APPIC Match

Internship Help
Interviews

Interviews   

Communication

  • Can I tell an applicant that our program will rank them?

    Programs may voluntarily inform applicants as to whether or not the applicants remain under consideration for admission (e.g., whether or not the applicant will be ranked), but are not obliged to do so.

    Programs must never request ranking information from any applicant, and applicants must never request ranking information from any program. Furthermore, prior to the release of the Phase II Match results, programs must not disclose to any applicant the position of any applicant on their Rank Order List(s) for either Phase of the Match, and applicants must not disclose to any program any information about their rankings for either Phase of the Match.

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NMS Interview

  • What is NMS Interview?

    NMS Interview is a module in the NMS Match System that allows training sites to set up their interview schedule online, send invitations to candidates, and allows candidates to instantly self-schedule themselves into available timeslots.

    Related Links:
  • Can I use NMS Interview?

    Yes. NMS Interview is being made available by APPIC at no cost to all training sites registered for the Match. APPIC encourages training sites to consider using NMS Interview, even if they previously used a different interview scheduling system.

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  • Is the use of NMS Interview required?

    No. Training Sites are free to schedule interviews in any manner they desire. However, APPIC is encouraging training sites to use NMS Interview and has made it available at no cost because it can simplify the process for training sites and applicants.

    More than 60% of and 90% of applicants used NMS Interview in 2024. Survey results indicated that programs and applicants who used the service were highly satisfied, and found it saved them time and was simpler to use than other scheduling methods (e.g., email, other online tools, etc.). By using a common system for scheduling, both programs and applicants found efficiencies in managing their schedules and creating their Rank Order Lists.

  • Can we see what candidates see on their end?New

    A sample of the invitation email sent to candidates is available here. You can watch the video below and consult the Applicant User Guide to see what it is like to book and manage interviews from the candidate's perspective.


Scheduling Setup - Interview Types

  • Should I create and schedule interview days or individual meetings?

    NMS Interview is designed to allow candidates to book themselves into events. The events set up by the training site may be individual meetings or a full interview day. The only difference in NMS Interview between setting up an individual meeting event and an interview day event is the name, likely the duration, and how many candidates can book themselves into the event. Each training site must decide for itself whether it wants candidates to book individual meetings or an interview day.

    Interview day:

    Some training sites use NMS Interview to have candidates book interview days. Once the candidates selected their preferred interview day, the program created an itinerary (offline, outside of the system) and either:

    • Created the individual meeting events in NMS Interview and manually scheduled each candidate into their events; or,
    • Sent candidates their schedule as a PDF, either by attaching it to the event in the system, or emailing it directly to each candidate

    If your interviews involve multiple events on the same day where candidates are occupied for most of the day, or if there is a specific sequence or rotational set of interviews that must take place on the same day, booking an interview day is an easy way to block the necessary time with the candidate that is needed to complete the different meetings. Creating an interview day may be simpler for the training site to setup and for the candidates to schedule.

    However, your training site would still need to put in the effort to manually assign the candidates booked on each day to their individual meetings and share thay information with candidates. Furthermore, this approach may reduce the flexibility for candidates to exercise control over their schedules.

    Individual meetings:

    If your interviews are structured around a discrete set of individual events that can be booked independently, either on the same day or potentially on different days (e.g., Training Committee interview and virtual open house), then creating different interview types and a set of individual events for each type may be more efficient for both the training site and the candidate. Using this approach, candidates would schedule themselves into specific meeting times, and the interview schedule would be finalized within the system. Training Sites would not need to manually assign and send individual interview itineraries, as candidates would be able to see their own itineraries within the system.

    This approach may be somewhat more complex to set up. However, it can significantly reduce the effort required by the training site to schedule individual meetings and communciate itineraries to candidates. It also provides the most flexibility for candidates to control their own schedules.

  • If the expectation is that an applicant needs to sign up for 3 different meetings (faculty interview, TD interview, and meeting with current trainee), does it make sense to have them sign up for an interview day
    or for them to sign up for each meeting separately?

    The choice is up to you. Many training sites use NMS Interview to have candidates book interview days and then the training site assigned candidates manually to their meetings. However, some training sites may find it more efficient to have candidates book themselves directly into the individual meetings. The pros and cons of each approach are discussed in the response to the previous question.

    To create an interview day:

    • Create 1 interview type (Interview Day)
    • Add the available events (e.g., 10 candidates from 9am-5pm)
    • Send invitations to your candidates
    • Once booked, create each candidate's itinerary manually, and notify each candidate of their itinerary. This can be done by creating the individual meeting events in the system and manually scheduling each candidate into their events, or creating the itinerary as a PDF document and providing it to candidates by either attaching it to the interview day event in the system, or emailing it directly to each candidate.

    If your training site offers an Interview Day, but wants to limit the number of candidates from a certain group that can schedule that day (e.g., your Interview Day can accommodate 8 total candidates, but cannot accommodate more than 4 Adult candidates and 4 Child candidates on any one day), you should create two Interview Types (Adult Interview Day and Child Interview Day) and create events for each type with 4 available slots. That way, for each Interview Day, no more than 4 Adult Candidates and 4 Child Candidates will be able to book themselves into that day.

    To create individual meetings:

    • Create 3 interview types (Faculty, TD, current resident)
    • Add the available events for each type of interview (e.g., 1 candidate from 9am-10am)
    • Send invitations to your candidates for all interview types

    Please note that in this example, if you create and invite candidate's to schedule individual meeting events, you would not necessarily be able to enforce a sequence of these meetings or ensure they happen on the same day. For example, if the available dates for the three interview types overlap, one candidate may schedule Faculty → TD → Resident while another candidate may schedule TD → Resident → Faculty.

  • We need to have the candidates schedule an interview in the morning and a meeting in the afternoon,
    and they need to be on the same day. How do we make sure that they book both on the same day?

    Assuming you offer interviews on more than one day and candidates must attend both their AM and PM interview on the same day, it is likely simpler to have candidates use NMS Interview to select their desired interview day. Once you know which candidate is attending which day, you can notify them of their specific AM and PM timeslot.

    Alternatively, if you want to use NMS Interview so that candidates schedule themselves into specific time slots, you could send two rounds of invitations. First, create an Interview Type called "Interview Day", add the events, and invite all candidates. The candidates would select their preferred interview day. Then, you can create AM and PM interview types for each day (e.g., Wednesday-AM, Wednesday-PM, Thursday-AM, Thursday-PM, etc.), and set up the appropriate interview timeslots (events) for each type of interview. You could then invite candidates who preferred Wednesday to the Wednesday-AM and Wednesday-PM events and they would schedule themselves into specific timeslots. Candidates who preferred Thursday would be invited to Thursday-AM and Thursday-PM events, and so on.

  • I have panel interviews and individual interviews. Would those be set up as different event types?

    If each interview type can be scheduled independently, you should set these up as different event types. You can create one interview type for individual interviews and one for panel interviews, and then invite your candidates to both types of interviews. The candidates would schedule themselves into one individual interview and one panel interview. Within the system, the only difference between an "Individual Interview" event, and a "Panel Interview" event is the name. The training site would still need to decide which faculty are attending each event.

    To simplify the sharing of your Interview Itinerary with your faculty, you might consider adding the faculty's name, or the panel's name, to the event title. You would then be able to filter your Itinerary by the faculty/panel name, and share a specific schedule with the appropriate faculty member.

  • Can we use candidate groups to schedule interview teams? So that we have control over who is interviewed by which team?

    Candidate groups are labels that you assign to candidates to distinguish them from other candidates on your list. Candidate groups should be used to organize and categorize candidates, for example, to differentiate between candidates applying to different tracks. If you want to restrict specific candidates to certain interview teams, you should use Interview Types.

    1. Create an interview type for each team.
    2. Add events reflecting the availability of each team.
    3. Use groups to categorize which candidates are eligible for which team(s).
    4. Invite candidates to the interview teams (represented by interview type) for which they are eligible.

    If the candidates do not need to choose specific teams, you can have one event type, and add events for each team where the team name is included in the event title. This will allow you to filter your event list and Interview Itinerary by team name.

    Related Links:
  • What if you need to accommodate different numbers of candidates on different dates?

    You can specify the number of candidates that can be accommodated at each separate event.

    If you are scheduling Interview Days, you can specify a different number of candidates for each Interview Day event. For example, you can create an Interview Day event on Thursday with 6 candidates, and then create a second Interview Day event on Friday that can accommodate 10 candidates.

    If you are creating individual meeting events, you can add 6 individual events on Thursday and 10 meetings on Friday.

    Make sure to only enter availability into NMS Interview that you can accommodate. If you need to increase availability after sending invitations, you can either update the event to accommodate additional candidates (for Interview Days) and notify your candidates, or add more events (for individual meetings) and send invitations again for those new events.

  • What if you prefer candidates to schedule 3 separate interviews during a 3-hour time block? Is there a way to prompt candidates to do so? New

    There are several ways to do this. You might consider trying to mimic the manual process you used in the past:

    1. Schedule Blocks, Manually Assign Interviews

      The simplest option is to have candidates schedule themselves into their desired 3-hour block using NMS Interview, and then you assign them to the individual interviews within that block.

      First, create an interview type (e.g., Interview Block) and events for the 3-hour time blocks that candidates can book. Send invitations for that interview type. Once you know which candidates will be attending each block, you can assign them manually to interviews within that block, either outside the system or using the system.

      If you assign candidates to specific interviews outside the system, you can share their individual meeting schedule by attaching it to the event (visible to all candidates attending that event) or emailing it to individual candidates directly.

      If you want to manually assign candidates to specific interviews within the system, you can create a second interview type (e.g. Individual Meeting) for the individual meetings within each block and add necessary events (you can use the Event Title to distinguish between different individual meetings if necessary). Then assign each candidate to a specific interview by force-scheduling them into the appropriate Individual Meeting event. When you force schedule an applicant into an event, you can have the system send an email to the candidate with the details of the scheduled interview event.

    2. Staggered Invitations

      This method is similar to option 1 above, except that candidates schedule themselves into the specific interviews.

      First, candidates are invited to and book themselves into a 3-hour block.

      Once you know which candidates will be attending each block, you can create 3 interview types for each block (e.g., Thursday AM-Type1, Thursday AM-Type2, Thursday AM-Type3), and invite the candidates scheduled for "Thursday AM" to each of the three "Thursday AM" interview types. Each candidate would then receive an email to book one interview of each of the three types.

    3. Candidates Book Individual Meetings, With Site Instructions

      In this option, candidates book directly into specific interviews without first booking into a 3-hour block.

      Create 3 interview types (Type1, Type2, and Type3) and add the available events for each type. Before sending the invitations, instruct candidates that they must book all three interviews within the same 3-hour block. If there is no availability, they should contact you for assistance. Send invitations to your candidates for all Interview Types.

      In this case, the candidate will receive an invitation with the availability of all 3 types, and it will be their responsibility to book their three events within the same 3-hour period. If candidates are unable to find availability on their desired days, you can assist them by adding new available events (and resending invitations) or manually scheduling them into a mutually suitable event.

  • Can I clear out Phase I interview data and start fresh for Phase II? New

    From the Interview Settings page, click Delete All Interview Data to permanently delete all candidates, events, invitations, and scheduled interviews. Interview Types will not be deleted.

    If your training site has scheduled events with candidates, those events will also be removed from the candidates' interview calendars. Please notify your candidates in advance to avoid confusion.

    Alternatively, if you want to keep your Phase I data while organizing Phase II separately, you can:

    • Assign all Phase I candidates to a group (e.g., "Phase I") to easily filter and manage new candidates.
    • Sort your event list by date to focus on Phase II interviews while retaining access to Phase I data.

    This approach allows you to manage Phase II interviews without losing historical records from Phase I.

    Related Links:

Managing Events

  • Can I book candidates into interviews directly, without giving them a choice of dates?

    Yes. If you don't want to allow applicants to schedule themselves, but still want to use NMS Interview so your candidates can see your events in their schedule, and both you and the applicants can gain the benefit of importing rankings from scheduled interviews, use the following procedures:

    1. Create an interview type (e.g., Interview). If your training site has multiple tracks, you might create a separate type for each track.
    2. Create your interview events.
    3. Add your candidates.
    4. On your Calendar or Event List, select View for an event.
    5. Use the Force Schedule feature to assign a candidate to the interview.
    6. Repeat for all events in your schedule.

    When a candidate logs in to the NMS Match System, they will see the scheduled interview on their calendar.

    Related Links:
  • Can I add a different PDF for each interviewee or is it only the same PDF for everyone interviewing in that slot?

    You can create and upload a PDF of instructions that you would like to provide to candidates for each event. This can be done before or after candidates have been invited or scheduled. The PDFs are attached to individual events and are available to all candidates scheduled for that event. If only one applicant is scheduled for the event, the PDF is available only to that applicant. If 5 applicants are scheduled for the event, the PDF is available to all 5 applicants.

    If you have an event with multiple scheduled candidates and you want to provide each candidate with their own unique information for the event, you should email the information to each candidate directly.

    Related Links:
  • Are Interview Settings carried over year after year?

    No. Interview Settings are reset each year to accommodate potential changes in track offerings and interview structure. For example, a training site could have candidates book an Interview Day this year, and then choose to switch so that candidates book individual meetings next year.


Sending Invitations

  • Should I notify candidates of when our training site will send out invitations?

    Yes, we strongly recommend doing so. Applicant feedback has indicated they greatly appreciate training sites notifying them in advance of the specific date and time when interview invitations would be sent. From the perspective of applicants, this approach was instrumental in making the process as fair and equitable as possible.

    The interview invitation email is transactional in nature. It simply informs the applicant they have been invited to an event and provides a link for them to schedule. Use the email feature on Candidates Tab to send your candidates a personal communication, congratulating them on being selected for interview and informing them of when they can expect to receive the invitation.

    Related Links:
  • I have concerns about the "first come, first serve" approach of interview scheduling, and that it may not be fair for some applicants, especially those who are last to schedule. What are some ways of making this process more equitable?

    One of the challenges with any type of interview scheduling is that, regardless of the type of process you use, some applicants will be among the last to attempt to schedule. Here are some suggested ways to improve the experience for those applicants (and you might even implement more than one of these options):

    1. Provide advance notice of when interview scheduling invitations will be sent by your site, as outlined in the response to the previous question.
    2. Let applicants know that they may contact you for assistance if they run into scheduling problems and you will work with them to find a mutually-convenient time.
    3. Open up a few extra slots to ease the process for applicants who are the last to attempt to schedule. For example, if you invite 30 applicants to an interview, you might place 33 (or whatever number you choose) interview slots on the calendar. This approach guarantees that every applicant will have multiple options, even the last applicant to schedule in this example would have four available slots to choose from. Once scheduling is over, only 30 of those 33 available slots would be filled.
  • Should I use NMS Interview to notify applicants of their interview status?

    Not necessarily. Notifying applicants of their interview status and sending invitations for specific interview events can be separate actions. We recommend that you notify applicants using a personal email of their interview status and the timing when interview invitations will be sent out prior to actually sending the invitations.

    The standard invitation and rejection emails sent from within NMS Interview are impersonal and transactional in nature. Samples of the emails are available in the NMS Interview User Guide.

    While an interview invitation could be used as an interview status notification, many training sites prefer to send a more customized or personal message to their applicants in advance, notifying them of their interview status prior to sending invitations. To send a personal message to the candidates you intend to interview, you can use the Email option on your Candidate List in NMS Interview. This will allow you to compose a personal email to the selected candidates in your default email client (e.g., Outlook, webmail, etc.).

    Once you have sent the personal notification email to your candidates, you can use NMS Interview to send interview invitations.

    For candidates you do not intend to interview, you do not need to add them to your Candidate List. Rejection emails can be sent to these candidates outside of NMS Interview. You might, however, wish to use the rejection email within NMS Interview for candidates you decide to reject after their interviews.

    Related Links:
  • I don't want applicants scheduling themselves. I want them to rank their preference for interview days and then I create a schedule that accommodates everyone as much as possible.

    To replicate this process with NMS Interview, you would need to email your candidates separately asking for their date preferences and then manually schedule them into interviews as described in the section on Managing Events.

    However, the problem with this approach is that a candidate's preferences at one point in time may change when they receive interview invitations from other training sites. That is why NMS Interview is designed to empower candidates to take control of their schedule and book themselves. Training Sites can set a lockout date to ensure no cancellations or rescheduling occur on or after a certain date, but giving candidates the flexibility to choose their own schedule increases candidate satisfaction, reduces cancellations, and minimizes manual effort associated with rescheduling, both for applicants and training sites. If a candidate cannot find a suitable date that is available, they should be encouraged to contact the training sites to discuss alternate options.

    Related Links:
  • Is the Invite linked to Teams/Outlook calendar for any changes? New

    All candidates and sites have real-time access to the most current information on their interview schedule in the NMS Match System.

    When candidates receive an interview invitation, the invitation includes a calendar file that can be used to add the event to a personal calendar (e.g., Outlook, Google Calendar), but the candidate must explicitly add (i.e., accept) the event file to add it to their calendar.

    Similarly, a site's interview schedule is not directly synced with Teams, Outlook, or Google Calendar. Sites can download a CSV file of their scheduled events from the Interview Itinerary, which can then be imported into their personal calendar. Any updates to events must be manually edited in their personal calendar.


Managing Candidates

  • How do I create a CSV file of candidates for importing into NMS Interview?

    A CSV (Comma Separated Values) file is a plain text file that stores data by delimiting data entries with commas. CSV files can be created from Excel, AAPI, and many other spreadsheet and text editing programs. More information about CSV files is available here.

    Acceptable Format

    The CSV file for NMS Interview should have the following format:

    • The first record in the file must be a header record that provides the name of each field.
    • Each candidate must be on a separate line in the file.
    • Fields that contain a space or comma or single quotes must be enclosed in double-quotes.
    • The file must have a .csv extension (e.g., candidates.csv).

    Two acceptable formats for the CSV file are provided below. Note that the example on the left only lists the email address, which is the only field that is required in the file. The example on the right has other fields in addition to the email. The other fields are optional and are not required.

    email
    Kong,King,kkong@gmail.com
    cchaplin@gmail.com
    sjones@gmail.com

    “Last Name”,”First Name”,email,group
    Kong,King,kkong@gmail.com,Adult
    Chaplin,”Charles George”,cchaplin@gmail.com,Child
    ,,sjones@gmail.com,

    To create a CSV file from Excel:

    1. Open a Microsoft Excel file that contains the email addresses of the applicants you want to interview. The first record or row in the Excel file should have the name of each field in the file.
    2. Click on File in the top left corner and click Save As.
    3. Underneath the file name at the bottom of the save screen, you will see the option for Save as type. In this field, select CSV (Comma Delimited)
    4. Name your file and choose where to save it. Click Save.
    5. Two dialogue pop-ups will appear alerting you that the format is different. Click OK on the first dialogue box to appear and Yes on the second. You have then successfully saved a CSV file to your computer.

    To export a CSV file from AAPI:

    Log in to AAPI and go to Settings. Click on Import/Export > Create Export > Select Tabular/Spreadsheet as the export type > Select Comma Delimited as the column style > Click on Email from the available fields list > Click Create Export.

    Consult the Liaison Outcomes AAPI Quick Start Guide for more detailed instructions. If you have questions about creating an export file from AAPI, contact AAPI Support.


How To Videos

NMS Interview is a module of the NMS Match System that allows training sites to streamline and automate interview scheduling. The following videos provide an overview of how NMS Interview works:

Configure Settings   (2 min)
Add Candidates   (2 min)
Add Interview Events   (2 min)
Send Interview Invitations   (1 min)
Manage Events   (3 min)
Manage Candidates   (3 min)
Candidate Experience   (4 min)







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