Google Sheets Job Application Tracker

A Google Apps Script sidebar for logging job applications directly to a Google Sheet. The tracker can fetch a public job posting, use Gemini to extract structured job details, and append the application to your spreadsheet. It also supports manual entry when a posting cannot be fetched or parsed.

Features

• Custom Job Tracker menu in Google Sheets.
• Sidebar for autofill or manual application entry.
• Fetches readable text from public job posting URLs.
• Uses Gemini gemini-3.5-flash to extract:
  • Position / Job Title
  • Company
  • Industry
  • Role Type
  • Location
  • Platform Applied On
  • Date Posted
  • Salary Range
• Records the current date and time in Date Applied.
• Provides a resume-name field for Resume upload?.
• Provides a Yes/No field for Resume Form?.
• Defaults Status to Sent.
• Preserves unspecified fields such as Connections?, Notes, Latest word, and contact 1 as blank.
• Provides a raw-text fallback for pages blocked by anti-bot protection.

Requirements

• A Google account.
• A Google Sheet.
• Access to Google Apps Script.
• A Gemini API key.

The Gemini API has usage limits and may require billing depending on Google's current terms, account, model availability, and usage. Review the current Google AI Studio and Gemini API documentation before using it at scale.

Spreadsheet setup

1. Create or open a Google Sheet.

2. Put the following headers in row 1, one header per column, in this order:

   Position / Job Title
   Company
   Industry
   Role Type
   Location
   Platform Applied On
   Date Posted
   Date Applied
   Connections?
   Cover Letter
   Resume upload?
   Resume Form?
   Salary Range
   Notes
   Status
   Latest word
   contact 1
   Link to Posting
   

The script matches columns by header name, so the order can be changed after setup. Use the unaccented header names shown above. The Resume upload? column stores the name of the resume used, while Resume Form? records whether the application form used resume-based autofill.

If the sheet is blank, the script can create the expected headers when the first application is logged. Creating the header row yourself is recommended so the sheet is easy to inspect before the first use.

Add the script to Google Sheets

1. Open the target spreadsheet.
2. Select Extensions → Apps Script.
3. In the Apps Script editor, replace the contents of Code.gs with the contents of Code.gs.
4. Click + → HTML to create an HTML file.
5. Name the file exactly Sidebar.
6. Replace its contents with Sidebar.html.
7. Click Save.

The Apps Script project must be bound to the spreadsheet that should receive the application records. Do not create a standalone Apps Script project unless you update the spreadsheet access logic yourself.

Get a Gemini API key

1. Open Google AI Studio API keys.
2. Sign in with your Google account.
3. Select Create API key.
4. Choose an existing Google Cloud project or create a new one if prompted.
5. Copy the generated key.

Treat the key like a password. Do not commit it to GitHub, put it in Code.gs, or paste it into Sidebar.html.

Add the API key to Apps Script

1. In the Apps Script editor for the spreadsheet, open Project Settings using the gear icon.

2. Find Script Properties.

3. Click Add script property.

4. Set the property name exactly to:

   GEMINI_API_KEY
   

5. Paste the Gemini API key as the property value.

6. Save the property.

The backend reads the key using PropertiesService.getScriptProperties(). The key is never sent to the sidebar or written to the spreadsheet.

Authorize and open the tracker

1. Return to the spreadsheet and refresh the page.
2. Open the Job Tracker menu.
3. Select Open Tracker Panel.
4. The first time you use the script, Google will ask you to authorize access to the spreadsheet and external services. Review the requested permissions and authorize the script.

If the menu does not appear, refresh the spreadsheet again. You can also run the onOpen function once from the Apps Script editor, then return to the spreadsheet.

Using the sidebar

Autofill Form

1. Enter the public job posting URL.
2. Enter the name of the resume used, or click Use Last to reuse the most recently recorded resume. Select the Yes/No values for the cover letter and Resume Form? questions.
3. Click Log Application.
4. The script fetches the page and sends the readable job text to Gemini.
5. Extracted values are written to the matching spreadsheet columns.

If the posting is blocked or cannot be read, paste the job description into Raw job description and submit again. The raw text is used for extraction without requiring the page fetch to succeed.

Manual Entry

1. Select Manual Entry.
2. Enter the available job details and the name of the resume used.
3. Select the Yes/No application details.
4. Click Log Application.

Manual Entry does not call Gemini. Missing fields are left blank.

For both modes:

• Date Applied is set automatically by the server when the row is written.
• Status is set to Sent.
• Link to Posting receives the URL entered in the sidebar.
• The script does not guess values for Connections?, Notes, Latest word, or contact 1.

Troubleshooting

"The Gemini API key is not configured"

Confirm that the key is stored as a Script Property named exactly GEMINI_API_KEY, not as a user property or a value in the source code.

The Job Tracker menu is missing

Refresh the spreadsheet. If it is still missing, open Apps Script and run onOpen once, authorize the project, then refresh the spreadsheet again.

The job page cannot be fetched

Some job boards require JavaScript, authentication, or block automated requests. Paste the visible job description into the raw-text fallback area.

A column is not being populated

Check that the header in row 1 matches one of the supported names exactly. In particular, preserve the question marks in Resume upload? and Resume Form?. Missing expected headers are created automatically when the first application is logged.

Gemini returns incomplete information

AI extraction depends on the text available from the job page. Use Manual Entry for corrections, or provide a more complete job description in the raw-text fallback.

Nothing happens when log application button is clicked

This is likely an account RPC issue. This happens when multiple google accounts are signed in. To resolve this, either sign out of all accounts and just sign in with just the owner of the sheet and apps script, or use an incognito browser and sign into the account.

Privacy and security

• Job descriptions and URLs entered in Autofill mode are sent to the Gemini API for extraction.
• Keep your API key in Apps Script Script Properties.
• Do not commit API keys or other credentials to this repository.
• Restrict access to the spreadsheet and Apps Script project to people who should be able to view the application data.
• Revoke or rotate the API key from Google AI Studio if it is exposed.

Project files

• Code.gs — spreadsheet menu, page fetching, Gemini integration, extraction normalization, and row logging.
• Sidebar.html — the sidebar form and client-side interaction.