Job searching is overwhelming so you need to know how to keep track of job applications. The worst thing you can do is bring the wrong resume to the wrong job application!
You also don’t want to forget key pieces of information that you received during the job application process.
You may get special interviewing instructions, important announcements, or messages and it gets very hard to track all of them when you’re applying to hundreds of jobs at a time.
Job hunting isn’t easy and sometimes it takes hundreds of applications to get your foot in the door. At this point, it’s very easy to forget things or lose track of what the status is.
March 2, 2024Use an Excel Spreadsheet
Create an Excel Spreadsheet and keep track of your submittals for job applications.
You should track the following in your Excel Spreadsheet for job applications:
- Date Submitted
- Job application status
- Which resume used
- Job description
- Link of the job that you applied for
- Salary if available
- Any additional information such as hiring manager name
Although it may be a pain to do all of this upfront work to track your job applications, this will be helpful after awhile.
Sometimes job searching takes about hundreds of applications just to even hear back from an interview, so it’s very easy to lose track of all of your job applications submitted.
Doing this will allow you to quickly recall which resume, which job posting, which link, and what the salary of the position was. You can even track other information such as hiring manager name, products, division, etc. that the position is related to.
Use Google Docs
Similar with an Excel Sheet, using google docs is a great way to be able to know how to keep track of job applications.
Create a sheet with the columns:
- Date Submitted
- Job application status
- Which resume used
- Job description
- Link of the job that you applied for
- Salary if available
- Any additional information such as hiring manager name
And the bonus of google docs is that you have the ability to share with your friends or colleagues.
The ability to share a google doc is what makes it very powerful in terms of tracking job applications.
If you’re working with a group of friends, you can all create one big google doc sheet with different tabs.
Through those different tabs, you can track the progress of different friends.
This is one of the reasons why we emphasize that you need to be building a network at all times.
Apply with LinkedIn
LinkedIn has a function where you can search and apply for jobs.
Just merely go to the “Jobs” tab in LinkedIn, and browse which specific jobs you are interested in.
Keep track of the various links such as the job posting on the company website, LinkedIn posting link, job title, compensation, and so on.
As discussed earlier, use a Microsoft Excel Sheet or Google Doc to keep track of jobs that you found on LinkedIn.
It’s also good practice to split tabs in the sheet you’re working with to keep track of which jobs you’ve applied to using different search engines such as LinkedIn, Indeed, Company Websites, etc.
Check out: 8 Tips To Optimize LinkedIn Profile For Recruiters
Apply with Indeed
Indeed is a very commonly used search engine to find jobs.
Although it seems like finding a job through Indeed is impossible, it’s 100% possible provided that you do the work.
That being said, you need to be able to stay organized on how you’re applying to jobs on Indeed.
When you’re applying to jobs on indeed, keep track of:
- Job Title
- Job Posting Link
- Compensation
- Job Description
It’s really important that you keep track of the job description, as later down the line, when you apply to many jobs, it’s hard to keep track.
Keeping the job description will give you a better understanding of the specific skills and experience needed for the position.
It also helps you prepare for interview questions as you move through the application phase.
You can prepare for your job interviews accordingly when you have the job description as the recruiter or hiring manager will ask you relevant questions.
Check out: How to find a job on indeed
Keep a notebook
Either use the notes app in your phone or keep a physical notebook to keep track of your progress day to day.
Use your notebook to take notes on the status of your job application or even how the interviews panned out.
Take notes during your interviews so that you can remember key pieces of information that will be helpful down the line.
You don’t want the recruiter or hiring manager to say something important that you ended up forgetting.
Throughout your notes, make sure you keep track of the date, who you’re corresponding with, and any additional actions that you may need to take.
If you have any actions, make sure you get on them immediately as you don’t want to leave anything off for later. You may forget about important actions you have if you push them off to later.
Have different resumes
If you have the time, tailor your resume to each individual job posting. Make sure you catch as many keywords as possible and tie in your results and accomplishments to that of the job description. We only recommend this if you truly want the position and are willing to carefully craft your resume accordingly. We don’t recommend this approach on a time crunch.
If you’re really busy and don’t have much time, then using a general resume to apply for all the jobs you’re looking for is fine. This is much more time efficient and a better ROI as well.
When you tailor your resume to each individual job opening, it gets very tedious and time wasting.
That time could be better spend applying to other jobs (which could net you a job offer).
Another hidden thing is that when you spend a lot of time applying to one job, you become much more outcome dependent on that job. This is a bad mindset to adopt and will not make you interview as well.
The proper mindset to be applying to a job is outcome independence, which is why we recommend being as time efficient as possible by using a general resume.
Organize job submittals in different folders
As you’re applying to jobs, it’s helpful to save the resume that you applied along with the job description.
You should sort out your job submittals by date in a folder dedicated to job searching.
Doing this will help you quickly recall any specific documentation that you need at any point in the job application phase.
Sort folders by this format: YYYYMMDD Company Name Company Position
Y – Year
M – Month
D – Day
This way, you can keep all of these folders, in one master folder, and you can quickly sort through the folders by the date you applied.
This is also why we recommend keeping track of the date when you apply for jobs.
It’ll be easier to keep track of many different job applications this way.
Organization is key in knowing how to keep track of job applications.
ULTMECHE Career Services
About the author
Kazuyoshi Fujimoto, PE
Founder | Engineering Career Coach | Principal Mechanical Engineer
Kazu oversees all of ultmeche’s engineering services. He provides consulting such as resume reviews, rewrites, mock interviews, and all services career related. Additionally, Kazu performs consulting work regarding Oil & Gas, Automotive, and Aerospace & Defense. Kazu is licensed as a professional engineer in the state of California and has 9+ years of experience in Oil & Gas, Automotive, and Aerospace & Defense.
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