Tracker stages, end to end
The ten stages, the three kinds they group into, what each card records, and the five counters across the top of the board.
The tracker replaces the spreadsheet, so everything that was in the spreadsheet has to fit, including the jobs you applied for somewhere else entirely.
The ten stages
| Stage | Kind | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Saved | Before | Interested, not sent yet |
| Preparing | Before | A document is in progress for this one |
| Applied | Live | Sent, however it went |
| Acknowledged | Live | They confirmed receipt. Usually automatic, so not a reply |
| Screening | Live | A human is looking: recruiter call, task, assessment |
| Interviewing | Live | Interviews booked or under way |
| Offer | Live | An offer is on the table |
| Rejected | Closed | They said no |
| Withdrawn | Closed | You pulled out, or took something else |
| No response | Closed | Silence past the point where a reply realistically comes |
The kind column decides what gets counted. A job in the "before" kind has not been sent, so it never counts towards your reply rate. A "closed" job is finished, so we never remind you to follow it up. Otherwise the tracker would nag you about a job that rejected you months ago.
Three ways to read the board
- Columns. One per stage, cards dragged between them. Right while a search is live.
- Cards. A single flow. Better past about forty rows.
- List. A sortable table, which is what people open a spreadsheet for.
Each browser remembers the view you picked. Closed columns stay hidden unless you show them or something is in one.
What a card records
- The role, linked to the posting where there is one, plus company and location.
- The match score, where one was ever computed.
- Which document was sent.
- Where the row came from: through Involve, imported, or added by you.
- Date applied, deadline, salary as written, employment type, and a contact.
- Chips for the resume, cover letter, portfolio and notes.
- A note, and the chase line when one applies.
The stage is a dropdown on the card. Every row has a delete.
The five counters
| Counter | What it counts |
|---|---|
| Tracked | Everything, with how many have not been sent yet |
| Live | Still in play |
| Replies | Responded, out of sent |
| Interviews | Interviews reached, and what share of sent that is |
| Needs a nudge | Jobs with no news for longer than the follow-up time |
Adding a job you applied for anywhere
A role, a company or a link: one of the three is enough. Everything else is optional, including stage, date, deadline, location, type, salary in whatever currency it was written in, which resume you sent, a contact, and a note.
If you paste a link, we fill in the company when the job site clearly shows it. If not, we leave it blank instead of guessing.
Next: import and export the tracker.
Questions about this
Does an automated acknowledgement count as a reply?
No. The reply rate counts screening, interviewing, offer and rejection only, because a receipt confirmation is sent by software before a human has seen anything.
Can I track jobs I applied to somewhere else?
Yes, and you should. Each row records whether it came through Involve, was imported, or was added by you.
Why does a rate show a dash instead of zero?
You have not sent anything yet, so there is no reply to count. Zero would mean nobody replied, which is not the same thing.
What happens when the same job arrives twice?
The two become one card at the further-along stage, and a banner names which rows were combined.
Backfill last week first
The tracker is only useful once it is complete. Adding the applications you already sent takes about twenty minutes, once.
Open Involve Resume