Beyond a resume, you'll often want to keep documents and context with a candidate — an extra file, a private observation, feedback for a specific interview.

This article covers where files and notes live, who can see them, and a few real gaps worth knowing about.

Who can do this: Any user with access to a candidate's contact page or a job application can add files and notes there. Viewing private notes, or seeing all private notes across the account, requires either being the note's author, being explicitly tagged in it, or holding the "View all private notes" permission (available to Super Admins by default).

Where to find it: The Files tab on a candidate's Contact page or within a job application, and the Notes section at the Contact, Application, or Interview level.

Attaching files

• Files live at the Contact or Application level, separate from the resume that was uploaded or parsed on creation.

• Email attachments can be added to Files directly. From the Conversations tab (on either the Contact page or a job application), an "Add to Files" button lets you save an attachment that was sent or received by email into that candidate's Files section — no need to download and re-upload manually.

• This only works for job-linked conversations. The "Add to Files" option is hidden for adhoc or standalone emails that aren't tied to a specific job application.

• Attachments a candidate sends back in an email reply are tracked too, not just what your team sends out.

• Attachment size for emails was increased. A previous 5 MB limit on attachments sent via email (including offer-related emails) was raised to 15 MB, and the earlier restriction on how many files could be attached at once was removed.

What's not (yet) supported

• Submitted video assessments don't land in Files. They're stored inside the assessment scorecard instead, and become hard to find once the candidate moves to a different stage. The current workaround is to open the scorecard, download the video, and manually re-upload it to Files. This is a known, open gap.

• There's no shared, reusable document library for files you want to attach across multiple offer templates or letters (like standard policy annexures) — today, files are attached directly to each individual template or offer, one at a time. This is a separate, low-priority request and distinct from per-candidate file attachments.

Notes: three levels, three audiences

Notes exist at three different levels, and each has a different visibility scope:

• Contact-level notes — visible to anyone who has access to that contact (recruiters, hiring managers, admins).

• Application-level notes — visible only to the hiring team on that specific job, plus admins.

• Interview-level notes — visible only to the specific interviewer, the hiring team on that job, and admins.

These levels are deliberate and don't merge automatically. If a candidate reapplies for a new role, the Notes tab on their new application won't show notes from their earlier application or their Contact-level notes — you'd need to check the Contact page separately to see that history. This is expected behavior, not a bug, though it's a common point of confusion for recruiters working with repeat candidates.

Private notes

• Marking a note private restricts it to: the person who wrote it, anyone with the "View all private notes" permission (Super Admins by default), and anyone explicitly @-tagged in that specific note.

• Admins without the private-notes permission can see public notes only — private notes stay hidden from them unless they're tagged in a specific one.

• Tagging someone in a private note is the supported way to share a specific note with someone who wouldn't otherwise see it — for example, handing off context to a colleague while you're out. It grants access to that one note, not to all of your private notes generally.

Known gap: tagging doesn't always reliably grant access

• Tagging someone in a note is supposed to make that note visible to them in-app, in addition to the email and bell notification they receive.

• In practice, there are confirmed, recurring cases where a tagged user gets the notification with the full note text but the note itself doesn't render for them inside the product — most often for users who don't otherwise have full job- or candidate-level access (for example, someone added only to a specific interview rather than the broader hiring team).

• This has been an open, known issue since at least mid-2025 and isn't fully resolved.

• If you need someone to reliably see a note, the safer approach is to make sure they have proper access to the job or candidate, not just a tag.

Good to know

• A note has to be submitted, not just typed. If you type a note and navigate away before pressing Enter (or otherwise confirming it), the note is never saved — it can look like your note "disappeared," but nothing was actually deleted; it just never reached the server.

• Files and notes (both public and private) carry over when a candidate is transferred between jobs. This is different from some other job-specific items — like scheduled or in-progress interviews and pending emails — which don't transfer.

• Notes feed into AI-generated candidate summaries. If your account has the AI Assistant enabled, it can read and summarize notes (respecting private-note permissions) alongside interviews and activity when answering questions about a candidate.

FAQ

• Where do I attach a file to a candidate? From the Files tab on the Contact page or the job application, or via "Add to Files" on an email attachment in the Conversations tab (job-linked conversations only).

• Can I see notes from a candidate's earlier application when reviewing them for a new role? Not automatically — application-level notes are scoped to that specific application. You'd need to check the candidate's Contact page separately to see notes from other applications or the contact record itself.

• I marked a note private — who can actually see it? Just you, anyone with the "View all private notes" permission (Super Admins by default), and anyone you explicitly @-tag in that note.

• I tagged someone in a note but they say they can't see it — what's going on? This is a known, recurring issue, especially for users without full job or candidate access. The tagged person will usually still get an email or notification with the note's content, but in-app visibility isn't always reliable. Make sure they have proper access to the job or candidate if you need them to see it directly in Kula.

• Do notes and files carry over if I transfer a candidate to another job? Yes — notes (public and private), files, conversations, and activity history all transfer with the candidate. Scheduled or in-progress interviews and pending emails do not.

Need help?

If you have questions or need assistance, reach out to us at support@kula.ai or use the in-app chat.