It's a matter of sales (Score 1)

What I've found is that if you are looking for a long term position that is local, you will be out of luck using monster, hotjobs,etc.

However, if you are trying to find contract or out of state perm work, monster, hotjobs, etc work well. I usually quote an overly high rate to start with and work from there. I am testing the waters for some short term consulting and it doesn't seem to be too bad compared to the late mid to late eightees. You will need to follow about ten leads before a placement. But what you'll find is that for all the failed interviews, you will still see the same employer looking up to a year later.

Try talking to the headhunters when you are called back for a position that turned you down about a year ago. They are as frustrated as we are with waste of time interviews/leads. However, for a large search area, I have gotten a several offers in the last few months. Some rates were too low to consider but you need to find a desperate employer in this environment to get a good rate. Keep looking even if you find employment in the mean time.

Hang in there and use every resource at your disposal.