In my area (RTP, NC), in my year-long bout of unemployement that ended a few months back, the only job interviews I got were from headhunter-type agencies. The ones I spoke with were knowledgeable enough to figure out what sort of job I was looking for and what my skills were. Unfortunately, most of the jobs they called me about wanted 15 years of experience with Sun E10Ks and in-depth experience with We're-the-only-company-that-uses-it-ware. However, they did find me the job I have now, which is not bad.

It seems to be that when there are a lot of people looking for a few jobs that unless you've got someone on your side hounding an employer, your resume will never get seen. And these type of people seem to be the only ones who are going to do it.

In addition, as long as you can make sure that they're not going to submit your resume to the company you work for now, there shouldn't be any drawback to talking to them. I'd say go for it. However, don't hold your breath. A friend of mine got fed up with his job and quit. He finally found a new one a year later. (And I'm not just reiterating my experience.) Another friend with two master's degrees got laid off of his job designing ASICs and is now doing Windows desktop support.