Matching programs have been implemented in a wide variety of professions and competitive recruitment situations, including: medicine, law, dentistry, accounting, pharmacy, podiatry, placement of university co-op students, and sororities.

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Understand the Ethics and Professionalism Associated with the National Match

With a matching program, candidates continue to apply directly for positions, and applicants and recruiters evaluate each other in the usual manner, independent of the matching program. However, no offers are made to applicants during this process. Instead, after all evaluations are complete, each candidate submits to the matching program a list of desired positions in numerical order of preference (first choice, second choice, etc.). Similarly, each recruiter submits a list of desirable applicants in preference order. The matching program then places individuals into positions based on these stated preferences; all offers, acceptances, rejections and final placements occur simultaneously.

What a matching program will accomplish

A matching program is an effective and fair means of implementing a standardized acceptance date. It allows recruiters and applicants to evaluate each other fully before offers are made, thus eliminating premature decisions based on incomplete information. All offers, acceptances or rejections occur at the same time. Therefore, many common adverse situations are eliminated from the recruitment process, such as applicants hoarding multiple offers, applicants reneging on a prior acceptance in order to accept a more preferred subsequent offer, and recruiters overfilling the number of positions available.

What a matching program will not do

A matching program will not affect the number or quality of applicants or applications for positions, the number of applicants selected for interview, or the recruiters' ability to evaluate applicants. It is not a placement or executive search service, a centralized application service, or an advertising service. A matching program will not reduce the flexibility or freedom of choice applicants and recruiters now have in the selection process, and will not remove the control recruiters currently have in selecting applicants. It is not an impersonal, computerized assignment of applicants to positions; matches are based strictly on the preference lists submitted by both recruiters and applicants.

Services provided by NMS

National Matching Services Inc., provides both turnkey and consulting services to assist professions and organizations in the development, implementation and administration of matching programs.

Turnkey administration

Generally working under the supervision of one or more organizations representing the profession, NMS will take full responsibility for the administration of all aspects of a matching program, including development of educational materials, participant registration, data collection, performance of the match, distribution of results and preparation of statistics. NMS has experience in operating matching programs ranging from a large match involving more than 30,000 applicants for 25,000 positions offered by 4,000 different recruiters, to smaller matches involving fewer than 200 applicants for fewer than 100 positions offered by fewer than 30 recruiters.

Consulting services

NMS offers consulting services on all aspects of matching programs, including: the advisability and feasibility of initiating a matching program; assessment of the organization and resources required to implement and administer a matching program; and operational review of the administration of a matching program to ensure it is functioning efficiently and effectively and in the best interests of both applicants and recruiters.

NMS has developed sophisticated proprietary software, operating on a range of computers from mainframes to microcomputers, that enables automating all aspects of matching programs administered. Alternatively, NMS will license this unique software to organizations that administer their own matching program and will also customize the software to address any specific requirements.

How to contact the NMS

For further information on the application of a Matching Program, or on the services provided by National Matching Services Inc., please contact:

For further information on the application of a matching program or the services provided by National Matching Services Inc., please contact:

National Matching Services, Inc.
595 Bay St., Suite 301, Box 29
Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2C2
Canada
Telephone: 416-977-3431
Fax: 416-977-5020 
Email: matchinfo@natmatch.com
www.natmatch.com/dentres

Sponsors

• American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
• American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• American Association of Orthodontists
• American Association of Hospital Dentists
• American Student Dental Association
• American Dental Education Association
• Commission on Dental Accreditation