Job applicant pipeline tracker in Google Sheets

Job applicant pipeline tracker in Google Sheets

An n8n workflow. A new applicant email becomes a row in a Google Sheet, and two forms, an edit in the sheet and a Cal.com
booking move each candidate on through screening, a task and an interview.

What is inside

• workflow.json: the workflow as n8n exports it, 16 nodes in five separate lanes, each with its own trigger. It holds no
  credential and none of its author's spreadsheet. The webhook's path, a random one in the original copy, is
  hiring-sheet-edit here.
• README.md: these notes.

Before you start

• An n8n instance, on n8n Cloud or your own server.
• A Google account for Gmail and Google Sheets.
• An OpenAI API key.
• A Cal.com account and its API key, for the booking lane.
• The spreadsheet below, and the small Apps Script further down that tells Webhook about your edits.

The spreadsheet

Make one spreadsheet and write these 20 column names in row 1, in this order, from column A to column T:

Indeed Email, First Name, Last Name, Job, Rejected, Questions, Screening, Test Complete, Test Approved,
Interview Scheduled, Hire, Email, Resume, Portfolio Link, Years of Experience, Expected Salary, Notes, Date Added,
Code, Test Link

The sheet-edit lane reads columns by position, so keep these where they are.

| Column | Position | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Rejected | E, number 5 | An edit here sends the Gmail2 email |
| Screening | G, number 7 | An edit here sends the Gmail1 email |
| Test Approved | I, number 9 | An edit here sends the Gmail3 email |
| Email | L, number 12 | The address the three edit emails go to |

Indeed Email holds the address the application came from. Code is the key every later step matches on.

Set it up

1. In n8n, create a workflow, open its menu and choose Import from File. Pick workflow.json.
2. Make the spreadsheet with the 20 columns, then copy its ID: the long part of its address between /d/ and /edit.
3. Add a Google Sheets OAuth2 credential. In Google Sheets, Google Sheets1, Google Sheets2 and Google Sheets3,
   select it and replace YOUR_SHEET_ID with the ID. Each node finds its tab as the first tab, gid=0.
4. Add a Gmail OAuth2 credential and select it in Gmail Trigger, Gmail, Gmail1, Gmail2 and Gmail3.
5. In Gmail Trigger, add a Search filter so only applications start a run, for example a label you give them.
6. Add an OpenAI credential and select it in OpenAI.
7. Add a Cal.com credential with your API key and select it in Cal.com Trigger. n8n registers its webhook with Cal.com
   when you publish, so there is no address to copy.
8. In Cal.com, add a booking question whose identifier is code. Google Sheets3 reads the answer from it.
9. Write the Subject and the Message of Gmail, Gmail1, Gmail2 and Gmail3. They are empty in the file.
10. Add the Apps Script below to the spreadsheet, with Webhook's production address.
11. Save, send each form once from its test address, then press Publish so the hourly check, the forms and the webhook run.

The edit webhook

The file does not include the script that makes Webhook fire. Webhook expects a POST with the edited cell's value,
its column number and the whole row as a list of lists. This sketch sends exactly that. Put it in the spreadsheet's Apps
Script editor, replace YOUR_WEBHOOK_URL, then add an On edit trigger for it under Triggers: a plain onEdit cannot call
another server.

function onSheetEdit(e) {
  var sheet = e.range.getSheet();
  var row = sheet.getRange(e.range.getRow(), 1, 1, sheet.getLastColumn()).getValues();
  UrlFetchApp.fetch('YOUR_WEBHOOK_URL', {
    method: 'post',
    contentType: 'application/json',
    payload: JSON.stringify({ value: e.value, range: { columnStart: e.range.getColumn() }, rowValues: row })
  });
}

Filter lets the call through only when value is the text TRUE, so tick a checkbox or type TRUE. Switch then
sends column 7 to Gmail1, column 5 to Gmail2 and column 9 to Gmail3, and each writes to rowValues[0][11], which is
column L.

What runs when

| Lane | Starts when | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Application | Gmail Trigger finds new mail, checking every hour | OpenAI reads the job title from the subject, Google Sheets adds or updates the row matched on Indeed Email, Gmail writes to the sender |
| Onboarding | A candidate sends On form submission | Google Sheets1 updates the row matched on Code, sets Questions to TRUE and sets Rejected |
| Sheet edits | The Apps Script posts to Webhook | Gmail1, Gmail2 or Gmail3 writes to the candidate |
| Task | A candidate sends On form submission1 | Google Sheets2 sets Test Complete to TRUE and saves the link in Test Link |
| Interview | Someone books on Cal.com | Google Sheets3 sets Interview Scheduled to TRUE |

The five lanes share no lines on the canvas. Only the sheet and the code join them.

A new row's Code comes from Math.floor(Math.random() * 999999), a number of up to six digits. First Name and Last Name
come from splitting the sender's display name at the first space. Date Added is written like 02/11/26 09:30AM.

Google Sheets1 sets Rejected to TRUE when Years Of Experience is 1 or less, and to FALSE otherwise.

Change the result

• Which mail counts as an application: the Search filter of Gmail Trigger.
• Job-title prompt: the messages in OpenAI, a gpt-4o-mini call that answers as { "job": "" }.
• Email text: the Subject and the Message of the four Gmail nodes. In the three edit emails, $json.body.rowValues[0] holds
  the whole row, so the code in column S is rowValues[0][18], counting from 0.
• The rejection rule: the Rejected expression in Google Sheets1.
• Form questions: the fields of the two form nodes, and the matching columns of Google Sheets1 and Google Sheets2.
• Which column sends which email: the three rules of Switch, set to 7, 5 and 9.

Good to know

• Empty emails: the four Gmail nodes have no subject and no message, so nothing useful is sent until you write them. The
  column names suggest an order: the first email asks for the onboarding form and carries the code, Gmail1 asks for the
  task and sends the task form, Gmail3 invites the candidate to book, and Gmail2 declines.
• Unfiltered inbox: the file's trigger has no Search filter, so every new mail in the account starts a run. This version
  of the trigger also returns mail you send, so the workflow's own emails can come back as new applications. Filter it
  before you publish.
• A wrong code: Google Sheets1 and Google Sheets2 append a new row when no row has that code, so a mistyped code
  leaves a partial row. The forms do not check that the code belongs to the person who types it.
• A second email from the same sender updates the same row and gives it a new Code, which breaks the old one.
• The one-year rule marks a candidate Rejected in the sheet but sends nothing by itself. n8n writes the value through
  the Sheets API. That does not start your edit trigger, so the decline goes out only when you enter the value yourself.
• Open entrances: anyone who has a form's address can send it, and Webhook takes any POST. Turn on its Authentication
  and send the same header from the script.
• Personal data: the subject lines go to OpenAI, and the candidates' details sit in the sheet and pass through Gmail and
  Cal.com. Check what your local rules ask of hiring data.
• Cost: one short OpenAI call for each new mail. Gmail, Google Sheets and the forms add nothing in n8n.