Google Sheets job tracker template: columns that work (free download)
Sikandar Ali, , 3 min read
A Google Sheets job tracker is the easiest place to start, and for a small search it is enough. The trick is setting it up so it does not turn into a graveyard of half-filled rows by week three. This guide covers the columns that earn their place, a few formulas, and the point at which a sheet stops being the right tool.
You can skip the setup and download our free tracker template, which is a formatted spreadsheet you can open in Google Sheets or Excel.
The columns that matter
Keep it lean. Every column you add is a column you have to keep updating.
| Column | Why it earns its place |
|---|---|
| Company | Sort and search |
| Role | Distinguish two roles at one company |
| Link | Return to the posting after it is taken down |
| Status | Wishlist, Applied, Interviewing, Offer, Rejected |
| Applied date | Spot which applications have gone quiet |
| Next step | The single most useful column |
| Next step date | What needs attention, and when |
| Contact | Recruiter or hiring manager name and email |
| Notes | Salary range, what they said, what you promised |
If you only keep two, keep Status and Next step date. They answer "what do I do today?", which is the whole point.
Setting it up in Google Sheets
Freeze the header row. View, Freeze, 1 row. Otherwise the labels vanish as you scroll.
Use a dropdown for Status. Select the column, Data, Data validation, add a dropdown with your stages. It keeps the values consistent so you can filter.
Color by status. Format, Conditional formatting, and color each status differently. A glance then tells you the shape of your search.
Add a filter. Data, Create a filter. Filter to "Next step date" up to today to see what is due.
Two formulas worth having
Days since you applied, so quiet applications stand out:
=IF(E2="","",TODAY()-E2)
Where E is the Applied date column. Sort this descending and follow up on
anything past a week or two.
A count of applications by status for a summary cell:
=COUNTIF(D:D,"Interviewing")
Where a sheet starts to strain
A spreadsheet is great until it is not. Watch for these signs:
- You have several interview loops running at once and you keep double checking dates in email.
- You missed a follow-up because nothing told you it was due.
- You have more than about thirty active rows and scrolling replaced reading.
- You wish you could just tell an assistant what happened and have the sheet update.
None of those are failures of your sheet. They are the limits of a tool with no calendar, no reminders, and no way to be updated in plain language.
When to move to an app
A purpose-built tracker adds the missing parts. jobwyre keeps the spreadsheet-style control (sort columns, search across company, role, city, work type, and notes) and adds a board, an interview calendar with a subscription feed, reminders before each round, and an MCP server so Claude or ChatGPT can update it. See the honest side-by-side in jobwyre vs Google Sheets, and the wider question in spreadsheet vs app.
If you would rather begin in a sheet, use the free template and move over when you feel the strain.