I assumed we're talking about external or third-party recruiters, who get paid a commission based on starting salary. Larger companies have their own internal r

I assumed we're talking about external or third-party recruiters, who get paid a commission based on starting salary. Larger companies have their own internal recruiters on salary, and may also use external recruiters. You're right that recruiters range from clueless to very valuable to have in your corner. When you find a competent recruiter with industry connections keep that relationship -- take the recruiter to lunch now and then. It's a low bar to entry career (like programming) so of course you get a lot of bad recruiters just throwing people at jobs and hoping for the best. Some hiring managers go through a lot of candidates trying to pick the best one. Others (I will guess most) will hire the first candidate they like, so you may not get the interview because a good-enough candidate got there before you. Interviewing is tedious for hiring managers, as you mention -- I have never met anyone who really likes spending time conducting interviews. You should ask the recruiter how many jobs the employer is trying to fill, so they can propose you for multiple openings or similar openings. Recruiters work from job orders they get from employers, but they also usually have access to other open job orders at the same employer.