Submittal in Staffing: Definition and What to Include

In staffing and recruiting, a submittal is a candidate's resume and supporting information sent by a recruiter to a client for a specific job order, formally putting that candidate forward for the role.

The term is most common in US staffing, where it is used both as a noun ("we sent three submittals") and as a desk metric. In the UK and elsewhere the same thing is usually called a candidate submission.

What a submittal includes

A typical submittal package contains:

• The formatted resume, in the agency's or client's template, usually with the candidate's contact details removed.
• A summary or write-up explaining how the candidate matches the job order's key requirements.
• Logistics: availability, pay rate or salary expectations, work authorization as confirmed by the recruiter, location and willingness to commute or relocate.
• Confirmation of the right to represent, showing the candidate has agreed to be submitted for this job.
• Any client-specific fields, such as a requisition number or a vendor management system reference.

For staffing firms working through a vendor management system (VMS), the submittal is often entered into the client's system with a fixed set of fields and attachments.

Submittal metrics

Staffing teams often track:

• Submittals per job order, a measure of desk activity and coverage.
• Submittal-to-interview ratio, a measure of how well recruiters match candidates to requirements.
• Time to submit, from receiving a job order to sending the first qualified candidate.
• Duplicate submittals, where the same candidate is sent by more than one agency.

A low submittal-to-interview ratio usually points to weak matching or unclear write-ups rather than too few candidates. Sending fewer, better-evidenced submittals often improves it.

Common submittal mistakes

• Resume details that do not match the candidate's original, such as wrong dates or titles.
• Contact details left in a header, footer or file properties.
• Submitting without the candidate's consent for that specific role.
• A write-up that claims skills the resume does not show.
• Sending a Word file and PDF that differ because one was edited after the other was saved.

How CVPitch helps with submittals

CVPitch turns a candidate's resume into your client's format, links each fact to its source passage and requires a recruiter to approve the exact version before export. You can make fields such as pay rate or right-to-represent date mandatory for a client. Job match marks each job order requirement as evidenced, partly evidenced or not shown, with the resume passage beside it, and drafts an editable write-up citing the evidence. Tracked share links show when the client opens the submittal and let them choose Request interview, Maybe or Not a fit. See features and our guide to resume formatting software for staffing agencies.

Related terms

• Candidate submission: the UK term for the same package.
• Right to represent: the candidate's permission to be submitted.
• Contract staffing agencies: how a fast contract desk uses CVPitch.

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