Posting Jobs Online, the Right Way Looking for new hires online? To find the best candidates, do it smart.

When Scott Weeler heard that an online employee recruiting service had 93 resumes from generator technicians in its database, he was anxious to take a look. Bay Diesel and Generator, the diesel engine repair company he founded in Chesapeake, Virginia, has doubled in five years to $10 million in sales and 44 employees. As a result, Wheeler is constantly prowling for qualified mechanics.

"It's hard because it's not an executive search," explains Wheeler. "We have ex-French Foreign Legionnaires, and we have bikers with tattoos you wouldn't believe." But when Wheeler signed up for the service and checked out the resumes in its database, instead of qualified candidates with highly skilled backgrounds, he found 93 resumes that mentioned the word "generator" somewhere. His advice about online job sites: "Don't give them your credit card number based on what they tell you [they'll find for you]. Make them send some sample resumes first."

It doesn't hurt entrepreneurs to be careful when using one of the estimated 40,000 internet job boards, says Peter Weddle, a Stamford, Connecticut, publisher of job board guides. Many boards will be ill-suited to a specific employer's needs--and some may be shady operators who will take your money and run, Weddle warns. Still, more than half of recruiters responding to a survey by Weddle reported filling a quarter or more of their vacancies with candidates found through the internet.