A system and method is described for receiving a plurality of non-standardized data sets and generating respective plurality of standardized profiles that can be used for efficiently comparing and matching one profile against the other plurality of profiles. One application of this invention is to convert job seekers' resumes and job postings into respective profiles and then permitting either a job seeker to search for job postings that most closely match the job seeker's resume or, conversely, permitting an employer to search for job seekers whose resumes most closely match the employer's job posting.