How To Use Airtable For Your Job Search

The jobs table is where you will add all of the job opportunities you are interested in or apply for. 

Position/Title

You will take this right from the job posting and will be things like Business Development Representative or Account Payable Specialist.

Company

You will add the company that is hiring for this position. Since this field type is linked with the Company table, once you create a company, it will add a row to the Company table. If the company already exists in the Company table, you will be able to select it when you start typing.

People

You will add the people involved in hiring for this position. This may very well start off with a recruiter or someone from Human Resources but you can add people as you meet them through the interview process. Since this field type is linked with the People table, once you create a person, it will add a row to the People table. You can add more information about them when we get to that table.

Posted

The date when the job was first posted.

Applied

The date you submitted your resume or application.

Referrer

This is how you found out about the job and the channel you used to apply. Since this field type is linked with the Sites table, once you create a site, it will add a row to the Sites table. If a site already exists, you will be able to select it when you start typing.

Job Description

I always print a job description to a PDF and upload it to be able to reference.

Resume

A copy of your resume specific to an open position.

Cover Letter

A copy of the cover letter you sent for a position.

Level

The job level for an open position. You can customize this how you wish. I currently have these options:

• Entry
• Associate
• Manager
• Director
• Executive

Salary

The salary being offered for a position.

Stage

This helps you organize where you are in the job search process. Using the Single select field type makes this a great use for the Kanban view. You can update this as you move from stage to stage. Below are the options for this field:

• Applied
• Rejected
• Phone Screen
• In Person Interview
• Offer
• Accepted
• Declined

Next Follow Up

You can set this date as a reminder for yourself to follow up on your status. This field is helpful to use with the Calendar view so you can plan your week and make sure you are proactive in reaching out to the recruiter or hiring manager.

Notes

This is a default field. You can use it to store any notes you feel are worth recording.

Field and Field Types

Field Name	Field Type	Choice / Option
Position/Title	Single line text	Not applicable
Company	Link to Company	Not applicable
People	Link to People	Not applicable
Posted	Date	Not applicable
Applied	Date	Not applicable
Referrer	Link to Sites	Not applicable
Job Description	Attachment	Not applicable
Resume	Attachment	Not applicable
Cover Letter	Attachment	Not applicable
Level	Single select	Entry Associate Manager Director Executive
Salary	Currency	Not applicable
Stage	Single select	Applied Rejected Phone Screen In Person Interview Offer Accepted Declined
Next Follow Up	Date	Not applicable
Notes	Long text	Not applicable

The Companies table is where you will store information about companies with job openings as well as companies where you have worked.

Name

The name of the company.

Interest

This field uses a 5 star rating system and is used to identify companies you are most interested in working for. Companies that have 5 stars are the best fit in your mind or your “dream employer”. You can check the listing on their career site often and learn who to reach out to at the company.

Career Site

The url of their job listing site. Sometimes this is different from their main website domain.

City

This is most important if you’re doing a local search. You could also add remote or State fields if your search is more broad than just a local area.

Jobs

This field will link to job openings you have applied to. You can click on records and they will open up more information about that job opening.

Work History

This field will link to the Work History table and will have information about your current and previous positions. You can click on records and they will open up more information about that position.

Notes

This is a default field. You can use it to store any notes you feel are worth recording.

Attachment

This is a default field. You can use it to attach any files you feel are worth recording.

Field and Field Types

Field Name	Field Type	Choice / Options
Name	Single line text	Not applicable
Interest	Rating	5
Career Site	URL	Not applicable
City	Single line text	Not applicable
Jobs	Link to Jobs	Not applicable
Work History	Link to Work History	Not applicable
Notes	Long text	Not applicable
Attachments	Attachment	Not applicable

The People table is where you will store information about people involved with your job search. This could be people at a place with an opening you interested in, colleague and former colleagues, references, or mentors.

Name

The person’s name.

Jobs

This field will link to job openings you have applied to. You can click on records and they will open up more information about that job opening.

Colleague

This field will link to the Work History table and will have information about your current and previous positions. You can click on records and they will open up more information about that position.

Hiring Manager

This is a checkbox field. Using this field is helpful when filtering and sorting to quickly identify all of the hiring managers in positions where you have applied.

Reference

Similar to above, this is a checkbox field where you can identify people you want to use as your references. Using this field is helpful when filtering and sorting to quickly see a list of all of your references.

Phone

Someone’s phone number.

Email

Someone’s email address.

Relationship

This is a Single select field with options for how you know the person. You can customize this however you wish but the options I have added are:

• Interviewer
• Colleague
• Former Colleague
• Manager
• Former Manager
• Subordinate
• Former Subordinate
• Client
• Vendor
• Mentor
• Mentee
• Classmate

Title

A person’s job title.

LinkedIn

A link to a person’s LinkedIn profile.

Twitter

A link to a person’s Twitter handle.

Notes

This is a default field. You can use it to store any notes you feel are worth recording.

Attachment

This is a default field. You can use it to attach any files you feel are worth recording.

Field and Field Types

Field Name	Field Type	Choice / Options
Name	Single line text	Not applicable
Jobs	Link to Jobs	Not applicable
Colleague	Link to Work History	Not applicable
Hiring Manager	Checkbox	Not applicable
Reference	Checkbox	Not applicable
Phone	Phone number	Not applicable
Email	Email	Not applicable
Relationship	Single select	Interviewer Colleague Former Colleague Manager Former Manager Subordinate Former Subordinate Client Vendor Mentor Mentee Classmate
Title	Single line text	Not applicable
LinkedIn	URL	Not applicable
Twitter	URL	Not applicable
Notes	Long text	Not applicable
Attachments	Attachment	Not applicable

This table will store information about your current and past roles. Anyone who has filled out online applications knows how time consuming it can be and having all of the information gathered here is a real time saver.

Job

Your job title.

Company

The name of the Company you worked for. This will add a row to the linked Companies table and add a record for Work History.

From

The date you started working for the company.

To

The date that you last worked for the company.

Address

The street address for the company.

City

The city where you worked for the company.

State

The state where you worked for the company.

Zip

The Zip code where you worked for the company.

Phone

The company’s main phone number.

Manager

This field is linked with the People table. You can type in their name here and they will be added to a row. Make sure to set their Relationship field to Former Manager and if you plan to use them a reference, check that checkbox as well.

Summary

A summary of your job responsibilities for that role.

Starting Salary

Your salary when you started working for the company.

Ending Salary

Your salary when you last worked for the company.

Reason for Leaving

The reason you left the company.

Stories

This is linked with the Stories table and is a good place to capture things that happened while working for the company that you can use in  interviews.

Attachment

This is a default field. You can use it to attach any files you feel are worth recording.

Field and Field Types

Field Name	Field Type	Choice / Options
Job	Single line text	Not applicable
Company	Link to Companies	Not applicable
From	Date	Not applicable
To	Date	Not applicable
Address	Single line text	Not applicable
City	Single line text	Not applicable
State	Single line text	Not applicable
Zip	Number	Integer
Phone	Phone number	Not applicable
Manager	Link to People	Not applicable
Summary	Long text	Not applicable
Starting Salary	Currency	Not applicable
Ending Salary	Currency	Not applicable
Reason for Leaving	Long text	Not applicable
Stories	Link to Stories	Not applicable
Attachments	Attachment	Not applicable

This is the most simple table in the base. It is just a place to record different job boards for quick reference.

Name

The name of the job search website.

URL

The web address of the job search website.

Jobs

This field is linked from the Jobs table. This is helpful to identify where you are finding the best job openings.

Stories

This is linked with the Stories table and is a good place to capture things that happened while working for the company that you can use in  interviews.

Attachment

This is a default field. You can use it to attach any files you feel are worth recording.

Notes

This is a default field. You can use it to store any notes you feel are worth recording.

Field and Field Types

Field Name	Field Type	Choice / Options
Name	Single line text	Not applicable
URL	URL	Not applicable
Jobs	Link to Jobs	Not applicable
Attachments	Long text	Not applicable
Notes	Attachment	Not applicable

Interviews can be daunting but this table will help you prepare. You can search the web for potential questions and you can prepare answers based on your past work history. You can also select your comfort in answering the question so you know which questions to focus on.

Question

A potential question you will be asked during a job interview.

Stories

Linked from the Stories table, this will be useful in explaining real world examples of something you experienced related to the question. You can add multiple stories if more than one would fit the scenario.

Comfort in Answering

Your comfort in answering the question. This is a Single select field and is very useful to use with the Kanban view. You can easily see which questions you struggle with most so you can work on them to become more comfortable. The options for this field are:

• Weak
• Medium
• Strong

Notes

This is a default field. You can use it to store any notes you feel are worth recording.

Attachment

This is a default field. You can use it to attach any files you feel are worth recording.

Field and Field Types

Field Name	Field Type	Choice / Options
Question	Long text	Not applicable
Stories	Link to Stories	Not applicable
Comfort in Answering	Single select	Weak Medium Strong
Notes	Long text	Not applicable
Attachment	Attachment	Not applicable

This table is a place to store information about wins and losses throughout your career and is very handy to have during interviews. This table used the STAR format to base stories on the Situation, Task, Action, and Result. This table links with both the Interview Prep and Work History tables.

Title

The title of your story. This will be whatever makes sense to you.

Category

This is a multiselect field. You can categorize these however you want. Below are the options I have populated:

• Working with others
• Leadership
• Success
• Failure
• Expertise
• Cost savings

Situation

Describe the situation that behind the story.

Task

Described what you were tasked with in the situation.

Action

Describe the action you took.

Result

Describe what the result was based on the action you took.

Position

This field is linked with the Work History tab. You can select the position that the story applied to.

Interview Prep

This field is linked with the Interview Prep table. You can select the question that the story relates to.

Attachment

This is a default field. You can use it to attach any files you feel are worth recording.

Field and Field Types

Field Name	Field Type	Choice/Options
Title	Single line text	Not applicable
Category	Multiple select	Working with othersLeadershipSuccessFailureExpertiseCost savings
Situation	Long text	Not applicable
Task	Long text	Not applicable
Action	Long text	Not applicable
Result	Long text	Not applicable
Position	Link to Work History	Not applicable
Interview Prep	Link to Interview Prep	Not applicable