If you're applying to more than five jobs, you need a system. If you're applying to twenty or more, you needed it yesterday.
I use Excel, but Google Sheets or Notion or a plain doc works too. What matters is that you have **one single place** where you track what you've applied to and what happened.
**Here's the minimum set of columns:**
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Date Applied | When you sent the application |
| Company | Company name |
| Role | Exact job title |
| Source | Where you found it (LinkedIn, referral, company site, etc.) |
| Resume Version | Which tailored version of your resume you sent |
| Status | Applied / Following up / Interview / Rejected / Offered / Ghosted |
| Follow-up Date | When you plan to follow up, if at all |
| Contact | Recruiter or hiring manager name + email, if you have them |
| Notes | Anything useful (weird interview question, salary mentioned, etc.) |
**Why this matters:**
- You'll know when it's time to follow up without having to remember.
- You'll know if the same company keeps posting and ghosting everyone.
- You'll know which resume version you sent, so the interview conversation matches what's on the page.
- You'll know what your own stats look like. How many applications to get an interview, how many interviews to get an offer.
That last part is underrated. If you've sent 50 applications and gotten 0 interviews, that tells you something specific (your resume or your targeting is off). If you've sent 50 applications and gotten 10 interviews but 0 offers, that tells you something different (your interview game is the issue). Without data, you're just guessing and feeling bad.
Review the sheet once a week. See what's working. Adjust.
