Recruitment and candidate files For recruitment and talent acquisition teams
Every candidate.
From application to offer.
FilePlan 365 gives every candidate their own secure file inside SharePoint, linked to the vacancy they applied for. CVs, interview notes, references and offers are filed to the right candidate, with the right protection, automatically.
Works inside SharePoint
Candidate details from your applicant tracking system
30-day free trial
1
Candidate details
Candidate ID, name, vacancy and hiring manager, taken from your applicant tracking system.
2
Document types
The same labelled folders for every candidate, down the left.
3
The candidate’s documents
Everything filed to that candidate, in the wider panel on the right.
What is FilePlan 365?
A digital filing cabinet, built into SharePoint
Think of a filing cabinet with a drawer for every candidate, and the same labelled folders inside each drawer. FilePlan 365 does exactly that inside SharePoint, the place your organisation already keeps its documents.
No new system to learn
Your team works in SharePoint and Microsoft 365, just as they do today. There is nothing extra to install on anyone’s computer.
Filed once, found in seconds
Every document goes into the right candidate file and folder, so anyone with access can find it straight away.
Kept as long as it should be
Each document is protected and kept for the right length of time, without anyone having to remember the rules.
Connected to your applicant tracking system
Candidate details arrive automatically
You never retype a candidate name, vacancy reference or hiring manager. FilePlan 365 picks up each candidate’s details from your applicant tracking system, so every applicant has a file ready the moment they apply.
When a candidate changes
A move to interview, a new vacancy or an offer is picked up automatically, so every file stays accurate.
When a vacancy closes
The outcome date flows across too, and the clock for how long the file is kept starts by itself.
For your IT team
A Power Automate flow keeps a SharePoint list of candidates up to date from your applicant tracking system. FilePlan 365 reads that list. No custom code, and it stays inside your Microsoft 365 tenant.
The candidate file plan
Every candidate organised the same way
Each candidate file has the same six folders, so everyone knows where a document belongs and where to find it.
1
Application
CV, cover letter, application form
Kept for: 6 months after outcome
2
Shortlisting
Shortlisting scores, notes, decisions
Kept for: 6 months after outcome
3
Interview
Interview notes, assessment results, scoring
Kept for: 6 months after outcome
4
References
Reference requests and responses
Kept for: 6 months after outcome
5
Pre-employment checks
Right to work, DBS, qualifications, health questionnaire
Kept for: Moves to HR file on hire
6
Offer
Conditional offer, acceptance, contract request
Kept for: Moves to HR file on hire
Retention periods are examples. You can match them to your own retention schedule.
Templates
Start with our Recruitment and candidate files template. Make it your own.
You don’t have to design a filing system from scratch. The ready-made Recruitment and candidate files template gives you the folders, document types and protection settings above in a few clicks. Then change anything you like.
1
Choose the Recruitment and candidate files template
Pick “Recruitment and candidate files” from the template gallery when you set up FilePlan 365.
2
Use it straight away
Your candidate files, folders and document types are created for you, ready to start filing.
3
Make it your own
Rename folders, add your own document types, and set how long each is kept, to match your recruitment policy and data protection rules.
Find a candidate
Any candidate file in seconds
Start typing and FilePlan 365 shows matching candidates straight away. No more hunting through folders or asking a colleague where something was saved.
1
Type a few letters
Search by candidate name, vacancy or hiring manager.
2
Narrow it down
Filter by vacancy, stage, department or status if you need to.
3
Open the file
Click a candidate to see everything filed to it.
People only ever see the candidates and documents they are allowed to see.
Advanced search
Answer questions across every candidate file
Tick a few options and FilePlan 365 finds every matching document across all your candidates. Perfect for hiring panels, equality monitoring and subject access requests.
Hiring panelEvery interview score for one vacancy
Fair recruitment checkAll shortlisting decisions for one department
Subject access requestEverything held about one candidate, in one list
Compliance, without the jargon
Protected and kept for the right time, automatically
FilePlan 365 uses the security and retention tools already in your Microsoft 365, known as Microsoft Purview. You decide the rules once, and they’re applied to every document.
Kept for the right time
Unsuccessful candidates’ files are kept for six months after the outcome, then deleted. Successful candidates’ checks move to their HR file.
Only the right people can see it
Candidate documents are marked Confidential. Health questionnaires and DBS results are marked Highly confidential.
Personal data stays inside
Documents containing ID, DBS or health details can’t be shared outside your organisation.
These are example settings. You choose the labels and timescales that match your own policies.
Why teams choose FilePlan 365
Less time chasing paperwork. More time hiring.
One file per candidate
Application, interview, references and checks, in one place.
Ready on application
New candidates arrive from your applicant tracking system with their file set up.
Fair and defensible
Show how any hiring decision was made in seconds.
Deleted on time
Unsuccessful applications are removed after six months, automatically.
Every candidate file.
Always in order.
Try the Recruitment and candidate files template free for 30 days, in your own Microsoft 365 tenant.
More solutions: HR files · Apprenticeship and training files · Pensions administration files · Sponsored worker and visa files · Professional registration files · See all 48 solutions