How to create an applicant tracking system in 1 minute

We'll start step by step for you. Let's see how!

Prepare your job application questions

First, identify the questions you want to ask your candidates. We have prepared an applicant tracking spreadsheet example for you. You can easily customize your recruitment questions by copying this spreadsheet template on your Retable workspace.

Customize your question types

Then decide the format in which you want to receive your answers. For example; if you need your candidate's e-mail address, you do not want an irrelevant value to be written in this area. To prevent incorrect data entry on your applicant tracking spreadsheet you can specify your question type directly as an email. Thus, you can prevent entering a different value other than email in this field.

So, what other question types do we have? Let's take a quick look.

Retable column types

Retable has +30 column types in 3 dfferent categories

Basic column types

• ‍Text: The Text column type in Retable serves as a multidirectional space where users can input and store alphabetic characters. This fundamental column provides a single and multiline for textual data, making it suitable for various purposes such as names, descriptions, or any alphanumeric entries.
• ‍Number: The Number column allows users to input numeric values, facilitating the organization of quantitative data. If the "Allow negative numbers" option is selected, users can include negative values, expanding the flexibility of data entry within this column.
• ‍Checkbox: Offering a straightforward binary option, the Checkbox column allows users to mark or unmark a box within the column. This simplicity makes it an ideal choice for creating fields for choosing a box for the specific need of the column.
• ‍Image: In the Image column, users can enrich their data by incorporating visual elements. Supporting image file formats such as .png, .webp, and .jpeg, this column enables users to upload and view images directly within their spreadsheet, enhancing the visual representation of associated data.
• ‍Attachment: The Attachment column elevates data management by enabling users to upload various file types, including images, documents, and more. This column expands beyond documents, accommodating a comprehensive range of file formats such as .pdf, .xlsx, .zip, and many others.
• ‍Date & Time: Providing a structured approach to temporal data, the Date & Time column allows users to input specific dates and times using an interactive calendar. Users can choose from different date formats (EU, US, ISO) and have the option to include time in their entries, adding precision to their temporal data.
• ‍Color: Enhancing visual aesthetics, the Color column allows users to infuse their data with a spectrum of colors. Users can choose and assign colors to cells, providing an additional layer of information representation and categorization within the spreadsheet.
• ‍Email: The Email column ensures the accurate capture of email addresses. By restricting entries to valid email formats (e.g., user@example.com), this column type is beneficial for storing and managing contact information and communication records. When clicking on the email address, Retable automatically opens the email provider app and allows you to send mail immediately.
• ‍Phone Number: Facilitating the organization of contact details, the Phone Number column adheres to a specific phone number format (e.g., (123) 456-7891). A feature including the ability to initiate a call directly by clicking on a valid phone number within the column.
• ‍Percent: With the Percent column, users can input both integer and decimal numbers with the added convenience of automatically appending a percentage sign. This column type accommodates percentage-based data and calculations within the spreadsheet.
• ‍Currency: The Currency column, building upon the Number column, is developed to format numeric entries as currency amounts. Users can customize the currency symbol and placement, ensuring an accurate representation of financial data within the spreadsheet.
• ‍Select (Options): The Select (Options) column provides a structured approach to categorical data. Users can choose from predefined options listed in the column, facilitating the organization and consistent categorization of data across multiple rows.
• ‍Rating: The Rating column introduces a visual element to data assessment, allowing users to rate records using a star icon. This feature is particularly useful for subjective evaluations or feedback systems where a rating is needed.

Advanced column types‍

• ‍Formula: The Formula column in Retable simplifies the process of performing calculations within your spreadsheet. Whether you need to add, subtract, multiply, or divide values, the Formula column allows you to create straightforward calculations on a row-by-row basis. For a list of available formulas, refer to this link. The Formula column is an advanced tool that empowers users to automate calculations and streamline data processing within Retable.‍
• Reference Another Table: The Reference Another Table column establishes connections between tables, allowing users to display and utilize data from other tables within the current table. This column enhances data organization and ensures seamless integration of related information.
• ‍Lookup Values: The Lookup Values column facilitates dynamic data retrieval by pulling information from another table based on references. When the referenced data changes, the Lookup Values column updates dynamically, ensuring real-time synchronization of data between tables.
• ‍Rollup: The Rollup column eases the aggregation of data from multiple linked records within a single table or across multiple tables. This powerful feature allows users to generate customized views, and reports, and perform calculations like totals, averages, and percentages within seconds.
• ‍Autonumber: The Autonumber column provides users with a unique and automatically incremented identifier for each record. Offering a reliable and sequential numbering system, this column type is useful for establishing distinct identification codes within the spreadsheet.
• ‍URL: The URL column enhances data with clickable links, providing direct access to external web pages or resources. Users can customize the appearance by displaying URLs as buttons, offering an interactive and navigable experience within the spreadsheet.
• ‍Unique Identifier (UUID): The Unique Identifier (UUID) column incorporates a powerful algorithm to generate unique codes for each record. Serving as strong identifiers, these codes can be applied to passwords, product codes, or user codes, ensuring their uniqueness and preventing manual changes. The UUID column type enhances data integrity by automatically generating distinct and unrepeatable codes for each record.
• ‍Geolocation: The Geolocation column automatically displays location information, including street, neighborhood, city, state, and country, all within a single cell. Users can perform city searches, navigate on the map, copy the longitude and latitudes, and move pins to specific locations by dragging and dropping, providing a dynamic and interactive mapping experience.
• ‍Collaborator: The Collaborator column allows users to add collaborators to specific cells. By enabling the “Add multiple collaborators” option, multiple users can be selected for a single cell. Additionally, the “Notify collaborators when they are added or the row they are added is changed” option keeps collaborators informed of any changes in the designated row.
• ‍Created Time: The Created Time column provides users with the date and time information indicating when a record was initially created. This timestamp offers valuable insights into the chronological order of data entries within the spreadsheet.
• ‍Created By: The Created By column reveals the user responsible for creating a specific record. This attribution is valuable for tracking and acknowledging contributors to the dataset, enhancing transparency and accountability in collaborative environments.
• ‍Last Modified Time: The Last Modified Time column displays the date and time of the most recent modification to a record. Users can quickly assess the currency of data entries and identify the timing of the latest updates within the spreadsheet.
• ‍Last Modified By: The Last Modified By column identifies the user who made the most recent modification to a particular record. This information aids in tracking changes, understanding data evolution, and assigning responsibility for recent updates within the spreadsheet.

Premium column types

• QR Code: The QR Code column allows users to generate custom QR codes directly within the spreadsheet. By inputting desired values into the cell, a unique QR code is generated, offering a quick and convenient way to share information. This column supports various data formats, including URLs, phone numbers, and email addresses.
• ‍GPT: The GPT (ChatGPT) column integrates OpenAI's ChatGPT directly into Retable spreadsheets. Users can input prompts directly into cells, treating columns as variables for ChatGPT responses. This powerful integration enables users to obtain ChatGPT outputs for thousands of rows with a single prompt.
• ‍Vote: The Vote column empowers users to participate in voting processes within the spreadsheet. Each user can cast a vote once, including in decision-making and opinion gathering. This column type streamlines the voting experience and enhances collaborative decision processes.
• ‍Rich Text: The Rich Text column accommodates formatted text with various styling options, including bold, italics, underline, headings, numerical, and listicle formats. This column type is ideal for storing comprehensive textual content, such as essays, to-do lists, or any detailed information related to a specific row.

Well, we took a quick look at Retable spreadsheet column types. Now, it's time to integrate your applicant tracking process into your spreadsheet. For example; You may want to specify your HR specialist who will evaluate the applicant and assign the candidate to him. The "Collaborator" column type will meet your need at this point as you can see in our template example.

You may also want to see the steps of your candidate's evaluation process on a single spreadsheet. For this, choose the "Select" column type and specify your evaluation steps as options.

It can be a difficult process to note the dates you will interview your candidates, remember all the dates and try to avoid conflicts. To deal with it, the “Calendar” column type will help you. You can select the calendar column type to easily view your meeting dates and times on a single spreadsheet.

Quick Tip: If you activate the "Include Time" option, you can easily determine the time you will interview your candidate. In addition, if you activate the "Unique" option, you can prevent interview conflicts by getting a warning on the same date and time entries.

Invite your teammates

As you see in the examples, you can create all the applicant tracking processes you need on your Retable dashboard, invite your teammates to the spreadsheets and work together with your entire HR team.

Bonus: By managing your team's permissions, you can prevent unauthorized access to your spreadsheets.

Create Your Application Form

Now it's time to convert your applicant tracking table to application form. Here is the easiest part!

1. Click on the "Share" button
2. Activate the "Form View" option
3. Click on the "Edit and Preview Form" section
4. Customize your form title, form description, and form image.
5. Mark the questions you want to be required
6. If you wish, add a description to your questions to help your candidates.
7. Customize your questions for your candidates without breaking the format of your spreadsheet. For example; You may want to show the "Applicant Name" column as "Name & Surname" to your candidate.
8. Hide the columns that you don't want your candidate to see.
9. And save the form!

Ta-da, that's all. 🎉

Now view your application form in preview mode and test it. You will see your response reflected in your applicant tracking table in real-time.

You can embed the link of your form in your website as HTML or share the form link with your candidates.

Easy-peasy, right?

You can customize the applicant tracking spreadsheet template we created for you as you wish and start using it in seconds.

Here it is: https://app.retable.io/project/AGoeAmKPeYO7hyPT

‍

Now is the time to run an easy and fast applicant tracking process and sit back, take it easy!