Google Sheets tracking for a three-stage recruiting funnel

A recruiting spreadsheet is most useful as a shared view of stage movement, not as an uncontrolled second source of truth. A separate tab for application screening, assessment, and interview makes the handoffs visible. It also helps a small team spot delays without opening every candidate report. The application and decision system should still own the canonical candidate record.

This matters because spreadsheets are easy to copy, download, and edit. A sheet containing candidate answers or links to uploaded material may spread farther than intended. Decide who may access the spreadsheet and whether your organization wants those details exported before connecting it. A minimal hand-maintained tracker might use only candidate identifier, role, stage, timestamps, and next action; Badal's automatic Sheet currently includes more information, as described below.

Design the three tabs around actions

The exact columns depend on the tool and your privacy policy. Badal currently syncs candidate name, email, stage, score, decision, application and assessment answers, and links to uploaded files across the three tabs. The links lead to Badal's authenticated upload endpoint; sharing the Sheet does not itself grant access to the files, but the answers are present in the Sheet. Restrict its sharing accordingly. If a candidate is waiting because AI screening capacity is exhausted, label them waiting rather than rejected. If a PDF is unreadable, label manual review; do not insert a zero score and move on.

Work through one example

Imagine a content and operations internship receives 50 applications. All 50 should be visible in Stage 1 if the form accepts them. If only ten AI screenings are included at the moment, the remaining applicants are still submissions, not completed screenings. The Stage 1 tab helps the recruiter count the waiting backlog and decide whether to review manually or add processing capacity when available. A qualified candidate who receives the exercise moves into Stage 2; after assessment review, an interview_invited candidate appears in Stage 3. Confirm actual bookings outside Badal.

The sheet's value is operational clarity. It should answer “Who needs attention today?” rather than replace the evidence report. For actual conversion rates, use the right denominators: 10 screened out of 50 submissions is 20% processed, not a 20% pass rate. Our analytics guide shows how to avoid that error.

Connect Google with the right permissions

Google's Sheets API can create a spreadsheet, but a successful Google sign-in is not by itself proof that spreadsheet permission was granted. The recruiter should check integration status after consent. If Sheets was not granted during sign-in, reconnect for that permission. Badal does not need Calendar scopes for booking links. Keep access on the recruiter's intended Google account, and review who can open or share the resulting file.

When connecting, test with a synthetic role and candidate. Confirm that a spreadsheet exists, that all three tabs exist, and that Stage 1 receives a new application. Then check what happens when the role is closed or an update fails. A queued sync is not a confirmed Sheet row. Preserve failed sync jobs for review and retry rather than silently ignoring them.

What Badal does today

Badal can create one Google spreadsheet per role when the recruiter connects Google with Sheets access. The spreadsheet has three tabs for screening, assessment, and interview. Public application forms and Stage 1 Sheet sync remain available beyond the first ten included AI screenings, so a recruiter can still use the form and spreadsheet without automated screening. Badal's app remains the source of truth for reports and final decisions. The Google integration guide explains setup, and the workspace shows integration and job status.

If a role existed before Sheets was connected, check whether a sync needs to be requested from that campaign. The current API includes POST /api/campaigns/{id}/sync-sheet; the OpenAPI schema is the definitive request contract. Do not claim a spreadsheet was created until Badal returns a confirmed link or the integration status shows it.

Protect the data

Restrict Sheet sharing to reviewers who need stage information. Use organization-managed accounts where practical. Decide how long applications and their synced rows should be retained, and document your deletion process. A copied Sheet may not follow changes or deletion in the source system. Treat it as a data export for access-control purposes.

If a recruiter edits a cell manually, clarify whether that is only a note or an attempt to change the official candidate stage. Without a documented two-way sync, assume edits in Sheets do not update Badal. Make final keep or reject decisions in the signed-in workspace or an authorized API flow after explicit recruiter approval.

Agent-ready checklist

Check whether my Google connection includes Sheets. For each active role, report whether a role-specific spreadsheet is confirmed, pending, or failed. Show Stage 1 submissions, Stage 2 assessment progress, and Stage 3 booking-link invitations using actual counts. Never label an invitation as a confirmed meeting. Distinguish waiting AI screens from rejected candidates. If a sync failed, identify the job and ask before retrying. Never copy an API key or full private candidate material into a Sheet.

A spreadsheet helps a team coordinate. A reliable workflow still requires clear ownership of records, permissions, and decisions.

Frequently asked questions

Does editing a Badal Sheet row update the candidate?

No documented two-way sync exists. Change the authoritative candidate record in Badal, and treat Sheet edits as local notes that may be overwritten by a later sync.

Do the upload links make a résumé public?

The links point to an authenticated Badal route. A person still needs the authorized recruiter account to download the file. The application and assessment answer text is copied into the spreadsheet, so Sheet sharing remains a privacy decision.