Customization Guide — Developer Job Search Tracker

Adapt this system to your specific job search situation, whether you're casually browsing or in an active search sprint.

Search Mode Configurations

Casual Browsing (Passive Search)

• Use "Interested" status heavily — bookmark roles without applying
• Check the board weekly, not daily
• Focus on the Companies database — build your target list over time
• Disable notifications on the Contacts database

Active Search Sprint (Full-Time Job Hunting)

• Daily standup with yourself: review the pipeline board, check follow-ups
• Set Follow Up Date on every contact after each interaction
• Use the Interview Calendar as your primary view
• Track time invested per application in the Notes field

Internal Transfer Search

• Simplify the pipeline: Interested → Applied → Interview → Offer → Accepted
• Replace "Company" with "Team/Department"
• Remove salary negotiation fields (or keep for internal equity discussions)
• Add "Current Manager Informed" checkbox

Customizing the Status Pipeline

For Entry-Level / New Grad

Bookmarked → Applied → OA (Online Assessment) → Phone Screen → Technical → Final Round → Offer → Accepted / Rejected

Add an "Online Assessment" status for companies that use HackerRank/CodeSignal screening.

For Senior / Staff Level

Interested → Intro Call → Technical Deep Dive → System Design → Team Interviews → Hiring Committee → Offer → Negotiating → Accepted

Add "Hiring Committee" for companies with committee-based decisions.

For Contract / Freelance

Lead → Proposal Sent → Interview → Negotiating Rate → Contract Signed → Active → Completed

Replace salary fields with: Hourly Rate, Weekly Hours, Contract Duration, Total Contract Value.

Adding Custom Properties

Useful for Tracking Patterns

Useful for Multi-Offer Decisions

Privacy & Sharing

If You're Currently Employed

• Keep this workspace private (don't share with anyone)
• Use Notion's "Lock page" feature on sensitive pages
• Don't access your job search tracker on work devices/network
• Use generic calendar event names for interviews ("Personal appointment")

If You Want an Accountability Partner

• Share the pipeline board view only (not salary details)
• Use Notion's "Share" feature with "Can view" permission
• Create a separate "Public Pipeline" view that hides compensation data

Archiving a Completed Search

When you've accepted an offer:

1. Move all non-accepted applications to "Rejected" or "Withdrawn"

2. Export your data: Notion → ... menu → Export → CSV (for your records)

3. Create an "Archive" section and move all databases under it

4. Keep the Company Research — it's valuable for future searches

5. Write a final journal entry reflecting on what you learned

*Your job search system should reduce stress, not add to it. Customize until it feels natural.*

Import Guide — Developer Job Search Tracker

Step-by-step instructions for setting up your job search system in Notion.

Prerequisites

• A Notion account (works on the free plan)
• Downloaded product files unzipped on your computer

Step 1: Import Databases (in this order)

1.1 Companies Database

1. Create a new Notion page named "Companies"

2. Add a full-page Table database

3. Click "..." → "Merge with CSV" → select databases/companies.csv

4. Configure column types:

• Company Name → Title
• Industry → Select
• Size → Select
• Stage → Select
• Founded → Number
• Headquarters → Text
• Remote Policy → Select
• Tech Stack → Text (or Multi-select with semicolons split)
• Engineering Team Size → Number
• Glassdoor Rating → Number
• Culture Notes → Text
• Green Flags → Text
• Red Flags → Text
• Website → URL
• Research Status → Select (Not Started, In Progress, Complete)

1.2 Contacts Database

1. Create page "Contacts"

2. Full-page Table → Merge with databases/contacts.csv

3. Column types:

• Name → Title
• Title → Text
• Company → Text (will become a Relation)
• Email → Email
• Phone → Phone
• LinkedIn → URL
• Relationship → Select (Recruiter, Interviewer, Referral Contact, Hiring Manager, Conference Contact, Meetup Contact)
• Last Contact → Date
• Follow Up Date → Date
• Notes → Text

1.3 Applications Database

1. Create page "Applications"

2. Full-page Table → Merge with databases/applications.csv

3. Column types:

• Company → Text (will become a Relation to Companies)
• Role → Title
• Status → Select (Interested, Applied, Phone Screen, Technical Interview, Onsite, Offer, Negotiating, Accepted, Rejected, Withdrawn)
• Applied Date → Date
• Source → Select
• Base Salary → Number (format as currency)
• Equity Annual → Number (format as currency)
• Signing Bonus → Number (format as currency)
• Bonus Percent → Number
• Remote Policy → Select
• Location → Text
• Tech Stack → Text
• Job Link → URL
• Referral → Select (Yes, No)
• Priority → Select (High, Medium, Low)
• Notes → Text

1.4 Interviews Database

1. Create page "Interviews"

2. Full-page Table → Merge with databases/interviews.csv

3. Column types:

• Application → Text (will become a Relation)
• Interview Type → Select (Recruiter Screen, Technical Phone Screen, Take-Home Project, System Design, Behavioral, Hiring Manager, Onsite, Culture Fit)
• Round → Number
• Date → Date
• Time → Text
• Duration Minutes → Number
• Interviewer Name → Text
• Interviewer Title → Text
• Format → Select (Video Call, Phone, In Person, Async)
• Status → Select (Scheduled, Completed, Cancelled, No-Show)
• Prep Notes → Text
• Performance Rating → Number (1-5)
• Debrief Notes → Text

Step 2: Create Relations

Applications → Companies

1. Open Applications database

2. Add new property → Relation → Select "Companies"

3. Name it "Company (linked)"

4. Link each application to its company

5. Optionally hide/delete the original text "Company" column

Contacts → Companies

1. Open Contacts database

2. Add Relation to "Companies"

3. Link each contact to their company

Interviews → Applications

1. Open Interviews database

2. Add Relation to "Applications"

3. Link each interview to its application

Step 3: Create Views

Application Pipeline (Board)

1. Open Applications → Add view → Board

2. Group by: Status

3. Column order: Interested → Applied → Phone Screen → Technical Interview → Onsite → Offer → Negotiating → Accepted

4. Hide: Rejected, Withdrawn (create separate view for these)

5. Properties: Role, Base Salary, Priority

Interview Calendar

1. Open Interviews → Add view → Calendar

2. Date property: Date

3. Filter: Status = Scheduled

4. Show: Application, Interview Type, Time, Format

Active Pipeline Table

1. Applications → Add view → Table

2. Filter: Status ≠ Rejected AND Status ≠ Withdrawn AND Status ≠ Accepted

3. Sort: Applied Date descending

Rejected/Withdrawn Archive

1. Applications → Add view → Table

2. Filter: Status = Rejected OR Status = Withdrawn

3. Sort: Applied Date descending

Salary Comparison

1. Applications → Add view → Table

2. Filter: Status is any of (Offer, Negotiating, Onsite, Technical Interview)

3. Sort: Base Salary descending

4. Show: Company, Role, Base Salary, Equity Annual, Signing Bonus, Bonus Percent, Total Comp (formula)

Follow-Up Due (Contacts)

1. Contacts → Add view → Table

2. Filter: Follow Up Date ≤ Today

3. Sort: Follow Up Date ascending

Step 4: Add Formula Properties

See formulas/FORMULAS.md for all formula code. Key formulas to add:

1. Total Compensation on Applications

2. Days Since Applied on Applications

3. Response Rate (calculate manually or use rollups)

Step 5: Build the Job Search Hub

1. Create a new page: "Job Search Hub"

2. Copy content from pages/job-search-hub.md

3. Add linked database views for each section

4. Arrange in a dashboard layout using Notion columns

Step 6: Set Up Templates

1. In Applications: New → New template → paste content from templates/application-entry.md

2. In Interviews: New → New template → paste content from templates/interview-debrief.md

Troubleshooting

Salary shows as text instead of currency?

Click the column header → Edit property → Change type to Number → Format as "US Dollar" (or your local currency).

CSV import creates duplicate columns?

This can happen if column headers have trailing spaces. Edit the CSV in a text editor to trim whitespace from headers before re-importing.

Relations not linking correctly?

Ensure the Title property in the target database exactly matches the text in the relation column. Watch for trailing spaces or different capitalization.