The Passive/Aggressive Job Seeker

Computerworld - Passive job candidates - those who aren't looking for something new but would receptively listen to a great offer - remain the most highly prized catch by recruiters.
The techno-savvy recruiters navigate the Internet maze looking for these people, who represent a proverbial pot of gold. Their resumes don't appear on the job boards, but their names and activities on the Internet signal talent in myriad other ways.
According to Hanover, N.H.-based Intelligent Search, which conducts Advanced Internet Recruitment Strategies (AIRS) seminars, companies currently fill 30% to 40% of job openings by recruiting. Just a few years ago, this number was much smaller. Recruiting firms are more aggressive, and human resources groups operate more like recruiters.
Understanding how technical recruiters use the Internet to find passive candidates and what they're looking for provides great insight into how you can discreetly position yourself to be found. Passive job hunters no longer need to be passive. They can be quite aggressive in their passivity.
Pay attention to the advice AIRS gives to recruiters, suggests Mike Foster, president of Intelligent Search. This way, everyplace recruiters search for candidates, they'll find your name. "If you build a home page," Foster adds, "register it with the top eight search engines, make sure its spiders/robots can find you, then you're golden."
Build an Interesting Home Page
Online recruiters know that a personal home page often tells them more about a candidate than a resume. And they cull through virtual communities to find them.
If you want to be discovered, build a home page and organize it as a business would. Merely posting a resume makes you look just like everyone else on a job board. A home page should provide a creative snapshot of a full range of personal and business interests.
Kirk Sears, co-owner of recruitment firm Wilmington Group in Wilmington, N.C., says his clients are looking for well-rounded people with business knowledge, not just mercenary programmers who can swoop in for $100 per hour. A good home page tells him a great deal about a person and his interests outside of work: Does he run triathlons? Is he an amateur photographer? If your friends would find these tidbits interesting, so would a good recruiter.
If you really want to catch Sears' eye, he recommends that you associate your name with your projects. If you've worked on one that received a lot of press, link to those articles. Make it easy for him to find your accomplishments. Make it easy for him to learn more