If there’s one upside to a recession, it’s the fact that great candidates abound. 

Just twelve months ago, companies were scrambling to find people for skilled positions in sales, IT, and finance.  Companies find themselves fishing in a much deeper pond these days, and I am increasingly hearing that the the problem is now no longer how to find great candidates, but how in the world to whittle that stack of 500 resumes down to the 3-5 people you actually want to spend time interviewing.

Where previously clients were hiring us to go out into the field and “pull” candidates into the hiring process, now they’re calling us to help process inbound applications because the sheer volume is overwhelming.  I’m seeing ten times the applications per job than was the case in 2007.  And, since most companies have scaled way back on internal HR staff, the “too many candidates” problem is amplified.

With unemployment figures estimated to top 10% in early 2010, I don’t see any end in sight to this massive shift from “I can’t find anyone” to “I can’t see over this pile of candidate resumes.”  3rd party recruiting providers who can’t adjust to that reality are in for an extremely painful year.  And do-it-yourself Managers who don’t get help are going to end up making bad hiring choices.

Candidate frustration is on the rise, as well.  The influx of resumes is overwhelming most internal HR organizations, and candidates simply never hear back from the companies to which they’ve applied.  The easiest way to soil your name amongst top candidates is to have a poor candidate response mechanism in place.  More and more I speak with people who tell me that it’s not uncommon for them to send our a hundred resumes before they get even one “thanks, but no thanks” letter.  They’re not even getting a formal “no.”  That’s atrocious customer service.

Bottom line:  if you’re inundated with resumes, seek help.  Your dream candidate just gave up trying to apply to your open job and is now working for a competitor.