It sounds like an old country song: "where the niche is small and the customer desires so specific that you can really deliver service and price doesn't matter." Remember The Big Rock Candy Mountain?

In the Big Rock Candy Mountain the cops have wooden legs
The bulldogs all have rubber teeth and the hens lay soft-boiled eggs
The farmer's trees are full of fruit and the barns are full of hay
I'm bound to go
Where there ain't no snow
Where the sleet don't fall
And the winds don't blow
In the Big Rock Candy Mountain.
(attributed to Harry Haywire Mac" McClintock)

Unlike the song, Long Tail Theory is not some sort of hobo fantasy. It's the backbone of many online retail businesses, paying for the steep discounts offered on more well known items, Long Tail merchandise is for specific  individuals with very specific tastes.

That's where it's like the employment market. Talent Pools operate like other segments of the Long Tail space. The reported* disconnects over resume volume and customer requirements may well be evidence of a Long Tail Market being served with Short Tail Ideas.

In the coming days, we're going to look closely at the opportunities for long tail recruiting and try to determine whether it is a hobo fantasy or a new way of doing business.

Tomorrow: Google, Live In Your Neighborhood

* Note: we say "reported*" because there is really only one study and a lot of gossip supporting the idea that customers are overwhelmed by the flow of resumes. We're actually pretty certain that it's a function of the niche being served coupled with the skillset and expectations of the recruiters using the tools.