How to Track CV Applications with Action Plans

When creating your Job Action Plan, use a simple record keeping tool, such as MS Excel, to keep track of all the efforts in your plan of action. This means that every step gets tracked and you can see where you need to make any corrections to the plan.

Likewise, if you make many calls – and don’t track them – you may call them twice by accident.

Performance Indicators

Learn more about this Excel Action Plan template

Action Plans and Record keeping

We all know how important it is to keep records. When searching for work, use the following system:

  • Contact sheet – Capture all the information you have collected in an Excel of Word template.
  • Employer Details – Enter the name, address, and contact person for every company you contact. Don’t throw this information away as you may need it later. Also, if you land a contract, this contact material will help you land you next job faster.
  • Use Spreadsheets – The advantage of using an Excel template is that you can filter the data and also create charts that show your progress. Again, use a nice, easy layout that makes it easy to update. Don’t waste time formatting a document, when you should be sending out emails.
  • Track Contacts – What this means is that you update the Action Plan spreadsheet or worksheet every time you make contact with a prospective employee. This also helps you avoid the embarrassing position of contacting the same person twice.

Sample Codes

For example:

John on holidays until June 10th.

In the follow-up column, enter Code Hol 06/10.

This means John is on holidays until that date. You can then enter a note to call him the following week!

Other codes you can enter in the Action Plan file, include:

  • R/B  = Ring back unavailable at that time.
  • NA, W = Not available until Wednesday.

Likewise, if you make many calls – and don’t track them – you may call them twice. Not impressive! Use a simple tracking system for your action plan and update it when you make every contact with your employers. See the Excel template for action planning here.

[Learn more about these MS Word and Excel templates here]