Most offers come through a person. Track the people.
A job hunt dies in the gaps. You have a great call on Tuesday, mean to follow up the next week, and three weeks later it's too awkward to send anything. The fix is not more applications. It's a short list of people, a next step against each one, and something that tells you when a thread has gone quiet.
The system
- 1Write down the twenty people, not the two hundred jobs
Former managers, teammates who moved somewhere interesting, the two recruiters who were decent to you, anyone at a company on your list. Twenty is enough. A hundred names you never contact is just a different kind of procrastination.
- 2Give every person one next step and one date
Not a status. A next step: 'ask Priya for an intro to her VP eng', 'send Marcus the portfolio', 'check in after their launch'. If a person has no next step and no date, they are not in your search, they are in your address book.
- 3Log the conversation the day it happens
What they said about headcount, who they offered to introduce you to, what they asked you for. Six weeks later this is the difference between a specific follow-up and 'just checking in'.
- 4Keep a weekly rhythm, not a daily grind
One hour a week: who's gone quiet, who owes you something, who you owe. Job hunts fail from silence, not from poor spreadsheets.
- 5Close the loop when it ends, either way
Tell everyone who helped what happened. It takes ten minutes, it is the difference between a network and a list of favors, and it is the reason the next search is easier.
None of that needs software. It needs upkeep, which is the part people lose. That is the job A.R.O takes.
What A.R.O does for it
A kanban board with your stages (Reached out, Chatting, Referred, Interviewing, Offer). Drag people across as it moves; every card shows how long it's been since you last spoke.
Set a rhythm on the people who matter and A.R.O surfaces who's slipping, before the thread goes cold.
Before a call, the dashboard shows who you're meeting, when you last spoke, what you talked about, and anything you still owe them.
A job-hunt starter set: Stage, Role, Referred by, Next step. Fields you define, searchable across every contact.
Write the intro-request once with merge fields, then send personalized copies from your own Gmail or Outlook. Each send is logged on the contact.
Follow-ups land in Google Tasks, Microsoft To Do or Apple Reminders, so they live where you already look.
Questions
For about three weeks, yes. The part a spreadsheet never does is tell you that someone has gone quiet, or show you the last conversation right before the call. If you keep the sheet updated, keep the sheet.
No. Nothing is shared, nothing is sent automatically, and A.R.O never emails anyone on your behalf without you reviewing and clicking send.
Most searches fit in the free plan: 50 contacts, no card, no time limit. Paid is $4.99 a month if you want unlimited contacts and live sync.
Start with 50 people, free
No card, no trial clock. Connect Google, Apple or Microsoft and A.R.O fills itself in.