Keep one tracker of every job application, filled from your inbox, with a flag and a follow-up draft for anything silent after 7 days.
Who it is for
Job seekers with dozens of applications out who lose track of who replied and when to follow up.
Tools
Claude or ChatGPT
Excel or Google Sheets
Your inbox, through a connector or by pasting confirmation emails
Steps
Ask the AI to build the tracker with the prompt below. Anthropic says Claude can create Excel files with working formulas.
Fill it from application confirmation emails. With a Gmail connector the AI can search them; otherwise paste them in.
Check each row against the email; fix company names and dates.
Each morning, filter for FOLLOW UP. Draft a two-line follow-up for each and send it yourself.
Update status as replies arrive: Replied, Interview, Rejected, Offer.
Each Friday, ask for the digest: sent, replies, interviews, and which resume version got replies.
The prompt
Build a job application tracker (Excel) with one row per application:
Company | Role | Date applied | Contact | Resume version | Status (Applied, Replied, Interview, Rejected, Offer) | Last contact | Action
Rules:
- Action shows FOLLOW UP when Status is Applied and Last contact is 7 or more days ago.
- A summary at the top: applied this week, replies, interviews, reply rate by resume version.
- Then fill rows only from these emails, and leave a cell blank if the email does not say: [PASTE CONFIRMATION EMAILS]
Do not invent companies, dates or contacts.
Tips
Log the resume version; after 20 applications it shows which one works.
Three replies is luck, not a pattern. Wait for more data before changing everything.