Since I've started my job search, headhunters call me on the phone a lot. They love seeing the word "embedded" on my resume. One told me that embedded work is very lucrative right now. I guess that's why.
One day I realized I was wasting so much time answering their interview questions and getting no real job prospects that I barely had any time left to search for real jobs posted directly by companies that really interested me (I've actually been pleasantly surprised to find a few low-level programming jobs posted directly by major companies on Dice recently).
So, I don't answer the phone anymore. I let my voicemail get it. I figure anyone who's serious will leave a message or send an e-mail. Even headhunters do this sometimes, but it's so much quicker to delete a voicemail or an e-mail.
I wish headhunters would learn there is only one reason I post my resume. It is so companies will respond in an e-mail with a detailed job description or at least their *name*, a link to their *web site*, and their *location* so that I can see the type of work they do and whether I'm willing to relocate to them. Then, if I am interested I will respond. It's the complement to the idea of me sending in my resume to a company. Read description; if interest then respond; else don't respond.
I don't want someone to tease me with a nebulous taunt like, "I've got an embedded job that might interest you. Give me a call." and I don't want someone to send me a job description they copied and pasted from a company's web site (because then I'll just do a Google search to find the original description).