What to track in a job search networking tracker
By Adedayo Adeniyi · 3 min read · Updated Nov 9, 2026
Once you're talking to more than a handful of people, it gets hard to remember who you wrote to, what they said, and who you owe a reply.
A simple tracker fixes that. Here is what to put in it.
The columns that matter
- Name and company
- How you know them
- Role or team you're interested in there
- Date you last reached out
- What happened: no reply, replied, call booked, referred you
- Next step and the date to do it
- A short note to remember them by
Why most spreadsheets get abandoned
A spreadsheet only works if you open it and update it every day, and it never tells you who to reach out to next. After a few busy weeks, most people stop opening it.
Whatever you use, the key is a daily look at who's due, and a habit of logging each message the moment you send it.