As a small business owner, you’ve no doubt learned by now that good times and bad times are inevitable. They’re just part of doing business. The world won’t stop, no matter what you do, so you need to be prepared for the obstacles, pitfalls, and high points that are going to come. In the case of the most recent economic recession, it has been a good time to prepare for better days ahead. Nothing lasts forever, no matter how bleak the outlook seems to be.

Recruiting tracking software may seem like a small thing when the daily news is tracking financial collapses of entire countries and foreclosure rates never seen before in modern banking, but its one of those steps you can take to ensure your company’s future is brighter than its past or present has been. Job applicant tracking is one of those areas that many companies overlook – a mistake. Inefficient tracking and poor management in human resources are two of the main contributors to the failure of small companies. You are the people who work for you. If they are the wrong people and you’re losing the right people to your competitors, you are doomed to fail.

Three years ago, when the economic downturn first began, companies began to lay off workers and downsize departments. A lot of those folks who lost their jobs were qualified workers that became victims of a numbers crunch. Now, as the economic outlook improves, they are starting to re-enter the workforce. If you post a job on a board or advertise in the local newspaper, you will get three times the response that you got just a few years ago for the same action. The unemployment rate is coming down, but it’s still high – there are a lot of candidates out there.

You can’t hire all of them – today. You can however prepare for the future by keeping careful track of those who apply for your open position. Are they the right person for that job or are they a better fit for another department where you don’t currently have an opening? Should you hire them now so you don’t lose them and then move them laterally when an opening pops up or should you tell them there might be something in the future and ask them to wait? These are all questions that go through the minds of recruiters and hiring managers as they try to project the future.

The top applicant tracking systems can help you make these decisions. They’ll give you a way to organize applicants and review them in a way that will help you plan for the future. One positive that comes out of tough times like we just went through is the prudence that business owners tend to exercise when things start to improve. It takes a while before anyone is willing to be aggressive again, but when it happens, it spreads like wildfire and we have a surging economy for a while. Those who are best prepared for that will reap the highest rewards. Do you have the people to help you do that? Recruit them now and keep track of who’s who. Job applicant software can help you.