Artie Moffa has been an active Redditor for 12 years, writing more than 1,000 posts and comments on the platform. None, he says, are as popular as a post he made about — of all things — spreadsheets. Two years ago, Moffa posted several spreadsheet templates he used when looking for work. To this day, "anytime, day or night," the Alexandria, Virginia, resident sees several avatars on the file symbolizing, he believes, job seekers looking for a way to manage unwieldy searches. "Thank you very much for sharing," one commenter wrote. "This is so helpful in this hellscape job market."In the job search today, Moffa says, "you really need a system." Using spreadsheets as part of a job-hunting system isn't new. But they've taken on new meaning and utility for applicants facing particularly challenging, prolonged searches in today's "low-hire" job market. Last year, U.S. employers added just 116,000 jobs, compared to 1.46 million in 2024. Roughly 1 in 4 unemployed people in the U.S., approximately 1.8 million Americans, have been looking for work for more than half a year.Some applicants tell CNBC Make It that spreadsheets help them manage logistics as they juggle more applications than they've ever sent before; but spreadsheets also keep them motivated, offer a much-needed sense of control in a tough job market and allow them to uncover patterns and adjust their searches accordingly.Moffa — who was applying to positions in both San Francisco, where he'd lived for over 10 years, and Dublin, where he got his MBA — says he realized he needed a spreadsheet because his search was proving longer and more complicated than he expected."This was a 20-month search," Moffa adds. "You can't do it on Post-It notes."'I never felt like I needed to track it quite like I do today'Moffa used multiple spreadsheets, including a job application tracker, to keep from getting his wires crossed. "The last thing you want to tell a recruiter is, 'I'm sorry, I've applied for so many jobs, I don't really remember your thing,'" he says.The sheer volume of applications also led Michael Trusio of Newport Beach, California, to use a spreadsheet in his search for sales leadership positions. He initially tracked his applications by sorting submission emails into a folder in his inbox, but it was no longer enough. The spreadsheet helped him avoid feeling overwhelmed as the volume of applications grew, he says.Roughly 8,200 applications are submitted per minute on LinkedIn, and 38% of U.S. job seekers reported applying to more jobs than ever while hearing back less often, the company told CNBC Make It on April 3.Lara Thompson says her spreadsheet helps her see patterns in "what's working and what's not working" in a challenging job search.Lara ThompsonLara Thompson of Atlanta has been looking for work in marketing operations management since January 2025 and tracks information like who she contacted when applying, whether anyone recommended her and which version of her resume she submitted. During her last job search in 2020, she had two versions of her resume; today, she has around 20."I never felt like I needed to track it quite like I do today," Thompson says. "It's a completely different way that you have to approach your job search."'It's only natural to try to control what we can'A spreadsheet isn't just for organization. It can also give candidates a sense of control in a job market offering them little of it, says Mindy Shoss, an organizational psychology professor at the University of Central Florida.Spreadsheets can help applicants "better manage uncertainty and maintain a sense of control and structure as they navigate a difficult job search process," Shoss says."People have a basic psychological need to feel a sense of certainty and predictability in their lives," she adds. "When the future becomes opaque and difficult to predict, it's only natural to try to control what we can."The average duration of unemployment in March was 25.3 weeks, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many employers are inundated with AI-generated application materials that can contribute to a slower hiring process. As of November 2025, it took a company an average of 47 days from posting a job to extending an offer, up from less than a month in late 2022, according to data from Indeed.Michael Trusio's job search spreadsheet, shown in part here with anonymized information, also includes columns for the company, industry vertical, headquarter location and other fields.Looking at his spreadsheet can be dispiriting at times, Trusio attests; by its count, he's applied to more than 500 positions since mid-2024. "It paints a picture that sometimes I don't want to see," he says. But it also shows the effort he's put in and his "small victories" along the way, he adds."It gives me a clearer picture and a direction of where I've been, where I am today, and hopefully where I'm going," Trusio says.Documenting his search helped Moffa "stay upbeat" when the process otherwise felt "demoralizing," he says. "If I can map reality to a spreadsheet, I can iterate, I can test. I can sort of understand my world a little bit."Learning 'what's working and what's not working'Spreadsheets can also help people "start seeing patterns" in their job search, says Shoss. "All humans are scientists at heart," she adds. "People are going to try to read into patterns and really try to develop their own understanding so that they can figure out what to do next."That's exactly what Sarah Rainey's been doing. When the Richmond, Virginia, resident — who says she became known to her former coworkers as an "Excel queen" — began her latest job search in mid-February, making a spreadsheet was a no-brainer.Rainey says her prior role was created for her with the title of project manager, so at first she gravitated toward positions with similar titles. But data analysis of her spreadsheet and the job responsibilities of the roles in it revealed her actual work experience was better suited to positions in operations and strategy. Without tracking, she says, she would be looking at the wrong jobs.Sarah Rainey says her job search spreadsheet, shown in part here, helped her better focus her efforts.Sarah RaineyRainey's data analysis also unearthed other patterns. She saw that for roles where she'd heard back, it took about nine business days on average; knowing that helped her better time follow-ups, she says. Seeing that 90% of the roles aligned with her target salary were at the senior associate level or higher helped her "validate how I should be positioning myself," she says.Thompson, likewise, says her spreadsheet surfaces "what's working and what's not working." She can see which resume versions are getting the most traction, for example, and now uses those more.Moffa's spreadsheet portfolio also included one document where he noted who ultimately got the jobs he was rejected from, when he could discern as much from LinkedIn posts. Analyzing those people's fit to the position compared to his own helped him glean insight on his application and candidacy, he says, at a time when companies rarely offer feedback.Thompson, Rainey and Trusio are still plugging away at their searches, and adding to their spreadsheets, one row and column at a time. Moffa's spreadsheets and other job searching efforts have paid off; he now works in managed services for a Japanese electronics company. While he's glad to have found work, he says a spreadsheet shouldn't be necessary to manage the job search."It brings some order to the chaos," he adds, "but I deeply lament that the chaos exists."Want to lead with confidence and bring out the best in your team? Take CNBC's new online course, How To Be A Standout Leader. Expert instructors share practical strategies to help you build trust, communicate clearly and motivate other people to do their best work. Sign up today!