A job search spreadsheet needs seven columns: Company, Role, Link, Date applied, Status, Next step and Notes. That is enough to know what you sent, where it stands and what to do on Monday. Extra columns tend to get skipped after the first few applications.
Why only seven?
A tracker is useful only while it is up to date. Every extra column is one more thing to type after each application, so the sheet falls behind and then you stop opening it. These seven are the same fields the free Job Log tracker uses: company, role, link, date applied, status, next step and notes.
What does each column hold?
| Column | What goes in it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Company | The employer's name | Northwind Labs |
| Role | The title as posted | Operations Analyst |
| Link | The posting URL, so you can reread it before a call | northwind.example/jobs/41 |
| Date applied | The day you sent it, as YYYY-MM-DD | 2026-10-12 |
| Status | One of six words (below) | Applied |
| Next step | The one thing you will do next, with a date | Follow up 2026-10-22 |
| Notes | Names, answers you gave, anything you will want on the phone | Referred by a former coworker |
Write dates as YYYY-MM-DD. They sort correctly, and Google Sheets reads them as real dates when you import a CSV.
Which six statuses should the Status column use?
Keep the list short and the same every time: Applied, Received, Interview, Offer, Rejected, Closed. The Job Log FAQ defines them like this: Applied is sent, Received means they said it arrived, Interview means a call is booked, Offer means you have one, Rejected means they said no, and Closed means you stopped or the role closed.
What does a filled-in sheet look like?
This is an example with made-up companies, as of Monday 2026-10-26. The Next step for anything still waiting is the applied date plus 10 days, because the Job Log FAQ says most replies take 3 to 10 days.
| Company | Role | Link | Date applied | Status | Next step | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwind Labs | Operations Analyst | northwind.example/jobs/41 | 2026-10-12 | Applied | Follow up 2026-10-22 | Referred by a former coworker |
| Fabrikam Health | Data Analyst | fabrikam.example/careers/88 | 2026-10-13 | Received | Follow up 2026-10-23 | Auto-reply only |
| Contoso Freight | Program Coordinator | contoso.example/jobs/12 | 2026-10-14 | Interview | Call 2026-10-28, prep | Recruiter: Dana |
| Tailspin Foods | Business Analyst | tailspin.example/jobs/5 | 2026-10-14 | Rejected | None | Said no by email |
| Adatum Energy | Project Manager | adatum.example/jobs/203 | 2026-10-15 | Applied | Follow up 2026-10-25 | |
| Litware Bank | Reporting Analyst | litware.example/careers/7 | 2026-10-16 | Applied | Follow up 2026-10-26 | Salary range listed |
| Proseware | Product Analyst | proseware.example/jobs/66 | 2026-10-19 | Received | Follow up 2026-10-29 | |
| Wingtip Media | Marketing Ops | wingtip.example/jobs/31 | 2026-10-20 | Applied | Follow up 2026-10-30 | |
| Lucerne Schools | Analyst II | lucerne.example/jobs/9 | 2026-10-21 | Applied | Follow up 2026-10-31 | |
| Margie Travel | Ops Coordinator | margie.example/jobs/4 | 2026-10-22 | Closed | None | Posting removed |
What can you read off it in two minutes?
Sort by Next step and count.
- Ten applications: 5 Applied, 2 Received, 1 Interview, 1 Rejected, 1 Closed (5 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 10).
- Heard something back: Received, Interview and Rejected add up to 4 of 10, or 40%.
- Follow-ups due today or earlier: Northwind Labs (2026-10-22), Fabrikam Health (2026-10-23), Adatum Energy (2026-10-25) and Litware Bank (2026-10-26). That is 4 emails for Monday morning.
What should you leave out?
Salary, contact email, resume version and interview questions all feel useful. Put what you need in Notes, and move it to its own sheet only if you catch yourself searching for it more than once.
Spreadsheet or tracker?
Either works. If you like the sheet, keep it. Job Log is the same seven columns in a browser page: it stores the list on your device, and you can export a CSV for Google Sheets or import the sheet you already have. Columns match by name.
Morrow fills job applications from answers you give once. Your first week is $0, up to 10 real applications. Cancel any time.
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