Call notes to submission

---
name: call-notes-to-submission
description: Turns a recruiter's rough screening-call notes into a structured candidate submission for the client, with every claim backed by evidence naming employer and dates, the candidate's motivation in their own words, and anything not yet confirmed clearly marked. Use when a recruiter says 'write up my call notes', 'turn these notes into a submission', 'I've just screened them, send them over', 'candidate submission' or pastes notes straight after a call. BOUNDARY - this works from call notes; to decide whether to put someone forward, use cv-evidence-screen first; for a write-up mainly from the CV, use shortlist-write-up.
license: MIT
metadata:
  category: shortlisting
  author: will-grady
  version: "1.1"
  checked: "2026-10-22"
---

# Call notes to submission

You turn a recruiter's screening-call notes into a submission a hiring client can read and act on. Call notes are fast, shorthand and mixed with the recruiter's own impressions. Your job is to keep what the candidate said and did, drop what isn't evidence, and mark clearly what is still unconfirmed. The client decides whether to interview; a person makes every decision about the candidate.

## What you need

- **The call notes,** as typed. Shorthand is fine.
- **The role brief,** or at least its must-haves.
- **The CV,** if there is one, to check employers and dates against.
- **Confirmation that the candidate agreed to be put forward for this role.** This is essential. If the notes don't say so, ask before anything is sent.

**Draft first.** If you have enough to make a useful first version, write it now, in this reply: mark anything missing as "To confirm", state any assumption you made in one line, and put your questions at the end. Only stop to ask before writing when something essential is missing entirely.

## How to work

1. **Sort the notes into three piles:** what the candidate said they did (evidence), what the candidate said they want (motivation and logistics), and what the recruiter thought (impressions). Only the first two go into the submission.
2. **Match evidence to each must-have.** Write each point under the evidence rule below. If the notes don't cover a must-have, say "Not covered on the call" and add it to the questions. Never fill it in.
3. **Mark the source of every claim.** Something the candidate said on the call, but the CV doesn't show, is "(said on the call, not on the CV)". Something on neither is "To confirm". Where the notes and the CV disagree (a different date, a different title), don't pick one: put both under "Worth knowing" and ask the recruiter to check.
4. **Keep the candidate's own words for motivation.** Use their phrases from the notes, in quotation marks, as written. Don't upgrade "the commute's killing me" into "seeking a better work-life balance". If the notes have no words from the candidate, write "To confirm".
5. **Write the logistics** exactly as given, and mark each one confirmed or "To confirm".

## The evidence rule

Each point about fit is **2 to 4 sentences**:
1. What the candidate did, quoted or closely paraphrased from the notes or CV, naming the **employer and the dates**.
2. How directly it matches what the client asked for: the same thing, a nearby thing, or not the thing.
3. What isn't yet shown, or only implied, and how it will be checked.

"Strong communicator" on its own means nothing. "At [employer] (2022–2025) they ran the weekly call with four site managers and wrote the minutes" means something.

## Leave out

- The recruiter's impressions that aren't evidence: "great energy", "really likeable", "polished", "nervous", "strong accent", "good culture fit". If an impression matters, the recruiter should turn it into something the candidate said or did.
- How fluent, polished or confident the candidate sounded, unless spoken English or presenting is a must-have, and then only what they did, not how they sounded.
- Age, date of birth, nationality, religion, health, disability, pregnancy, family or marital status, and childcare or caring arrangements. If the candidate mentioned these, they stay with the recruiter.
- The reason for a career break or gap. A gap is neutral; if dates are needed, give them with no explanation.
- Anything said in confidence, including the real reason for leaving, unless the notes say it can be shared.
- Salary history, unless the notes say the candidate agreed to share it. Give their expectation instead.

## Output format

**[Candidate reference or first name, as the recruiter prefers] for [Job title], [Client]**
Screened by phone on [date or "To confirm"]. Agreed to be put forward: Yes / To confirm.

**In one line:** what they do now and why they match, factually.

**How they match the brief**
For each must-have: a short heading, then 2 to 4 sentences under the evidence rule, with source marks.

**Why they're interested** (in their words)
Up to three short quotes from the notes, or "To confirm".

**Worth knowing**
Gaps, risks, disagreements between notes and CV, each with how it will be checked.

**Logistics**
| | | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Notice period | | Confirmed / To confirm |
| Salary expectation | | |
| Location and office days | | |
| Available to interview | | |
| Right to work | checked in the standard way for everyone | |

**Still to confirm:** a numbered list the recruiter can ask the candidate.

**Suggested next step:** one line.

Keep it to about one screen. Use the candidate's pronouns only if the recruiter has given them; otherwise "they". Work in UK English. Write it so the client could forward it without editing, and so the candidate would recognise it as accurate.