Published: Oct 7th, 2023

While finding and retaining top candidates isn't always easy, it's essential to running a thriving, competitive business. One thing you can do to make everything smoother and more efficient is to use a recruitment tracker.

Below, you’ll find 10 great recruitment trackers you can download, modify, and use throughout your hiring process.

But what is a recruitment tracker, why is it important, and how can you make your own from scratch? Read on for answers to these questions, along with insight into digital recruitment software, hiring process templates, and tips for implementing these tools.

What is a recruitment tracker?

A recruitment tracker is a spreadsheet or digital platform that organizes, filters, and keeps track of candidates for job openings. Sometimes called a hiring tracker, companies can input everything from job posting dates, interview stages, offer status, applicant contact information, resumes, and references.

There are a few ways to go about tracking your recruitment process. You can create your own candidate tracking spreadsheet, use a pre-formatted recruitment tracker template like the ones below, or use hiring software. See the details below.

Recruitment tracker spreadsheet

Many companies opt to make their own recruiting spreadsheets. That’s because making your own tracker lets you customize to include inputs unique to your organization. Once you create a hiring plan template in Excel, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers, Smartsheet, or another spreadsheet system, you can use it each time you have an opening.

The great thing about spreadsheets is that there are tons of functions and virtually endless ways to tailor them to your business objectives. Here are some suggestions for your recruitment tracker column headers:

• Job title/position/job ID
• Date of job posting
• Department
• Hiring manager/recruiter
• Applicant name
• Applicant contact info
• Link to resume/portfolio
• Applicant experience/education
• Follow-up status
• Stage of interview

You can also use checkboxes or color-coded cells to indicate phone screenings, reference checks, your top candidate choices, whether applicants have applied previously, and if they've accepted or declined offers.

If the open position is more technical and requires a test as part of the application or interview process, you can input the test results or note whether the applicant has completed it.

Recruitment tracker template

If you're not seasoned in spreadsheets or just want to dive in as soon as possible, you can use a recruitment process template. Pre-formatted templates often come in the form of downloadable spreadsheets, though you can also find them in task-management platforms like Asana and Monday.com. Templates are generally easy to use, and if yours is in a spreadsheet, you can always adjust it or add more columns along the way.

Recruitment tracker software

Applicant tracking software (ATS) is often more sophisticated than spreadsheets and sometimes customizable. With helpful filtering tools, advanced metrics, and profiling capabilities, these comprehensive dashboards can be immensely useful for large enterprises and companies hiring in competitive industries.

The JobFairX Platform implements your live recruiting efforts while filtering not only applicants but also job seekers who have yet to apply. You can review resumes, add screener questions, and score interviewees on factors like work experience, education, and communication skills.

Why use a recruitment tracker?

The best candidate for the job might be right in front of you, whether they're the first to apply or already work at your company. But this is the exception, and in most cases, recruiting is a long and involved process.

A recruitment tracker makes things more efficient by streamlining your efforts. You can keep all critical information in one place, easily compare applicants, improve the candidate experience, and ensure equal employment opportunities.

Keep track of key details in one place

Whether you're the sole recruiter at a company or you work on a hiring team, keeping all information and details in one place will make your job much easier. With a tracker in place, you won't have to search through your email inbox or document folders for resumes and will always know an applicant's current status.

Easily compare applicants

One of the best things about a recruiting system is that it saves companies time by letting them easily compare applicants. For instance, if you only want to interview those with at least five years of experience or a specific certification, you can filter your spreadsheet using a formula or simply highlight those that fill the bill.

Improve the candidate experience

It's in your organization's best interest to optimize the candidate experience, not just for those you end up hiring but for all interviewees — and ideally, everyone who applies. This means following up in a timely manner, notifying those who aren't moving forward, offering feedback, and streamlining the onboarding process.

When companies appear disorganized or fail to follow up after an interview, it can negatively impact the brand. Improving the candidate experience can be challenging when you receive hundreds or even thousands of applications for a single role. But recruitment tracker tools can help you automate the process.

Ensure equal opportunities and diversity

Federally contracted businesses with 50 or more employees are required to have an AAP (Affirmative Action Program) in place. That usually means tracking the gender, race, veteran, and disability status of all applicants.

Even if you aren't required to have an AAP, asking applicants to self-identify with this information can help you diversify your staff and ensure equal employment opportunities.

Free recruitment dashboard Excel templates

Download one of these pre-formatted templates to make your own recruitment tracker in Excel or Google Sheets.

This is a standard, versatile template with spaces to include the job ID, job title, department, designation, hiring manager, recruiter, status, posting date, and notes.

Recruitment Tracker 1 (Download)

This applicant tracker is a little more basic. It's a good choice for startups and small businesses that may not yield hundreds of applicants for each job posting.

Recruitment Tracker 2 (Download)

This recruiting tracking spreadsheet has columns for basic applicant information and salary requirements, along with an AAP section to help ensure equal employment opportunities.

Recruitment Tracker 3 (Download)

This is an excellent template for companies that want to improve the candidate experience by following up and scheduling timely interviews.

Recruitment Tracker 4 (Download)

This template helps companies home in on applicant backgrounds. It has spaces to input qualifications, current employer and job title, years of experience, and current salary. (Bear in mind some states ban employers from asking about a candidate's current or previous salary before making an offer.)

Recruitment Tracker 5 (Download)

This is a confirmation tracker that you can use during the hiring and onboarding process. It has spaces for the employee number, position, manager, acceptance date, and hire date.

Recruitment Tracker 6 (Download)

This recruitment tracking template is useful for growing businesses with several vacancies in multiple departments. It has space to input the number of openings, how many candidates are shortlisted, whether they've been contacted via email, and their join date.

Recruitment Tracker 7 (Download)

This candidate tracker spreadsheet is a great option for companies that need a more sophisticated way to filter candidates, as well as job openings that call for multiple rounds of interviews. You can enter each person's skill set, notes about cultural fit, screening status, and interview scores.

Recruitment Tracker 8 (Download)

This recruitment tracking sheet is another good option when carrying out multiple rounds of interviews. You can input notes, enter meeting durations, and add resume scores for each interviewee.

Recruitment Tracker 9 (Download)

This is another simple template that doubles as both an applicant tracking spreadsheet and a job opening tracker. It's great for smaller companies and hiring teams that prefer to keep all information within a single document.

Recruitment Tracker 10 (Download)

Create your own recruitment tracker

To get started, download one of the templates above or create your own using a spreadsheet. If you're starting from scratch, follow these steps:

1. Decide on a format and specific information you want to track.
2. Add column headers with each piece of information (job ID, applicant name, contact info, resume, follow-up status, etc.)
3. Implement shading, checkboxes, or color-coded cells to make the information easier to interpret.
4. Share the spreadsheet with others involved in the hiring process and give them editing permissions.
5. Create a protocol for the hiring team to ensure it's always up-to-date and accurate.
6. Adjust and add to the tracker as needed.

Even the simplest tracker can make an immense difference in the efficiency of your recruiting process. To take your efforts up a notch and attract top talent, consider attending a virtual job fair with JobFairX .