Scenarios: 1. They hook you in and get you the job in the advert, they get 10-20% of your 1st years salary or whatever for making a few phone calls 2. They ho

Scenarios: 1. They hook you in and get you the job in the advert, they get 10-20% of your 1st years salary or whatever for making a few phone calls 2. They hook you in, but you're a poor fit, but they can match you with another job 3. They get your details and add you to their mailing list which they probably have a monthly target on linked with a bonus You need to think like a salesperson and not use logic If you connected with the company direct they would get nothing, so they want to prevent that at all costs, but then most big companies are spending a lot on hr and recruitment which overlap what the recruiter provides.