A client calls about a candidate’s experience with a planning system. The recruiter opens the candidate record and finds no mention of it. It turns out the client is reading an older CV that was sent three months ago for another vacancy, while the current version, updated after a job change, was only sent to a second client. In the interview the candidate is asked about details that are no longer correct, and nobody can say which document the client actually holds. This article explains why every client submission in your Applicant Tracking System needs a recorded CV version: what goes wrong without it, what to record with every submission, how a master profile and tailored versions work together, what to do when a candidate’s CV changes, how the approach differs per segment and how to check with your own data whether submissions are traceable.
Traceable submissions matter in every segment. Recruitment agencies send the same candidate to several clients and often adjust the profile per vacancy. Staffing desks send short profiles quickly and need to know which details a site contact has seen. Secondment firms send updated profiles for each new assignment and extension. Executive search firms share detailed, confidential candidate reports with a small group of client contacts. In-house recruitment teams pass applications to hiring managers and need to know which version each manager reviewed. In every case the question is the same: can you show which document a client received, or only that a candidate was submitted?
What goes wrong without a recorded version
- Recruiter and client discuss different documents without realising it
- An interview is prepared on outdated experience, dates or qualifications
- A tailored profile is changed after sending, so nobody knows what the client read
- A candidate asks which data was shared with whom, and the answer has to be reconstructed from email
- A colleague who takes over the vacancy cannot see what the client has already received
The result is awkward client conversations, interviews that start on the wrong foot and a submission history that cannot be trusted.
What to record with every submission
Treat every submission as a fixed record that is not edited afterwards. A practical set of fields:
- Document sent — the exact file or profile version, stored as sent and not overwritten later
- Vacancy and client contact — for which vacancy, and to which contact with a role in that vacancy
- Date and sender — when the submission went out and which recruiter sent it
- Format — full CV, agency profile, short profile or anonymised profile
- Consent — a reference to the candidate’s consent for this submission
- Changes — a short note of what was adjusted compared with the master profile, if anything
Use fixed fields rather than a free-text note, so you can filter and report. Combined with the check against double submissions, this gives one reliable overview of what each client has received.
One master profile, tailored versions per client
Keep one current master CV or profile per candidate in the candidate record, and create a tailored version only when a vacancy calls for a different emphasis. A tailored version may reorder experience, shorten text or highlight relevant skills from your shared skills list, but it never adds experience, qualifications or dates the candidate has not confirmed. Share substantial changes with the candidate before sending, so the candidate knows what the client will read. Once sent, the version is frozen: corrections become a new version with a new submission record, never an edit of the old one. Every change remains visible in the history, in the same way that stage changes record who moved a candidate.
When a candidate’s CV changes
Candidates change jobs, finish courses or correct details. Store the new CV as the new master version, with the date it was received, and keep the earlier versions according to your retention period. Check which open submissions still use an older version: if the change matters for the vacancy, for example a new employer, a changed notice period or a different salary expectation, send the updated version to the client contact and record it as a new submission. When a candidate asks which data was shared, the submission records answer an access request directly: which versions, to which clients, on which dates.
Differences per segment
Agencies submit the same candidate to several clients and need version records per client to keep conversations apart. Staffing desks often send short profiles for shifts at short notice and record at least which profile and which contact, so that site contacts and planners see consistent details. Secondment firms send an updated profile for each new assignment or extension and keep the history of profiles shared with the same client over time. Executive search firms share confidential reports and record exactly which client contacts received which version, so access stays limited to the people involved in the mandate. In-house teams record which application version each hiring manager reviewed, especially when candidates update their CV during a long process.
Let the system help
Much of the work around submissions repeats and suits automation: storing the sent document automatically with every submission, blocking edits to a version once it has been sent, warning when a submission uses a CV older than the latest master version, suggesting a resend when a candidate uploads a new CV during an open process and showing the full submission history on the client record. An artificial intelligence helper can highlight differences between two CV versions or draft a short summary of what changed. The recruiter checks the result and decides what is sent; artificial intelligence does not replace recruiters and does not decide what a client sees.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Only a status, no document — the record says submitted, but not what was sent
- Overwriting the CV — the master file is replaced and the version the client holds is lost
- Editing after sending — a sent profile is changed, so the record no longer matches the client’s copy
- Tailoring without the candidate — the client reads emphasis or wording the candidate has never seen
- Submissions only in the mailbox — the history disappears when a recruiter leaves or changes desk
Questions teams ask
- Do we need this for short profiles too? — Yes; a short profile is also a document the client holds, so record which one was sent
- Who records the version? — The recruiter who sends the submission; ideally the system stores the document as part of sending
- May we change the candidate’s CV? — Only in layout and emphasis, never in facts, and with substantial changes shared with the candidate first
- How long do we keep sent versions? — As long as the candidate record itself, following your agreed retention period
- Does this replace the weekly client report? — No; the weekly progress report summarises progress, the submission record shows what was sent
Check it with your own data
Count from your own records, per team and per segment: how many submissions in the past quarter have a stored document, how many have a recorded recipient with a role in the vacancy, how many open submissions use a CV older than the candidate’s latest master version and how many sent versions were edited afterwards. Compare the time to first client feedback on submissions with a complete record and on submissions without one. Discuss these figures in your weekly pipeline review and report the number of submissions behind each figure. Do not compare with industry averages; your own trend is the number that matters.
A practical start
- Agree the fixed fields that every client submission must have
- Store the document exactly as sent and make sent versions read-only
- Keep one master CV per candidate and tailor only with the candidate informed
- Check open submissions whenever a candidate sends an updated CV
- Review the share of complete submission records in your weekly pipeline review
Recorded versions, the same document on both sides
A submission is more than a status change. Record the exact CV version with every client submission, keep one master profile per candidate, never edit what has been sent, follow up when a CV changes and check your own figures. Explore the product or book a demo — we show how candidates, submissions and the pipeline work together in BoldATS for your segment.