Job Application Tracker in Google Sheets: Step-by-Step Build

A job application tracker in Google Sheets is one sheet with a header row, a status dropdown, a days-since-applied formula and a few colour rules. You can build the whole thing in one sitting, with no add-ons. This page gives each step with the menu path and the formula to paste.

If you want the full list of fields first, the job application tracker hub lays them out. If you are still deciding what to log, read the method for tracking job applications. This page only covers building the Google Sheets version. It is not affiliated with Google, and "Google Sheets" is used here only to name the product.

You need a Google account and a blank spreadsheet. The steps below follow Google's own help pages (linked in each step and listed under Sources), as read on 2026-11-12. If a menu looks different on your screen, follow the link in that step.

Step 1: Create the sheet and the header row

Open a new spreadsheet and name it, for example, "Job search". Paste this line into cell A1. If the whole line lands in one cell, type the ten headings across A1 to J1 instead.

Company, Role, Link, Date applied, Source, Contact, Status, Next action, Next action date, Notes

Then type Days since applied in K1. That makes eleven columns, A to K. The rest of the page assumes these letters: Date applied is D, Status is G, Next action date is I.

Add a row of example data in row 2 so you can see each step work. The row below is an example, not a real application.

Step 2: Freeze the header row

Click row 1, open the View menu, choose Freeze, and select how many rows to freeze: one. The header now stays visible when you scroll down a long list. Google describes this in Freeze, group, hide, or merge rows & columns.

Step 3: Add a Status dropdown

Select G2:G1000. Go to Data > Data validation > Add rule. In the panel that opens, under "Criteria", choose Dropdown, and enter one value per item, using "Add another item" for each new one:

To apply
Applied
Interview
Offer
Rejected
No reply

Click Done. Each cell in the column now offers the six values. Google's page, Create an in-cell dropdown list, also lists Insert > Dropdown and the right-click Dropdown option as ways to reach the same rule. If you sometimes need a status that is not on the list, open "Advanced options" in the rule and, under "If the data is invalid:", select "Show a warning".

Step 4: Set the date format

Select column D and column I, open Format > Number, and choose Custom date and time to pick a date layout. Google notes that the options shown depend on your spreadsheet's locale (Format numbers in a spreadsheet). For a US sheet, a month/day/year layout matches how most people type dates. Dates entered in these columns must be real dates, not text, or the formulas in steps 5 and 6 will not work.

Step 5: Calculate days since applied

In K2, enter this formula:

=IF(D2="","",TODAY()-D2)

TODAY() returns the current date with no time component, as of the last time the spreadsheet was recalculated (TODAY). IF takes a test, a value if true and a value if false (IF function). Here the test is "Date applied is empty": when it is, K2 shows nothing, so blank rows do not fill with large numbers.

To fill the formula down, select K2, then drag the small blue box in the lower right corner of the cell down the column (Automatically create a series or list describes that drag for series). Click K3 afterwards and check that its formula reads D3, not D2. If the result shows up as a date instead of a number, select the column and choose a plain number layout under Format > Number.

Step 6: Colour rows with conditional formatting

Select A2:K1000, open Format > Conditional formatting, and a toolbar opens on the right. Under "Format cells if", choose Custom formula is, type the formula in "Value or formula", pick a formatting style, and click Done (Use conditional formatting rules in Google Sheets). That page's own example colours a whole row from one cell by locking the column with a dollar sign, as in =$B1="Yes", written for the first row of the range.

Add the rules in this order. Google evaluates them in the order listed, and the first rule that is true sets the format (same page).

Highlight a follow-up that is due. Apply it to A2:K1000 (or only to I2:I1000 if you want one cell lit):

=AND($I2<>"",$I2<=TODAY(),$G2<>"Rejected",$G2<>"No reply")

This is true when Next action date is filled in, is today or earlier, and the status is neither Rejected nor No reply. Choose a bright fill.

Grey out rejected rows:

=$G2="Rejected"

Colour offers:

=$G2="Offer"

Each formula is written for row 2. Sheets applies it to the rest of the range, row by row.

Step 7: Filter out closed applications

Select the header row and the data, then go to Data > Create a filter. Click the filter control at the top of the Status column, and under "Filter by values" uncheck Rejected and No reply, then click OK. Those rows are hidden, not deleted. Remove the filter with Data > Remove filter. The steps are on Google's Sort & filter your data page.

If you share the sheet or want a saved view, use Data > Create filter view instead, set the same filter, and click Save View at the top right. The same page says only one filter view applies at a time.

Step 8: Count applications per status

Create a small summary to the right of the table. In M1 type Status and in N1 type Count. Put the six status names in M2:M7, in the same spelling as the dropdown. In N2, enter:

=COUNTIF($G$2:$G$1000,M2)

COUNTIF(range, criterion) returns a conditional count across a range, and matching is not case-sensitive (COUNTIF). Fill N2 down to N7 with the blue box, as in step 5. The dollar signs keep the range fixed while M2 moves to M3, M4 and so on. To count one status directly without the summary table, use =COUNTIF(G2:G1000,"Interview").

Step 9: Share the sheet and make a copy

Keep the sheet private unless someone needs to see it. To share it, click Share, enter the person's email address, choose Viewer, Commenter or Editor, and click Send or Share (Share and manage access to files and folders in Google Drive). Do not use Editor for someone who only needs to read it.

To keep a clean master, open the file and choose File > Make a copy, then enter a name and a save location (Create, view, or download a file). Keep one empty copy as your template and use another for each new job search. If you would rather work in a desktop spreadsheet, the same layout is covered in the Excel version of this tracker.

Common mistakes

• Dates stored as text. If K2 shows an error after you enter a date, the date in column D is probably text. Retype it in the layout your sheet uses.
• Status spelled differently from the summary. The count only matches the exact words. Use the dropdown instead of typing.
• Forgetting the dollar sign in a row-colouring formula. Without $ before the column letter, the colour applies to one cell instead of the whole row. Compare it with the =$B1="Yes" pattern on Google's conditional formatting page.
• Rule order. A closed application with an old Next action date can be coloured by the follow-up rule if that rule is above the grey one and does not exclude closed statuses. The formula in step 6 excludes Rejected and No reply.
• Untested formulas. The formulas on this page were written from Google's documented syntax and were not run in your sheet. Enter a test row and check each result before relying on it.

Sources

All pages read on 2026-11-12.

• Google Docs Editors Help, Freeze, group, hide, or merge rows & columns
• Google Docs Editors Help, Create an in-cell dropdown list
• Google Docs Editors Help, Format numbers in a spreadsheet
• Google Docs Editors Help, TODAY
• Google Docs Editors Help, IF function
• Google Docs Editors Help, Automatically create a series or list
• Google Docs Editors Help, Use conditional formatting rules in Google Sheets
• Google Docs Editors Help, Sort & filter your data
• Google Docs Editors Help, COUNTIF
• Google Drive Help, Share and manage access to files and folders in Google Drive
• Google Docs Editors Help, Create, view, or download a file

Disclosure

trackyourjobsearch.com is published by the makers of AIHawk, a job application tool. The About page gives details.

Last verified: 2026-11-12