Job Application Tracker in Obsidian: Setup, Template and Dataview

This guide covers the template, three Dataview queries, an optional Kanban board, and the points where a dedicated tracker does better.

What you need

• Obsidian, with a vault for your job search.
• Dataview, a community plugin. Turn off Restricted mode in Settings, then Community plugins, browse for Dataview, install and enable it.
• Templates, a core plugin. Enable it under Core plugins and choose a template folder.
• Kanban (optional), another community plugin, for a drag-and-drop board.

Step 1: Create the job note template

Make a note called Job template in your template folder and paste this. The block at the top is the note's properties, which Dataview reads.

---
tags: job
company:
role:
status: saved
source:
link:
date_saved:
date_applied:
follow_up:
resume:
contact:
---

## Role notes

## Contacts and conversations

## Interview log

## Next step

Create one note per job from this template, named like Acme - Backend Engineer. Use these status values and nothing else, so queries stay simple: saved, applied, interviewing, offer, rejected, withdrawn. Write dates as YYYY-MM-DD.

Step 2: Add a dashboard with Dataview

Create a note called Job dashboard and paste the three queries below.

All active jobs, soonest follow-up first:

TABLE company, role, status, date_applied, follow_up
FROM #job
WHERE status != "rejected" AND status != "withdrawn"
SORT follow_up ASC

Follow-ups that are due or overdue:

TABLE company, role, follow_up
FROM #job
WHERE status = "applied" AND follow_up AND follow_up <= date(today)
SORT follow_up ASC

How many jobs sit in each status:

TABLE length(rows) AS Count
FROM #job
GROUP BY status

Open the dashboard each morning. The second table is your to-do list for follow-ups.

Step 3 (optional): Add a Kanban board

Install the Kanban plugin, create a board called Job board and add columns named after your statuses. Move a card when a job moves. The card links to the job note, so details stay one click away. Keep the status property in the note updated too, or the dashboard and the board will disagree. That double entry is the main weakness of this setup.

Tips for keeping it consistent

• Link people. Put recruiters in their own notes and link them in the contact property, so you can see every job a person is involved in.
• Use daily notes for the weekly review. Link the jobs you touched each day.
• Back up the vault. It is only files on your disk unless you sync it.

Where Obsidian falls short for job hunting

Obsidian is a good fit if you already live in it. For job hunting specifically it has gaps:

• Capturing a job is manual. You copy the title, company and link from every posting.
• No reminders. The dashboard shows what is due only when you open it.
• No form filling or email. You still retype your details into each application and write follow-ups elsewhere.
• Double entry. Board and properties must be kept in sync by hand.

If those gaps slow you down, Seekrly covers them. Its Chrome extension saves a job from the page in one click, fills in application forms from your saved details and resume (you review each form before submitting), keeps recruiters and notes against each job, and reminds you when to follow up. There is a free plan, and you can move over by adding jobs from your dashboard table.

If you would rather start with a spreadsheet than a vault, use the job application tracker template for Excel and Google Sheets.