A complete checklist for every step of a job search. From setting up your tracker to accepting an offer. Use it to stay on track and make sure nothing gets missed.
Work through each section in order when you are starting a new job search. Once your search is underway, come back to the individual sections as needed. The weekly review section is one you will use every week until you have an offer.
Not every step will apply to every search. Use the parts that are relevant and skip what is not.
Pick one tool and use only that. JobFoxly is free and ready in two minutes. A spreadsheet from jobhuntjournal.com works too.
Get specific. Job title, industry, company size, location. The clearer you are, the easier it is to apply to the right things and measure what is working.
Tailor it to the types of roles you are going for. One version is fine as a base. Adjust the top section slightly for each type of role you apply to.
Make sure your headline, summary, and recent roles are current. Recruiters search LinkedIn before they search anywhere else.
Five to ten tailored applications per week is a good starting point. More than that and quality drops. Less and the pipeline is too thin.
Company, role, date, and source. Do not wait until later. Add it the moment you submit.
Five to seven business days from today. Set it in the same moment you add the job. Do not rely on memory.
Job postings get taken down. Save a copy of the description before it disappears. You will need it to prepare for interviews later.
A referral or a contact inside the company changes the follow-up approach. Record it while it is fresh.
Link it to the right job straight away. Next time they call, you know who it is before you pick up.
Move it from applied to screening. This keeps your pipeline accurate.
If they said they will be in touch in three days, set the follow-up for day four.
What was discussed, who you spoke to, what they seemed to focus on. Prepare to build on that conversation.
Look them up on LinkedIn. Their role, background, and what they likely care about. Five minutes of research makes a difference.
Check which questions you already asked so you do not repeat them. Prepare new ones based on what you have learned.
Especially if time has passed since you applied. Make sure you know what they are looking for and how your experience maps to it.
Before you do anything else. Who you spoke to, what was discussed, what the next step is, and how you felt about the role.
Short and specific. Reference something from the conversation to show you were paying attention.
Move to interview, final round, or whatever stage this was. Keep the pipeline accurate.
Based on the timeline they gave you. If they said one week, set the follow-up for day eight.
Sort by follow-up date. Whatever is at the top needs attention first.
Two unanswered follow-ups with no response means it is time to close it. Keep the pipeline clean and focused on active opportunities.
Is anything stuck? Are all your applications in the same stage? If so, figure out what is blocking movement and address it.
Where are your applications coming from and which ones are moving to interviews? Put more effort into what is working.
Based on your pipeline. If you have a lot in the interview stage, focus on those. If the top of the pipeline is thin, add more applications.
How did the company make you feel? What was your impression of the team? These notes are decision-making material.
If you have other interviews in progress, let those companies know you have an offer and ask for an update on their timeline.
Update each one to closed. A clean pipeline at the end of a search is a good habit. You may need the data for future reference.
JobFoxly tracks every application, follow-up date, interview note, and pipeline stage in one place. Use it alongside this checklist and nothing falls through the cracks.
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