I agree with your main point, that you should be careful which recruiters you work with. Some small nitpicky arguments, though: > A single good recruiter who k

I agree with your main point, that you should be careful which recruiters you work with. Some small nitpicky arguments, though: > A single good recruiter who knows you, your skillset, and what you want will serve you much better than numerous recruiters who just want your resume. > The best time to develop a good relationship with a recruiter is when you are happily employed. That will be an opportunity for them to leisurely understand you. When the time comes that you will need their services, they will be strategically placed to help you. I'm not sure this is useful from a candidate's perspective. Just having recruiters as personal connections won't grant you access to some secret network of jobs in the future. So talking to recruiters when you aren't looking for a job is largely a waste of time, better spent updating your LinkedIn profile and filling out your resume. > When is it ok to send your resume to a recruiter? ... Only after you have spoken with them. A message via LinkedIn or job board is not enough. I don't think this is accurate. When I do recruiting for clients, I'll typically request the candidate's resume before the initial call so we'll have more to talk about. It may not be standard practice among recruiters, but it works for me. It's not only against the candidate's best interest to be double-submitted, but against the recruiter's self-interest as well. So I'm not going to submit a candidate unless I know that candidate wants to be submitted by me.