Case Studies

Success Story: The People Link Helps Physical Therapy Practice Find Qualified Candidates Quickly

The Challenge

Before contacting The People Link, the practice had already tried to recruit a physical therapist through its internal system. The job postings were distributed to Indeed, but the practice received very few applicants and was having difficulty generating meaningful interest in the position.

With little traction from the internal posting, and with Indeed, the practice decided to turn to external recruiters for additional help finding the right physical therapist.

What They Were Looking For

The practice was open to considering both experienced physical therapists and new graduates because it has the ability to provide strong mentorship at every location.

Rather than focusing solely on years of experience, the practice was looking for someone who would be a strong overall fit for the team—someone who was:

• Affable and personable
• A strong team player
• Comfortable performing manual treatment
• Experienced in outpatient physical therapy, either through clinical rotations or previous employment
• Able to manage a moderate patient flow

The goal was to find a physical therapist who had the right combination of clinical ability, personality, and willingness to work as part of a team.

How The People Link Helped

The People Link was able to provide viable physical therapist candidates in a very short period of time.

This was especially valuable because the practice had struggled to attract applicants through its own recruiting efforts. Instead of waiting for qualified candidates to respond to the job posting, the practice quickly received resumes from potential candidates through The People Link.

The hiring team could then contact the candidates directly, speak with them about their interests and qualifications, and schedule interviews with those who appeared to be a good fit.

The Result

The People Link helped the practice move from having very little response to its own job posting to quickly having qualified candidates to review and interview.

The streamlined process allowed the practice to spend less time waiting for applicants and more time speaking directly with professionals who could potentially meet its needs.

Would They Use The People Link Again?

Absolutely.

The practice does use The People Link—and does so regularly.

“I would use The People Link again, and I do all the time.”

The Takeaway

When traditional job postings aren't generating enough qualified applicants, The People Link provides an additional recruiting resource by identifying viable candidates quickly and helping practices connect with professionals who may be a strong match for their specific needs.

The People Link — Connecting healthcare professionals with the practices where they can thrive.

The Challenge

Caring Tree Children’s Dentistry had grown from a single-owner practice into a thriving organization with two locations. With the owner splitting her time between both offices, the practice reached a point where hiring another doctor was essential.

The growing patient demand was creating a significant challenge: the practice was having to turn patients away because there was not enough doctor coverage.

The team knew they needed an experienced Pediatric Dentist who could do more than simply treat patients. Finding someone who genuinely connected with children, fit the practice’s culture, embraced their systems, and was open to learning how Caring Tree operated was crucial.

What Caring Tree Was Looking For

The ideal candidate needed to have:

• Several years of pediatric dentistry experience
• A genuine ability to connect with children and families
• The right attitude and personality for the practice
• A willingness to learn and embrace Caring Tree’s systems
• Strong alignment with the practice’s culture and values
• The ability to contribute ideas and work collaboratively with the team

For Caring Tree, cultural fit was just as important as clinical experience.

The People Link’s Solution

The People Link helped Caring Tree by vetting and matching candidates before they were presented to the practice.

Rather than requiring the owners to spend valuable time sorting through candidates who might not be a fit, The People Link focused on identifying professionals who matched the practice’s specific needs.

This allowed Caring Tree to spend its interview time meeting candidates who were already better aligned with what they were looking for.

The Result

The candidate Caring Tree hired through The People Link started in 2023 and is still with the practice today.

According to Caring Tree, the placement has been an excellent fit.

The doctor:

• Has the right attitude for the office
• Is well respected by the team
• Brings valuable ideas to the practice
• Fits the culture and systems
• Has made a positive long-term contribution to the organization

Most importantly, the relationship has continued well beyond the initial placement.

A Successful Partnership That Continues

The experience was so positive that Caring Tree Children’s Dentistry is now working with The People Link again to fill another pediatric dentist opening.

The practice is once again looking for a Pediatric Dentist, and they have returned to The People Link because of the success of their previous placement.

“The lead we hired from you started in 2023 and is still with us. He has been great! He has the right attitude for our office, gives us great ideas, and is well respected. It has been a very positive experience.”

The Takeaway

Caring Tree Children’s Dentistry needed more than a dentist. They needed the right dentist for their practice, their patients, and their culture.

By focusing on vetting, matching, and cultural fit, The People Link helped the practice make a successful long-term hire — one that has remained with the organization since 2023.

The strongest measure of a successful placement isn't simply making the hire. It's when the doctor is still there years later — and the client comes back to you for their next opening.

What was the situation before you contacted The People Link?

I had a dentist who had been with me for 14 years, and she had always led me to believe that she would eventually purchase the practice. We had been in negotiations, and then in December 2025, she told me she was no longer going to purchase the practice and that she was leaving.

It was terrible for me. I felt very betrayed. We did have a contract, but her plan was to leave the office, work with a friend for a while, and eventually open her own practice about 10 miles away.

So, immediately, I started looking for a replacement.

Given my age and the fact that I had built a very busy two-doctor practice, finding the right person was extremely important. We were a larger small practice—not a large corporate practice, but a practice that saw a lot of patients and had a significant amount of production for our size.

I had received several emails from The People Link with potential candidates. I had seen your name several times, and eventually I thought, "Okay, I'm going to reach out." I called you, explained my situation, and that's when everything got started. The rest is history.

What were you looking for in the dentist you wanted to hire?

I'm located in Hamilton, Ohio. It's a community of about 65,000 people, and it has a very Midwestern, close-knit feel. I was looking for someone who could somewhat replicate what I had with my former associate.

She had been a hometown girl and had actually been my patient since she was seven years old. So, I was looking for someone who would fit into our community and practice in a similar way.

Initially, I knew I wanted a female dentist because many of our patients prefer having a female dentist. I also thought I wanted someone with more experience. Most importantly, I wanted somebody who was nice and had the right personality.

Our practice is really centered around interpersonal relationships. It's a fun place. We joke, we laugh, and there's a lot of interaction between the staff and patients. I wanted someone who would fit into that environment.

So, I was really hiring for personality. I wanted somebody I felt my patients would accept and someone who would fit in well with my staff.

The general parameters were a female dentist, preferably with some experience, who had the personality to fit in well with our staff, our patients, and our community.

How did The People Link help?

You helped me psychologically because I had somebody helping me through the process. I was stuck thinking, "Okay, what am I going to do now?"

Knowing that I had someone on my side who could reach out to a large network of dentists made a big difference. There were a lot of options available to me.

I don't think you ever tried to push somebody on me. You listened to my concerns, I was able to explain the characteristics I was looking for, and you helped me find candidates who fit those criteria.

The biggest thing was simply having someone I could rely on to help me. Instead of trying to find an associate on Facebook or doing everything myself, I had someone working with me who understood what I was looking for.

I also really liked how you viewed yourself as a matchmaker rather than a corporate headhunter. That felt very authentic to me. You were focused on finding the right person for my practice, not just filling a position.

What has the experience been like with the dentist we placed for you?

She's wonderful. Caroline is young—she's about 28—and she had only worked for about a year before joining my practice. She's still learning, but she is very open to learning, and I've really enjoyed being able to teach her the way I believe things should be done.

She's also a lot of fun and has a wonderful personality. I really feel like I hit the jackpot with someone who is honest, compassionate with patients, and fun to work with.

My entire staff loves her.

She is one of those people where, from the very first time my wife and I spoke with her, we looked at each other and said, "She has the personality we're looking for."

That's something I always look for when I'm hiring. Personality is extremely important to me because I can teach the other things.

Because she is relatively inexperienced, she naturally needs some time to become faster with procedures and handling a larger patient load. She's very conscientious, but she can't handle the same volume yet. That's to be expected.

I went through the same process with my previous associate. She came directly out of dental school, and I gave her the time and support she needed to develop. Over time, she became a tremendous asset to the practice.

I''m confident Caroline will continue to grow in the same way.

Would you recommend The People Link to another practice owner, and why?

Absolutely. I would definitely recommend The People Link.

If another practice owner were in the situation I was in—especially someone who has spent years building a practice and suddenly loses an associate—it can be a huge hit.

I was 63 years old, and I had been structuring everything around the idea that my associate would eventually purchase the practice. When that suddenly changed, I needed to find someone else.

Having someone on my side who said, "We're going to find you somebody," was the best part of the whole experience.

You gave me several options, and I appreciated that you didn't try to force a particular candidate on me. When you sent me Caroline and I had the opportunity to speak with her, I knew pretty quickly that she was going to be the right person.

Hiring is always a process. You're going to meet some people who are a fit and some who aren't. That's part of finding the right person.

But having The People Link helping me through that process made a huge difference, and I would absolutely recommend the service to another practice owner.

The People Link — Connecting healthcare professionals with the practices where they can thrive.

What was the situation before you contacted The People Link?

We needed additional dentists for our practice. At times, we were filling a vacancy when a provider left, and at other times, we were hiring because we were expanding our facility and needed additional providers.

What were you looking for in a dentist?

As a Federally Qualified Health Center, we were looking for general dentists who were comfortable treating a wide variety of patients and age groups.

We needed dentists who could provide both safety-net dentistry and care for patients with commercial insurance or the ability to pay for additional services. Finding dentists who were also open to working in a rural area was an important part of the search.

How did The People Link help?

The People Link has helped us place four dentists who were open to considering a rural area and joining our organization.

They were able to identify candidates who fit what we were looking for and were willing to make the move to a rural community.

What has your experience been like with the dentists you placed?

Our experience has been very positive. The most recent dentist we placed has been great, and we have had good luck with the candidates who have come our way through The People Link.

The dentists we've hired have signed on and stayed with us for several years, which has been very valuable to our organization.

Would you recommend The People Link to another practice owner or organization? Why?

Yes, absolutely. The People Link has been able to deliver the candidates we were looking for.

They have also been straightforward and honest in our dealings. Ultimately, it's all about outcomes, and our outcomes have been positive.

We've had a good experience working with The People Link, and they have helped us successfully recruit dentists for our rural FQHC.

Ken Gordon, VP of Operations

Hiring Need: General Dentists
Result: Three qualified dentist matches identified

The Challenge

Dental Excellence Group was looking to recruit qualified dentists who would be a strong fit for their organization. Like many growing dental organizations, they needed access to a larger pool of qualified professionals while keeping the recruiting process efficient and focused.

The People Link Solution

The People Link partnered with Dental Excellence Group to identify and introduce viable dentist candidates who aligned with their hiring needs.

Rather than simply providing a large volume of resumes, The People Link focused on creating a pipeline of potential candidates for the organization to evaluate. Through this process, three dentists were identified who were considered a match for Dental Excellence Group's needs.

The Results

The client was particularly impressed with the speed and efficiency of the recruiting process and the size of the candidate pipeline The People Link was able to provide.

While not every candidate is expected to be the right fit for every organization, Dental Excellence Group found value in having access to a broader pool of potential candidates—and ultimately identified three dentists who matched their needs.

What the Client Had to Say

“The quickness and efficiency of The People Link in finding viable candidates [was the most positive aspect of our experience].”

“The pipeline of candidates that The People Link seems to have access to.”

The client also highlighted the professionalism, communication, follow-up, efficiency, and reasonable pricing of the service.

“Mya and her team are clearly good at what they do. Out of the handful of recruiters that we've worked with, The People Link seems to have access to a larger pool of candidates which is key.”

“They are professional, efficient, and their services are reasonably priced. Moreover, they exhibit a high level of communication and follow up throughout the entire recruiting process.”

Client Recommendation

Would Dental Excellence Group use The People Link again?
Yes.

“I would highly recommend The People Link for those looking to recruit doctors.”

— Frank Cashman, CFO
Dental Excellence Group

Success Story: Finding the Right Dentist in a Challenging Rural Market

What was the situation before you contacted The People Link?

We had been searching for a dentist for a very long time. We were looking for a platform where we could connect with qualified doctors, and before partnering with The People Link, we had tried working with other recruiters as well as conducting our own search.

Unfortunately, neither approach was very successful.

Once we partnered with The People Link, it was like night and day. We began receiving a significant number of qualified leads, particularly for our Lansing-area office. We were able to hire a dentist who has been working out extremely well, and we now have several promising leads for a potential second hire.

Compared with our previous experiences with recruiters and our own attempts to recruit, the entire process has been remarkably easy.

What were you looking for in a dentist?

We were looking for someone who was confident in their clinical skills and had experience practicing dentistry in the United States. That experience was very important to us.

Through The People Link, we were introduced to multiple candidates. We were able to hire one dentist, and we have continued to receive strong leads as we look for our next associate.

Ultimately, we wanted someone who was confident in their skills and would be a good fit for our practice and team.

How did The People Link help?

We had been unsuccessful for several years trying to find an associate. At one point, I really thought it was almost impossible.

Then I partnered with Mya and The People Link, and the difference was immediate. We started receiving tons of candidates to choose from. Once we had those candidates, it was up to us to determine who was the right fit for our practice, but The People Link made the process of finding those candidates much easier.

One thing I particularly appreciated about working with Mya was how responsive she was. She stayed involved throughout the process and was responsive to both us and the candidates.

That made a big difference. She didn't just sit on the sidelines and wait for things to happen. She was actively involved and kept the process moving.

What has your experience been like with the dentist The People Link placed?

The dentist we hired has been absolutely fantastic.

He gets along well with the team, enjoys working with us, and has become a big part of our practice. As far as I know, he is very happy with his position, and we are extremely happy with him.

We are looking forward to continuing to build our team and hopefully finding another great dentist through The People Link.

Would you recommend The People Link to another practice owner? Why?

Absolutely—100%.

The biggest reason is that I felt The People Link accomplished what we had considered almost impossible: finding a good general dentist who was willing to work in a more rural area.

The process has been extremely easy, and we've received plenty of candidates to choose from. After struggling for so long to find dentists on our own, it feels like we suddenly have a strong pool of candidates to consider.

The People Link made a very difficult recruiting challenge much easier for us.