Download and open
Download the template: /templates/job-application-tracker-template.csv. In Google Sheets choose File, Import, Upload and pick the file (leave "Convert text to numbers, dates and formulas" on). In Excel, File, Open works directly; save as .xlsx afterwards so formatting sticks. In Numbers, drag the file onto the app. Delete the two example rows once you have seen how the columns are meant to be used.
How to use the columns
Status should be one of a short fixed list - Saved, Applied, Interview, Offer, Rejected, Ghosted - so you can filter on it; free text here is what kills a tracker. Follow-up date is the column that pays for the sheet: set it to a week or two after applying and sort by it every morning. Contact is the recruiter or hiring manager's name and role, not their life story. Next step is a single sentence. Notes is for everything else - which CV version you sent, who referred you, what the phone screen covered.
Why templates get abandoned around week three
Every application costs a second task: switch tabs, copy the title, copy the company, paste the link, type the date. Small per application, enormous across a hundred, and it lands when motivation is lowest. The sheet goes stale, and a stale tracker is worse than none - it makes you think you have a system while follow-ups quietly expire. If you notice that happening, the fix is not a better template.
When to stop using the template
When you are applying to more than a couple of jobs a week, or when you catch yourself not updating the sheet. Apptracka is free for unlimited tracking and its browser extension records an application the moment you submit it on LinkedIn, Indeed, Greenhouse, Workday and 40+ boards - the same columns, filled in for you, plus reminders, a timeline per job and AI tools that read your CV. Your data leaves as CSV whenever you want it back in a sheet.
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Frequently asked questions
Is the template free?
Yes. It is a plain CSV file with no sign-up, no tracking and nothing embedded.
Does it work in Google Sheets?
Yes - File, Import, Upload. Excel and Apple Numbers open it directly.
Can I import the sheet into Apptracka later?
Yes - that is what the CSV import is for. Fill this template in for as long as it suits you, then upload the file from the Applications page and every row becomes a tracked application. Nothing is written until you have seen the preview.