"There are a lot of very experienced, high-quality people who, through no fault of their own, got caught up in this economic tsunami," he says.

Companies are also looking for new executives with the right skills to lead them through the recession, says Dean Bare, managing director of executive search firm Stanton Chase International's Atlanta office.

"Employers today are asking themselves: Do I have the right talent set to take me through the next 18 months?" Bare says.

Because so many candidates are applying for a , employers can be choosey. They're screening many candidates, says Goodwin, and thus it's taking employers longer to make hiring decisions.

Employers aren't in a hurry, either. They're taking their sweet time to get to know a candidate's character, integrity and values, says Bare. Employers are still focused on making sure candidates have the right experience, of course, but that's only the beginning. Now employers are looking hard at a candidate's character to break ties among equally qualified candidates.