This is a prescient insight and you're getting at the core achilles heel of the traditional recruitment model. Because the compensation is based on a ratio of f

This is a prescient insight and you're getting at the core achilles heel of the traditional recruitment model. Because the compensation is based on a ratio of first year salary, the recruiters incentives actually align with the candidate and against the hiring manager. The recruiter, as with the candidate, can (and often will) profit from overpricing a low quality candidate with a hiring manager they view as gullible. But this creates a market for lemons where many of the savviest hiring managers hire through other means. That doesn't just disadvantage savvy hiring managers, it also disadvantages savvy candidates by eroding the ecosystem. The solution is to use curated networks -- and any recruiter worth their salt should be able to speak credibly to their own with strong references from strong candidates and especially strong hiring managers. After canvassing both and running some real life experimental tests, you'll be able to sift the wheat from the chaff. Ideally, you can do this over a span of multiple years across multiple roles so you've integrated this ecosystem into your own.