Application Tracker
Overview
A job search is a pipeline. The live book is the Career store (career tool + #/career). Optional markdown notes are a backup, never a second source of truth.
Pipeline stages
discovered → matched → ready → applied → replied → interview → offer → won / rejected
Tracker format
Prefer career action=status and career action=stage. The desk already writes applications.md next to the store on every save; read it with career action=read file=applications.md. Shape:
| Company | Role | Applied | Stage | Last contact | Next action | Due | Notes |
Per-application notes file for serious processes: contacts, interview notes, questions asked, salary discussed.
Workflow
- Prepare a factual CV and cover for the selected job (
career action=prepare). career action=applyopens the manual employer submission flow and leaves the application ready. Mark stage=applied only after the user confirms a completed portal submission.- For professional email, configure and test the account using
mail_configandmail_test.mail_draftpreviews the existing CV and cover attachments;send_emailrequires that draft's revision. Report an email application sent only when its receipt has status=accepted and a Message-ID. SMTP acceptance is not a delivery or read confirmation. - Automatic email and reply sync have separate persistent opt-ins. Auto-send uses the scheduled Career loop, an explicit published application address, a match threshold and daily limit. Never enable either opt-in from a legacy autopilot setting alone.
sync_mailattaches actual replies to recorded applications; do not invent responses or send follow-ups automatically. - Follow-up policy:
followup-writer+career action=followupwave=j3 then j7. Update the final outcome from the recruiter's response or the user's decision. - Schedule reminders with
cronwhen requested: follow-ups due, interview prep (triggerinterview-coach2 days before), offer deadlines. - Weekly review: pipeline stats (applied/response/interview rates), what's stuck, this week's actions.
- Post-decision: log the outcome and learnings (which channel/CV version converts best).
Metrics that matter
- Response rate < 10% → fix targeting/CV (
ats-analyzer) - Interviews but no offers → fix prep (
interview-coach)
Rules
- Every live application has a "next action + date" - no passive rows.
- Keep interview notes verbatim where possible; they're gold for negotiation later.