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Hey Vitae vs Job Search Spreadsheet

Hey Vitae vs a job search spreadsheet

A spreadsheet holds rows. Hey Vitae runs the rest of the search around them — prep, follow-ups, documents, and what’s working.

Last updated: May 2026

  • A practice interview built from the posting, every answer scored

    Hey Vitae
    Yes
    Job Search Spreadsheet
    No

  • Stores rows of jobs

    Hey Vitae
    Yes
    Job Search Spreadsheet
    Yes

  • Free and customizable

    Hey Vitae
    Free tier
    Job Search Spreadsheet
    Yes

  • Tracks stage and next step per job

    Hey Vitae
    Yes
    Job Search Spreadsheet
    Manual

  • Links recruiter emails to the right role

    Hey Vitae
    Yes
    Job Search Spreadsheet
    Manual

  • Versioned resumes and cover letters

    Hey Vitae
    Yes
    Job Search Spreadsheet
    Manual links only

  • Role-specific interview prep kits

    Hey Vitae
    Yes
    Job Search Spreadsheet
    No

  • Practice interviews

    Hey Vitae
    Yes
    Job Search Spreadsheet
    No

  • Built-in follow-up reminders

    Hey Vitae
    Yes
    Job Search Spreadsheet
    No

  • Networking conversations and referrals in the same pipeline as jobs

    Hey Vitae
    Yes
    Job Search Spreadsheet
    Manual

  • Surfaces stalled jobs and search patterns

    Hey Vitae
    Yes
    Job Search Spreadsheet
    Manual setup required

  • Shareable Spotlight pages

    Hey Vitae
    Yes
    Job Search Spreadsheet
    No

A spreadsheet is genuinely useful early in a job search. It’s free, customizable, and you already know how it works. For five jobs and one interview, it’s enough.

Notion templates fall in the same bucket — beautifully organized, easy to make your own, and a real upgrade over a raw spreadsheet for people who already live in Notion. But like a spreadsheet, they’re still a place you record what happened rather than a system that helps you decide what to do next.

It stops being enough when the search gets real. The columns multiply, the tabs blur together, you’ve lost track of which resume went where, and the follow-up you meant to send on Tuesday is now four days late. The spreadsheet records what happened. It can’t help you decide what to do next.

Hey Vitae replaces the spreadsheet with a workspace that does the rest of the work — interview prep, follow-up reminders, threaded recruiter email, document versioning, and insights into what’s actually moving. You don’t lose the structure of a spreadsheet. You gain everything around it.

When a spreadsheet is the better choice

We'd rather you pick the right tool than the wrong subscription. Here's when the other option is the better call.

  • You’re tracking a handful of roles and one or two interviews — any tool’s overhead isn’t worth it yet.
  • You want total control over your own columns and already live in Sheets or Notion.
  • You don’t need reminders, prep, or document versioning — just a place to record what happened.

Built for candidate momentum

Less setup, clearer next steps.

Hey Vitae is intentionally organized around the parts of the search candidates actually have to manage: roles, stages, prep, documents, follow-ups, and outcomes. Instead of asking you to build your own system or endlessly rewrite materials, it gives each job a clearer next step.

  • See which jobs need attention
  • Prep from the role you’re actually interviewing for
  • Keep notes, docs, reminders, and outcomes connected

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Common questions

  • Can I use Hey Vitae instead of a job search spreadsheet?

    That's exactly what it's built for. A spreadsheet can hold rows, but it can't connect resumes to interview prep, surface stalled threads, remind you about follow-ups, or show you what's actually getting traction. Hey Vitae replaces the spreadsheet with a workspace that does the rest of the work too.

  • Can I move my existing spreadsheet into Hey Vitae?

    Most candidates re-add their active roles with the extension or by pasting job URLs — usually only takes a few minutes for an in-progress search. You don’t have to bring archived rows; keep the spreadsheet around for history if you want.

  • What is Hey Vitae?

    Hey Vitae is a job-search tool that leads with the interview. Pick the date and paste the posting, and you rehearse the interview you actually have, with an interviewer who has read the posting and feedback that quotes your own words and names the one thing to fix. Around it: your resume read the way a recruiter reads it, roles that fit, and every application and follow-up in one place. Tracking is free.

  • Can I track interviews and follow-ups?

    Yes. Interviews are first-class — you can prep with role-specific kits, log notes during and after, and schedule follow-up reminders. Threads from forwarded recruiter emails link to the right job automatically.

  • Is Hey Vitae free?

    Yes — Free tracks unlimited jobs, keeps 5 saved documents, includes practice drills and the likely questions for every interview, and lets you try the AI, with no card needed to start. One interview coming up? Its full prep is $12, no subscription. When your search picks up, Pro makes everything unlimited — match scores, cover-letter feedback and resume coaching on every job, a prep kit for every interview, Deep Prep research before each one, and 5 practice interviews a month. It's $29/month, or a $129 Job Search Pass for 6 months of access with no auto-renewal.

  • How does Hey Vitae's price compare?

    Competitively — and our numbers are the ones we'll stand behind. Hey Vitae is free to start with unlimited job tracking. Pro is $29/month, or about $22/month on the 6-month Job Search Pass, and it covers both halves of a search: unlimited Apply IQ, resumes, cover letters and interview prep, plus Deep Prep research and 5 practice interviews a month. The pass is a one-time purchase that doesn't auto-renew, which is worth checking against any tool quoting you a weekly rate.

  • Is my job search data private?

    Yes. Your tracked jobs, notes, documents, and emails are private to your account. Spotlight pages are only public if you choose to publish them — and you can keep them private or share role-specific links. See the privacy page for full details on data handling.

The bottom line

Get the interview.
Get through it.

Rehearse the interview you actually have, and get the honest read nobody else gives you. Free to try, no card.

Start free