leave the headings you keep as they are, so Ghosted's import still recognises them.
Why these columns
Four questions the columns answer
Each column is there because, at some point in a search, you'll need an answer you won't remember.
What is it?
Company, Role and Link. Enough to find the posting again, or your copy of it, when they call.
Where does it stand?
Status and Applied date. Together they say how long you've been waiting, which is what every follow-up is timed from.
What happens next?
Next step and Next step date. Sort by the date and the sheet becomes this week's to-do list.
What's working?
Contact, CV sent, Where you found it and Notes. After a month they show which sources and which CV get replies.
40%
of referred candidates went from application to interview in Ashby's data for 2021 to 2024, against 3% of people who applied on their own. Where you found it shows how your own sources compare.
Filled in
What it looks like filled in
Here's part of the copy with example rows. The companies, people and dates are made up.
| Company | Role | Status | Applied date | Next step | Next step date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernhill Studio | Product Designer | Interviewing | 2026-10-14 | Second interview | 2026-11-04 |
| Marlpit Labs | UX Designer | Applied | 2026-10-16 | Follow up | 2026-10-30 |
| Quayside Health | Designer | Applied | 2026-10-20 | Wait: they'll reply by then | 2026-11-06 |
| Coldharbour Apps | Product Designer | Ghosted | 2026-10-08 | None | |
| Tallowbrook Bank | Design Systems Designer | Saved | Apply | 2026-11-01 |
Every row has a next step, even when the step is to wait. Sort by Next step date and the top of the sheet is what to do this week.
Read down the rows and the week plans itself: Marlpit needs a follow-up on 30 October, Tallowbrook needs applying to before it closes on 1 November, and Fernhill's second interview is on 4 November. Quayside gave a date of its own, so it waits. Coldharbour is finished, but stays on the sheet.
Status
Six words, one meaning each
The Status column takes one of six words. They're the columns of a Ghosted board, so each row lands in the column of the same name if you import the file later.
| Status | Means | Usual next step |
|---|---|---|
| Saved | You want to apply but haven't yet | Apply, before it closes |
| Applied | You sent it and you're waiting | Follow up, or wait for their date |
| Interviewing | You're talking to them, from the first call to the last round | The next interview, or their decision |
| Offer | They've made you an offer | Your answer, by their deadline |
| Rejected | They said no | None |
| Ghosted | No reply for a long time. A Ghosted board moves a card here after 14 quiet days | None, unless they write back |
"Phone screen" and "Second round" are Interviewing; write the detail in Next step. A drop-down stops new words creeping in, and the setup is below.
18–22%
of the jobs posted on Greenhouse's platform in any given quarter are ones Greenhouse classifies as ghost jobs. A date on every row shows which applications have gone quiet, whatever the reason.
Source: Greenhouse, press release on its own platform data, December 2024
Set it up
Open it in Google Sheets, Excel or Numbers
- Google Sheets: open a new spreadsheet, choose File → Import → Upload, and pick the file.
- Excel: open the file. If everything lands in one column, your computer expects semicolons between values (common in Europe). Open a blank workbook instead and choose Data → From Text/CSV, which reads the commas.
- Numbers: open the file with File → Open.
Two minutes of setup help: freeze the top row so the headings stay in view, and make Status a drop-down so every row uses the same words. Both Google Sheets and Excel have it under Data → Data validation.
- Sort by Next step date. Google Sheets: Data → Sort range. Excel: Data → Sort. Do it at the start of each weekly review.
- Turn on filters. Google Sheets: Data → Create a filter. Excel: Data → Filter. Then you can hide the rejected and ghosted rows while you work, without deleting them.
- Make overdue dates stand out. In Google Sheets, select the Next step date column, choose Format → Conditional formatting, then "Date is before" and "today". In Excel, select the column from G2 down (G is Next step date in the file as it downloads), then Home → Conditional Formatting → New Rule, and use the formula =AND(G2<>"",G2<TODAY()) so empty dates stay plain.
Habits
Keep it up to date
- One meaning per status. Applied means you're waiting; Interviewing means you're talking to them. If you need a new word, you probably need a note instead.
- A next step on every row. Write "Wait" or "None" rather than leaving it empty. Then an empty cell is one you still have to decide on.
- Dates year first (2026-10-14), so sorting works and every app reads them the same way.
- Fifteen minutes a week to update it from your inbox and calendar. Here's a simple weekly routine.
- Once a month, count how many applications got a reply. Here's how to work out your response rate.
After a month
What the sheet tells you after a month
Kept up for a few weeks, the sheet starts answering bigger questions than "what's next?"
Which sources get replies
Filter by Where you found it and count the replies for each. If referrals get answers and one job board never does, spend your time accordingly. Here's how to see which job boards get you interviews.
Which CV works
Do the same with CV sent. Two versions sent to similar roles are a small, real experiment.
How long they take
The gap between Applied date and the first reply tells you when to follow up next time, better than any rule of thumb.
How much is still open
Count the rows that say Applied or Interviewing. If it's only a couple, send more. If you can't keep up with the follow-ups, send fewer and better ones.
Count over a month rather than a week. With a handful of rows, one reply more or less changes the picture.
Mistakes
Mistakes that break a tracker sheet
Dates typed as words
"14 Oct" may sort as text, and other apps can read it differently. Year first (2026-10-14) sorts the same everywhere.
A new status word every week
"Phone screen", "Waiting", "Maybe". Each one splits your count. Use the six, and put the detail in Next step or Notes.
One row for two roles
Applying for two jobs at the same company? Give each its own row. They move at different speeds.
Starting in the example file
The example copy is for reading. Start your search in the blank file, so made-up rows never end up in your counts.
Keeping it as a CSV
A CSV holds only text. Save it in your spreadsheet's own format, or your drop-down and colours are gone the next time you open it.
Updating it once a month
By then you've forgotten who replied and when. A row takes a minute when it happens, and much longer from memory.
When it outgrows the sheet
When a board is easier
A spreadsheet works well while you can keep it up by hand. It gets harder once replies arrive by email and each one has to be copied in, or when you want to see at a glance which applications have gone quiet.
Ghosted can import this file. Company, Role, Link, Status, Applied date, Where you found it and Notes come across, each status goes to the column of the same name, and you see what every row will do before anything is added. Next step, Contact and CV sent stay in your sheet.
Rows already on your board are skipped, so importing an updated copy of the sheet won't add them twice.
Questions
Questions people ask about the tracker template
Is the tracker free?
Yes. Download the CSV with no sign-up and no email address. It's yours to change.
Why is it a CSV and not an Excel or Google Sheets file?
A CSV opens in every spreadsheet app, on any computer. Once it's open, save it in your app's own format so filters, drop-downs and colours are kept.
Can I add or remove columns?
Yes. Delete what you won't use and add what you need, such as salary. If you import into Ghosted later, the import guesses which column is which from the headings, and you can change its guess before anything is added.
Everything opens in one column. What's wrong?
Your computer expects semicolons between values, which is common in Europe. In Excel, open a blank workbook and use Data → From Text/CSV instead; it reads the commas.
Should I add jobs I haven't applied to yet?
Yes, as Saved, with the closing date as the next step. That keeps the ones you mean to apply to from slipping past their deadline, and it's where next week's applications come from.
Can I use it on my phone?
Yes, once it's saved in Google Sheets, Excel or Numbers: all three have phone apps. Adding the row as you apply, wherever you are, is what keeps the sheet complete.
How do I move my tracker into Ghosted?
On your board, open Add job and choose Import it, under "Tracking jobs in a spreadsheet?". Pick the file, check which column is which, and see what each row will do before anything is added.
How often should I update it?
When something happens, one row at a time, and once a week to catch what slipped through. Here's a 15-minute weekly routine.
Your next move, on the board
Bring your tracker onto a board.
Import the CSV and each row becomes a card, in the column for its status.