Candidate vs a Job Application Spreadsheet

Start with the work you need to do

A spreadsheet is familiar and flexible. Candidate becomes useful when each opportunity needs more than a row: a timeline, people, documents, preparation and a visible next action.

There is no prize for switching early. Move when maintaining the spreadsheet starts obscuring the search rather than supporting it.

A practical workflow

Use the following as a working sequence, then adapt it to the companies and conversations in front of you.

• Count the updates required after an interview
• Check whether notes, files and deadlines remain connected
• Choose the lighter system for the search you actually have

Keep the system workable

The right choice is the one that leaves your important context easy to find and maintain. Test it against a real search rather than an imagined feature list.

Candidate keeps this context together so a useful update after an application, conversation or exercise does not need to be copied across several tools.