Applicant Tracking Spreadsheet: Free Excel Templates for Recruitment
This article is part of a larger series on Hiring.
Recruiting the right hire can be a long process—with different job application platforms, multiple interviews, and even online testing. A good applicant tracking spreadsheet can help you and your team keep track of all that information. By harnessing the analytical power of Excel, you can use your data to improve your hiring procedures.
We’ve created two free recruitment tracker Excel templates, one designed for the hiring team and the other for the hiring manager/HR.
Download Excel Recruitment Template
Thank you for downloading!
Thank you for downloading!
💡 Quick Tip:
If you’ve outgrown a spreadsheet, consider our recommended applicant tracking software, Freshteam. It’s free for up to 50 users and allows for 3 published job postings before needing to upgrade.
Its free plan also comes with Interview scorecards, Canned responses, and the ability to schedule automated follow up emails.
Download the HR Applicant Tracker
Thank you for downloading!
Thank you for downloading!
💡 Quick Tip:
If you’ve outgrown a spreadsheet, consider our recommended applicant tracking software, Freshteam. It’s free for up to 50 users and allows for 3 published job postings before needing to upgrade.
Its free plan also comes with Interview scorecards, Canned responses, and the ability to schedule automated follow up emails.
How to Use & Modify Our Free Excel Templates
Our templates can be downloaded for free and customized for your specific needs. They are easy to use and help optimize the hiring process. Click through the tabs below for template instructions.
Our templates may be modified to suit your business or industry needs. Below are simple instructions for modifying our templates in Excel:
- Delete a Column: Go to the top of the page in the row with the letters. Right-click on the column letter you don’t need, then select Delete Column.
- Add a Column: Do you have a step or piece of information you want to track? Go to the top of the page to the row with letters. Right-click on a nearby column where you want the information, and select Insert. Excel defaults to inserting a column on the left.
- Add or Modify Drop-Down Menu Choices: Start by highlighting the cells whose menu you want to change. Then go to Data in the menu. Find Data Validation.
You’ll see the menu options under Source. Delete the ones you don’t need and add those you want. Separate items with a comma, then click OK. You can use the same process to create a menu of choices, such as for referral sources.
Optional Recruitment Tracker Templates
There are numerous applications that use Excel templates for applicant tracking. We have highlighted several that may be of interest.
Application | Description |
---|---|
SmartSheet is a project management platform that helps businesses manage and automate work, from employee onboarding to pipeline management. In addition to Excel-style templates, it has Gantt charts, calendars, card views, and automation of repetitive tasks. It also offers multiple templates for recruiting. | |
If you’d like to get more power out of Excel but don’t have the time for the programming yourself, Indzara offers a multitude of Excel templates that you can download. Many are free, but it also offers premium templates for small businesses, project management, HR, and business intelligence. In addition, it has training videos for using the templates or learning Excel. | |
Someka offers a wide range of ready-made Excel templates for business or personal needs. Templates cost a one-time licensing fee. It offers a few free templates, mostly for home and family use. |
If you are looking for a robust free applicant tracking system that will do all the work for you, consider Freshteam. It is a free cloud-based HR system that offers a customizable career site with job postings to multiple channels. The platform will also allow you to create an in-depth candidate pool, manage with your hiring team, and track candidates through its mobile app.
Why Use an Applicant Tracking Spreadsheet?
If you are only hiring a single worker, then you may not need an applicant tracker. However, if you are hiring a new employee with a team of managers or experiencing high turnover, seasonal hiring surges, or a growth cycle, then an applicant tracking template can keep you organized and on top of the information. In addition, it can help with:
- Team communication: Anyone on the hiring team can see at a glance where an applicant is in the process, what other people’s impressions were (as long as notes are recorded), and how a candidate fared in each part of the process.
- Organization: By recording dates and tracking steps, you can ensure a qualified candidate does not fall through the cracks.
- Analysis: By having the tracker in Excel, you can manipulate the data to gain insights. What referral process brings the most candidates and the best applicants? Where are most job seekers falling short in the process?
- Process improvement: For example, if candidates are doing well in phone screening then failing the first interview, you may need a more stringent phone screening process to weed out the weaker applicants. Or maybe you’re not seeing a correlation between online test results and the best candidates—and in this case, you might be able to drop that program and save some money.
- Diversity analysis: While no one should be judged on race and gender, more businesses are focusing on ensuring they are reaching out to a diverse hiring pool. An applicant tracker can help you determine if you are reaching a wide range of demographics.
Bottom Line
Growing your company is exciting, and having an organized applicant tracking system and a central place to keep information and notes can make it easier. Download our templates and adjust them to your needs so that you can get to the interesting part of recruiting—finding the perfect new employee.
Additional Articles You May Find Useful
- Applicant Screening: Steps to Finding the Perfect Candidate
- Free Interview Evaluation Forms & Scorecard Templates
- How to Create a New Hire Checklist
- Offer Letter Template
- How to Write a Job Description
- How to Write a New Hire Press Release
- How to Conduct New Employee Orientation
- How to Compose a Job Rejection Letter