Staying Organized
Job Application Checklist
A job application is a tool that allows potential employers to learn more about your work experience, skills, background, and education. Because employers will use the application to assess your qualifications—and compare you to other applicants—it's important to make a good impression. You can start by organizing your information in advance, so you know you have everything you need.
The process of applying for a job has changed a lot over the past few years. For example, most applications must be completed online now instead of on paper. There are also many new ways to manage your personal information electronically (either on your computer or mobile device) that will make it much easier to reference.
Storing your information digitally can be a great time saver. It will also make it possible to update your information quickly and easily in the future, as well as print a hard copy whenever you need one. If you have your information saved in a Word or Google document, all you have to do is copy and paste it from one location to another, and you'll be done with your application in no time.
Other Apps and Tools to Help Organize Your Job Search
You need a system to collect the job openings and positions you come across. You need a system to know where you have applied. You need a system to track all your interviews, pending follow-ups, and other appointments. The bottom line is, you need a system for the job hunt.
Whether it’s an app, a spreadsheet, or old-school paper and folders, these job search organization tools will help you be successful in your job hunt.
Huntr (Web): A Kanban Board for Job Searches
The Japanese Kanban technique is a productivity favorite. Huntr is a kanban board app made specifically for job hunting. Kanban is a Japanese recipe for getting things done. It's an organization technique originally developed for Toyota's production line. Make as many lists as you want. Place them in the logical order of progression, so that each job application moves to the right when you reach its next step. The job listing will have all the details you want, like the title, location, salary, and job post URL. Huntr lets you add a deadline to any card, to serve as a reminder. Each card can also have its own to-do list and notes, so you know what needs to be done.
Trello is an incredible app for project management and organizing your tasks that uses the kaban technique.
JobHero (Web)
Each job you apply for is unique. The more you tailor your application to the job, the better your chances are. JobHero lets you create a dashboard of all your jobs, and add other things you might need. For instance, it’s best to customize your resume. Some employers ask to see a portfolio of your work. In JobHero, you can save all these important documents in one folder. And all your jobs are individual cards too, with deadlines and status update. It is the ultimate organizer.
JobHero also has a useful bookmarklet. With one click, you can save any job posting you see online to your JobHero dashboard.
Spreadsheets can organize your life like no app can. Someone at the University of Wisconsin-Stout created an elaborate Excel file to track every aspect of a job hunt. There are four sheets in the file. It starts with resume submissions, with columns for every possible thing you could think of. Then there’s networking contacts, so that you can get leads to new jobs. The Interviews tab organizes your schedule and reminds you when to send a thank you note. And the Career Websites sheet stores all your usernames and passwords for different job search sites. The whole spreadsheet is remarkably through. It has data fields that you might not think of were you to make your own sheet, so it’s better to start with this one and customize it if need be.
JobTrack (Web)
Now this app is a little different. JobTrack is much simpler than most of the other organization tools in this list. But it has one cool bit that the others lack: analytics. In JobTrack, you add a new job opening that you found. When you start typing the company’s title, the app will automatically look it up on GlassDoor, one of the best salary comparison tools in the world. You can also add a link to a job listing and JobTrack will try to scrape data from it. The other details are simple, like the job title, location, date applied, and the status of the application. Once all the details are in and you have a long list of jobs, check out the analytics board. JobTracker uses your data to create snapshots, like the number of applications per week or a pie chart of the different statuses. It’s a “big picture” look at your job hunt, without doing any work yourself.
Job Search Log (Web): Free Printable Sheet
Sometimes, technology is more hassle than it’s worth. If you want to ditch the gadgets and gizmos, check out Career Choice Guide’s free printable sheets to manage your job search information. It’s a set of two sheets. The first sheet is a list of all the jobs you’re applying for. This is the sheet that stops you from sending two applications to the same job and looking unprofessional or desperate. You’ll need several copies of the second sheet, as this is where you gather each job’s details. It has everything from finding a lead about the job to interview notes so you remember everything about that application.
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